Information post from my friend who is on the New Year went to Yakutia, visited the Lena pillars and in Oymyakon to the pole cold weather That’s the last time and will be discussed. This information It can be useful to those who also gather in those regions on their own, and not on tour.
The content of the article
- 1 Is it so terrible Pole of Cold
- 2 How to get to the Pole of Cold
- 3 Oymyakon on the map
- 4 Where to stay
- 5 What to bring
- 6 How to dress at the Pole of Cold
- 7 What to visit at the Pole of Cold
- 8 Useful contacts
Contents
Is it so terrible Pole of Cold
Usually, on the Internet, tours to Oymyakon to the Pole of Cold cost from 50 tr. not counting the flight to Yakutsk. If you use this tour, then you need to understand that you will have to take tickets for a specific date that virtually eliminates the ability to catch in advance sale and therefore makes the trip even more expensive.
Here I will tell you how to go to the Pole of Cold budget (and in read another post about Oymyakon himself). Perhaps someone can there is a reasonable question: why go there at all, in this very a harsh place on Earth where the resident population lives?
Interesting can be this:
- see the life of people in such conditions
- ride on the highway “Yakutsk-Magadan” (for some reason special it is popular with foreign tourists)
- feel “in their own skin” extreme cold and his impact on everything
- taste the foals and planers cooked according to local recipes
Also lovers of history will be interested in this area as a place. camps of the Gulag and the very highway “Kolyma”, built at the cost of thousands of (watered) prisoners.
How to get to the Pole of Cold
It is worth going to the village of Tomtor as the largest settlement Oimyakon Valley, although there may be options. By plane to Yakutsk, then by car (minibus) about 1000 km to Tomtor. Official communication between Tomtor and Yakutsk in winter not. From May to October a plane flies from Yakutsk once a week. AT the rest of the time, water obstacles on the way are covered with ice, and a trip by car becomes more profitable.
Having read chilling stories about adventures on the way between Yakutsk and Oymyakon, I laid two days on this road, and even to “save” one day, I took a plane ticket to one side to the district center of Ust-Nera, hoping to get on the same day before Tomtor on the ride.
It is better not to do that. These stories are mostly written either self-traveling travelers who are unfamiliar with the road and objectively seems dangerous, especially in the dark, or participants of package tours, where it is important for operators that everyone should comfortable (well, so that they pay a larger number of days).
So, now from Yakutsk to Oymyakon (Tomtor) can be reached in one day. Federal highway “Kolyma” literally in the last two years was significantly expanded, and the former a few years ago dangerous areas are fortified. In general, the trail itself leaves in winter nice impression and looks no worse than some in the Middle strip of Russia.
You only need to pre-locate the local (Oimykonsky) a driver who already knows by heart all the features of the road and goes on it confidently at any time of the day. Contacts found by me, see. end of the note.
Approximate travel time – 14-16 hours, including stops at relaxation. Cost – 5 tr. per person one way but depending on the conditions and number of passengers can vary from 4-7 tr. Locals regularly travel to Yakutsk about their business, so places should be. Quite often ride on minibuses. If you want to to drive as a group in one car, then you need to negotiate somewhat more in advance.
I recommend to leave in the winter early, around 6 o’clock in the morning. First half of the way to Khandyga passes through a plain in which interesting few. And then begins the mountain – the most beautiful part of the road, and it would be nice to catch her in the daytime. It gets dark in winter in these The edges early, around 3 pm. It dawns around 10 am On the way back you can see what did not have time on the way “there”. AT Tomtore time difference with Yakutsk is +1 hour.
Oymyakon on the map
There is confusion about Oymyakon and where the Pole is located. cold weather So the whole area is called the pole, which is called Oymyakon. But there is also a small town with the same name name, it is not necessary to go there (40 km from Tomtor), although there beautiful, mountains, Indigirka, reindeer farm, only stop there is nowhere. So, meteorological station and monument temperature minimum located in the village of Tomtor, which I like times and marked on the map. Tomtor has an airport operating in the summer, shops, and overnight too follow there.
So, almost always, when they say Oymyakon, they mean Tomtor. That is where you need to come.
Where to stay
I know two places:
1. Guest house in Kuydusun area (about 2 km from the center village). I stayed there myself. It is a spacious apartment with three bedrooms, living room, kitchen and separate bathroom. There is no European-quality renovation, but everything is clean and tidy.
