Baikal - Magadan Winter Expedition
- More than 5500 km by road Moscow - Vladivostok, Lena and Kolyma (Road of Bones)
- Crossing of republics of Buryatia, Yakutya and Magadan Oblast
- Traveling at the temperature below -55 ° C
- Visit of GULAGs and of ghost-towns
- Visit of Oymyakon village - the coldest village in the world, known as pole of cold
- Meeting with the indigenous people of Russia
- Discovery of frozen lake Baikal
- Opprtunity to drive the 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser
- Magic landscape, frosty frozen and aurora borealis
Travel across the territory of permafrost, visit the capitals of Yakutia and Buryatia, undergo a ritual purification ceremony in the coldest village on Earth, visit the sites of the former Gulags and ghost towns and complete the path with observing the view of the Sea of Okhotsk from the city of Magadan - how about all this combined in one trip of 16 days in SUVs? Seems challenging but.. why not ? Now imagine that the entire journey from Irkutsk to Magadan will be held under extremely cold temperatures reaching -50° and sometimes even lower! It is not very easy to decide upon this kind of adventure, right? But not with BaikalNature! Here are the reasons why: with thoughtful approach to your comfort during the stay the agency provides you with comfortable off-road cars that are fully equipped for this kind of expedition, overnight stay in cozy hotel rooms and local guest houses, heated garages to put the cars in for every overnight - and this is just a brief glance at what we provide in order to make the conditions of the tour more comfortable.
During the trip we will ride along the famous highways: Amur (R-297), Lena (A-360) and Kolyma (R-504). The Lena highway goes mainly across the territory of permafrost and the Kolyma track, also known as the "Road of Bones" was built by labor camp prisoners.
Also, every participant of this expedition will receive a certificate upon visiting the Pole of Cold from the hands of the true Yakut Father Frost - Chyshaan, undergo a ritual purification ceremony according to local traditions and participate in ice fishing.
During the course of this expedition you will not only drive for over 5000 km but also you will have an opportunity to get acquainted with the history of the Soviet Union, visit the local museums, get a closer view on the daily life of indigenous people.
This tour is held in a format of expedition. Description of the itinerary presents only a common plan of the expedition. In case of any force majeure (such as bad weather conditions or any other unexpected and unpredictable events), the organizers reserve the right to make changes to the program.
NB: This tour has no fixed group departure date. The price is available upon request.
- Day 1Discovery of IrkutskIrkutsk
- Day 2Road along the Lake BaikalIrkutsk — Ulan-Ude
- Day 3Visit of the village of old believersUlan-Ude — Chita
- Day 4Amur highway Yerofey PavlovichChita — Yerofey Pavlovich
- Day 5Amur-Yakutsk highwayYerofey Pavlovich — Neryungri
- Day 6Area of permafrostNeryungri — Tommot
- Day 7Yakutsk - capital of YakutiaTommot — Yakutsk
- Day 8Discovery of YakutskYakutsk
- Day 9Khandygskaya highwayYakutsk — Khandyga
- Day 10Road of bonesKhandyga — Tomtor
- Day 11Oymyakon - pole of coldTomtor
- Day 12Road StarokolymskayaTomtor — Ust-Nera
- Day 13Ghost town KadykchanUst-Nera — Susuman
- Day 14Kolyma highwaySusuman — Magadan
- Day 15Discovery of Magadan. Mask of sorrowMagadan
- Day 16Departure from MagadanMagadan
- 11:00Arrival in IrkutskTransfer to the hotel. Check in and rest.
- 13:00Meeting with your guide at the hotel lobby
- 13:30Lunch at a restaurant in the city center
- 14:30Stroll in the city centerDiscovery of old wooden houses, ancient orthodox churches, the central market.
- 19:00Dinner at a local restaurant
- Night in a hotel
- 08:00Breakfast at a hotel
- 09:00Departure to Ulan-Ude following the track named "Baikal"A part of our way lies through a most scenic segment of the Trans-Siberian railway.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Ulan-UdeArrival in Ulan-Ude in the afternoon.
