Travelling to Yakutia: a complete guide for your first visit

For a first trip it is easiest to start from Yakutsk: explore the city, try the local cuisine, visit museums and then head out to the natural landmarks. Here is what to see in Yakutia, when to go and how to prepare.

In winter Yakutia is especially impressive — you can truly experience the northern cold. In summer the region transforms: it becomes green and spacious. This is the best time for trips to the Lena Pillars and journeys through the taiga and rivers.

Spring and autumn are good for exploring Yakutsk, its museums and culture, but for longer routes be sure to plan around the weather.

Start your acquaintance with Yakutsk by strolling through the Old Town. Wooden buildings and a historic atmosphere let you see what the city looked like in the past, and there are plenty of restaurants and cafés.

Yakutia is famous for finds of ancient animals preserved in permafrost. The Mammoth Museum displays unique exhibits and tells the story of the ancient north.

One of the most unusual attractions in Yakutsk. An underground complex built into the permafrost keeps sub-zero temperatures year-round. The ice sculptures look especially spectacular in winter.

A great option for a calm introduction to the culture of the region. The collection features works of art connected to Yakutia and the peoples of the North.

The khomus is a traditional Sakha musical instrument with an unusual, mesmerising sound. In the museum you can learn about its history, see different varieties and understand the role it plays in the culture of Yakutia.

The region's main natural landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. Enormous rock formations stretch along the Lena and are especially impressive for their scale. In summer people come for river cruises and green scenery; in winter for a completely different, almost fantastical view.

Striking rock formations on the banks of the Sinyaya River, a tributary of the Lena. Their silhouettes resemble towers and stone castles, with individual rocks rising up to 180 metres. In some places ancient petroglyphs survive, and combined with Yakut legends about the spirit-masters of nature they give this place a special atmosphere, as if the stories of the distant past still live here.

A place where winter shows its true character. Temperatures here have dropped to −67.7 °C, and the cold is so intense that your breath can frost your eyelashes and hair. A trip here requires serious preparation in winter, but for lovers of northern travel it is an unforgettable experience.

A convenient option for a short trip from Yakutsk. Here you can learn about traditional life, try the local cuisine — especially dishes of reindeer, horse meat and northern fish.

One of those places in Yakutia that is hard to imagine before you visit. In summer, when the taiga around is green and the air warms to +25 °C, enormous slabs of natural ice remain. Inside the icy grottoes it is cool even at the height of summer, and light filters through the bluish walls of ice.

Look out for jewellery, local crafts and souvenirs with Yakut ornaments. A special gift is the khomus, a traditional Yakut jaw harp whose sound is unlike any other instrument.

From Yakutia you take home more than souvenirs, gifts and photographs. You take memories of the mighty Lena, majestic cliffs, endless taiga and an extraordinary feeling that comes from being surrounded by such beauty.

There is so much that is unusual here that even after the first trip there are still many places you want to see.

And perhaps the most valuable thing you will take away… is the wish to return one day.