Pros: can easily accommodate a group of up to 10 person. Nearby within walking distance non-freezing thermal the springs and the river into which they flow are very beautiful. Cons: distance from the center of the village. Cost: 1500 rubles. per person per night when a large group should ask for a discount
2. Private house in the center of the village with the hostess
It can accommodate up to 6 people. The advantages can be attributed that the hostess provides guests with homemade food (Yakut cuisine need to try!), to the minuses – typical village infrastructure including unheated toilet in the yard. Although, for someone it will not be a minus, but vice versa.
Cost: 1800 rubles. per person per night
Locals say you can come up with other options, you can find out by available contacts.
What to take with you
Although there are a lot of private shops in Tomtor (it seems too a lot per capita), the choice in them is very poor, and prices are high. I recommend the maximum purchase in Yakutsk and download it all in the trunk. This is especially true for specific products that you consume, including alcoholic. It is advisable to take with you means for quick kindling firewood.
Meat (zherebyatinu) for self-cooking can be bought from local There is a cafe in the village where you can pre-order some kind of similarity. the table. Convenient for companies.
I also recommend taking a SIM card with you, since others catch worse, and do not give the mobile Internet.
How to dress at the Pole of Cold
I can recommend the following:
- Thermal underwear, better camel hair
- Wool sweater
- Down jacket, always with a fabric coating. I myself have a down jacket I lost by buying a ski option in Decathlon. He turned out really warm, but its synthetic coating at a temperature below -40 it became tough like plastic, which is somewhat fettered movement. As an alternative to a regular down jacket wadded overalls with a jacket for fishing, in the presence of warm sweaters. The same applies to backpacks, it is better to take a rag. Rubberized zipper can arbitrarily protect against moisture, but on in the bitter cold you can’t open it.
- Two woolen socks, preferably camel or sheep wool.
- (this is a must) Footwear on a felt sole. Ideally This is of course unts, but they are expensive. Fit simple boots. On boots should be galoshes or silicone coating of the sole (otherwise, the snow brought on them from the street is warm (in the car for example) it starts to melt, and the felt boot gets sodden). Leather shoes on the “usual” rubber sole is suitable only for short-term (10 minutes) stay on the street.
- Also need wool mittens, be sure two-layer.
- Thick phone case, if you want them to photograph or at least be able to call if necessary.
Layfkhak – when ordering online on the website of Decathlon, but through cashback service Letyshop, there will be a return of 2.5-5% for all goods, and down jackets in including. If you still do not know, then they have a delivery, so you can order everything yourself home. By the way, cashback works for others. shops, look through there.
What to visit at the Pole of Cold
The village has two museums – local history and literary and local lore. In the first all the exhibits, even the carbine 18 century, you can touch it (I recommend still not to abuse). The second is located in the school building and is dedicated to repressed Russians. the writers and the history of the Gulag on the territory of the region as a whole, for which his called the “Gulag Museum”.
In Tomtor is the residence of the Yakut “Santa Claus” – Chyskhaan. Located in a mountain cave at the entrance to the village. About visiting need to agree in advance.
You can go to the horse or reindeer farm, it about 30 km from the village.
On the outskirts of the village flows a stream, non-freezing from thermal sources (oymakon in translation means “non-freezing water”). The nature surrounding the stream amazes with its unreality.
And finally – about what interesting phenomena in the cold can be experienced in Oymyakon.
- Experiments with food. You can make a candy out of cognac. Banana, unlike juicy fruits that become brittle, acquires metallic properties. They can score nail and with some effort to shred the orange.
- You can arrange a “Yakut salute.” To do this, just pour out Thermos mug of hot water and sharply pour it over the head with a fan. Splashes miserably turn into ice, scattering to the sides, accompanied by ice steam. After one or two workouts It turns out very beautiful.
- In sunny weather you can observe halos – when the sun is above the horizon turns into three almost identical.
- Even at frost below 50, each breath is accompanied by characteristic whistle. Unusually.
Useful contacts
+79142297032 Rosalia Timofeevna (director of the museum of local lore) +74115424498 Susanna Sergeevna Zabolotskaya (guest house) +74115424110 Tatiana Burtseva (guest house in the Kuidusun area) +79644266690, +79142325510, +79142917937, +79841016681, +79244678887 – contacts of local residents who can prompt with transfer
P.S. Read also other posts – interesting facts about Oymyakon, about Ust-Nehru and the road through the tundra, about Yakutsk and Lenskie pillars.
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