- 19:00Dinner at a local restaurant serving Buryat cuisine
- Night in a hotel
7 h 4x4 (478km)
(230km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a hotel
- 09:00Departure to ChitaEarly breakfast, departure for Chita. En route, a visit of a village of Old Believers in Tarbagatay. Old Believers are a branch of Christians who separated from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (17th century). You will have an opportunity to meet the locals and to listen to their singings.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside café — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Chita
- 19:00Dinner at the resort
- Overnight in a hotel
8 h 4x4 (611km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a hotel
- 09:00Departure for the village of Yerofey PavlovichThis village was named in honor of a Russian researcher and a traveler Yerofey Pavlovich Khabarov. The way lies along the railway line "Amur" (R-297), which ends in Khabarovsk.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Yerofey PavlovichArrival in the village in the evening.
- 19:00Dinner at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 21:00Banya at the inn
- Night in the inn (outdoor toilet)
9 h 4x4 (781km)
(390.5km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 09:00Deparure for Neryungri villageNeryungri is the second largest town in the Sakha (Yakutiya) Republic. The way majorly passes through the lands of permafrost and via a historical intersection of Skovorodino where the famous M-56 "Tynda - Yakutsk" track and the Lena highway start.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside café — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Neryungri
- 19:00Dinner at a hotel
- Night at a hotel
8 h 4x4 (533km)
(266.5km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a hotel
- 09:00Departure for TommotThis town is defined as a transportation center, because it's placed at the intersection of the Amur–Yakutsk Mainline and the Lena highway.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside café — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to TommotArrival in Tommot in the second half of the day.
- 19:00Dinner at a roadside cafe — Not included
- Night in a guest house
5 h 4x4 (348km)
(173.5km)
- 08:00Breakfast — Not included
- 09:00Departure for YakutskYakutsk was founded in 1632 and is now the capital of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. Yakutsk, being the major city of the republic is also one of the oldest cities in Siberia.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to YakutskArrival in Yakutsk in the evening.
- 19:00Dinner at a hotel
- Night in a hotel
(231.5km)
7 h 4x4 (463km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a hotel
- 09:00Tour around the city centerThe "Old city" is a historical and architectural complex, a quarter in the city center where many buildings are recreating the appearance of old Yakutsk. Moreover, we will visit two legendary museums - World Mammoth museum and the "Kingdom of Permafrost" museum. The Mammoth museum was established in 1991 on the initiative of Peter Lazarev - the first Yakut scientist specializing in mammoth studies. As for the "Kingdom of Permafrost" museum, it was opened in 2008 and the tourists who come visit this museum witness a true ice miracle when they open its doors. In summer the temperature doesn't go above -4° and in winter it never gets lower than -10°. Both these museums are hallmarks of Yakutsk.
- 14:00Lunch — Not included
- 15:00Free time to discover the city
- 19:00Dinner — Not included
- Night in a hotel
- 09:00Departure for the village of Khandyga (ex Gulag distribution point)This day we enter the R504 Kolyma Highway - a famous road passing through the Russian Far East and connecting the Sakha (Yakutiya) Republic with Magadan. This is the only autoroute in the eastern Yakutiya and also western and central parts of the Magadan district that provides an access to the Pacific ocean.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to KhangydaArrival in the village in the evening.
- 19:00Dinner at a roadside café — Not included
- Night in a guest house
9 h 4x4 (419km)
(209.5km)
- 08:00Breakfast — Not included
- 09:00Departure for the village of TomtorTomtor village is one of the contenders for the title of "Pole of Cold". Its main competitor is Oymyakon. Moreover, since 2001 the village of Tomtor traditionally gathers hundreds of people to a festival known as "Pole of Cold". The festival brings together all the Santas from the major league - from Santa Claus from Lapland to the main Russian Father Frost from Veliky Ustyug. Chyskhaan - a severe Yakut "Keeper of the cold," is present by default: it is his "home", a cave in the mountain Ebe-Khaya that is considered sacred for the local people. The village has a commemorative monument dedicated to the victims of Stalin’s repressions. It is called “The Memory Bell”.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside café — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Tomtor
- 19:00Dinner at a guest house
- Night at a guest house
10 h 4x4 (472km)
(237km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a guest house
- 09:00Departure for OymyakonOymyakon is a true Pole of Cold. Here you will meet the "Keeper of the Cold" - Chyskhaan, and receive a certificate from his hands for visiting the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside café — Not included
- 14:00Participation in ice fishing
- 16:00Return to Tomtor
- 19:00Dinner at a guest house
- Night at a guest house
cultural exploration (40km)
4x4 (40km)
- 08:00Breakfast at a guest house
- 09:00Drive to Ust-Nera villageUst-Nera - a gold mining town and the most populated settlement of Oymyakonsky District. Ust Nera was a Gulag (prison labor camp) until 1956, part of Stalin's Dalstroy organization which claimed thousands of Russian lives. The prisoners were used to provide free labour for building houses, laying the Magadan track and mining gold.
- 13:00Lunch a a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Ust-NeraArrival in the evening.
- 19:00Dinner at a roadside cafe — Not included
- Night at a guest house
9 h 4x4 (395km)
(164km)
- 08:00Breakfast — Not included
- 09:00Departure for the village of SusumanOur way will pass through one of the depopulated urban localities - a village of Kadykchan. You will make a visit of the village with its parks, schools, libraries and hospitals - buildings that have all been left abandoned. Earlier, there were 7000 people living in the village and working at its two coal mines. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, coal mining in the area became increasingly unprofitable. An explosion at the mine in 1996 killed six people, which led to a decision to close the mines altogether. The government subsidized its residents to move elsewhere and cut off the electricity in the whole village. In spite the fact that the city is considered to be completely depopulated, travelers reported that there has been one man with his two dogs that were still living in the village.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Susuman
- 19:00Dinner at a roadside cafe
- Night in a hotel
5 h 4x4 (390km)
(194km)
- 08:00Breakfast — Not included
- 09:00Departure for MagadanWe're off early for the final run of our trip to Magadan. This city was founded as an industrial community to develop the extraction of mineral resources in the Kolyma region.
- 13:00Lunch at a roadside cafe — Not included
- 14:00Continuation of the way to Magadan.Arrival in the evening.
- 19:00Dinner at a roadside cafe.
- Night at a hotel.
8 h 4x4 (627km)
(313km)
- 09:00Breakfast at a hotel
- 10:00Visit of the Magadan Regional Museum with its 5 exhibition halls that contain a number of informative displays on the history of the Gulag — Not included
- 13:00Lunch — Not included
- 14:00Excursion.A tour to the "Mask of Sorrow" - a monument perched on a hill above Magadan, commemorating the many prisoners who suffered and died in the Gulag prison camps in the Kolyma region. The design was created by famed sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, whose parents fell victim to the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. Observation of the panoramic view of Nagayev and Gertner bays.
- 19:00Festive dinner at a local restaurant
- Night in a hotel
- 09:00Breakfast at a hotel.
- 11:00Transfer to the airportEnd of the program.
| > 6 months | > 8 months | > 10 months |
| Amount of discount (total payment) | ||
| 5% | 10% | 20% |
| Amount of discount (deposit payment) | ||
| 0 | 5% | 10% |
| New departures available soon |
- Russian-spaking guide
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- Excursions and visits as per itinerary
- Nature reserves and parks entrance permissions
- Bathing in springs
- Airplane/ train tickets
- Letter of invitation
- English-speaking guide services
- Meals according to the program
- Accident insurance
- Meals as per itinerary
- Personal expenses and tips
- Visa fees and travel insurance
- Optional activities
The price given is for a group of 3 people (for one car) Total number of vehicles: 2 to 4. If there are less than 3 persons in the car, the price of the expedition will be recalculated. Acommodation is planned to be in hotel rooms, guest houses and inns. Meals included: breakfasts for the following days: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16; lunch for the day 1; dinners for the days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 15. All the other meals will be negotiated with the group members once on spot (additional charge). The itinerary of the expedition can be changed according to the road or weather conditions as well as unforeseen events.
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