Reindeer Trip in Oymyakon

Route: Yakutsk – Khandyga – Oymyakon – Reindeer Herders’ Winter Camp in Oymyakon Valley – reindeer expedition – back to the Winter Camp – Khandyga – Yakutsk.

Duration: 10 days / 9 nights.

Group size: 1-4 travelers.

Travel season: 01 December – 15 April. New Year holidays are not included. December, January, and February are the coldest months. March is soft, with -25C -40C in the daytime.

Itinerary (in short):

Day 1: Yakutsk. Arrival at Yakutsk Airport in the morning. Transfer to the hotel. Free time. Meeting a guide at 12:00. 1/2 day with a guide on transport in the city.

Day 2: Drive from Yakutsk to Khandyga. We start our journey from the hotel/s at 09:00 am. This day’s activities are as follows. Crossing the Lena River on the ice road, 15 km one way. Stop for the group photo. Stop on the opposite bank of the Lena River to overlook the river landscape with Yakutsk in the background. Passing by many traditional Sakha villages. A few stops for photoshoots. Visit the outdoor architectural museum in Cherkekh. Crossing the Aldan River on the ice road, 10 km one way. Two stops for meals at cafes (meals not included). Overnight at a private apartment-based hotel.

Day 3: Drive from Khandyga to Oymyakon. We start the journey at 08:00 am and arrive to Oymyakon late night. We’ll do stops:
– Before approaching Verkhoyansk Mountains at a roadside cafe in Teply Klyuch and for photoshoot.
– At the memorial with the big Cross on the rock dedicated to the victims of the Gulag system.
– Chernyj Prizhim (literally it means Black Pass with the highest bridge on the ridge), Zheltyj Prizhim (Yellow Pass), Zayachya Petlya and other remarkable places in mountains.
– Kyubyume Fuel Station with the “Cuba” road cafe and the tube where all adventurers attach their own expedition sticks.
– Tomtor village for re-fuel at a gas station.
Actually we can do many stops.
Late dinner and accommodation at the family’s in a wooden house.

Day 4: Oymyakon (1/2 day) & transfer to herder’s place. Breakfast at families. Visit the Pole of Cold Stella. Walk around Oymyakon village. Lunch at families. Drive from Oymyakon to the reindeer herders’ camp. 280 km for ~6 hr. On the way, 1-hr stop in Tomtor to visit the ice cave with huge crystals and ice sculptures. Arrival to the reindeer’s winter base in the evening. Dinner. Overnight in a stove-heated wooden cabin at the herder’s place.

Day 5: Reindeer Sleigh Expedition. Breakfast. Preparing for the start of a reindeer sleigh ride. Packing stuff on sleds and tying reindeer to sleds. Lunch. Reindeer sleigh ride (a traveler sits on a separate sled with 2 reindeer in the caravan). The distance to ride is ~30 km. Stop at the temporary overnight spot. Setting up tents. Dinner in a tent. Overnight in a tent. If the temp would be as low as -60C, overnight in hunter’s cabin.

Day 6: Reindeer Sleigh Expedition. Breakfast in a tent. Preparing reindeer and sleds for the ride. Lunch. Reindeer sleigh ride on the way back to herders’ place on the different route. 50 km. Arrival at the camp in the evening. Dinner. Overnight in a stove-heated wooden house at the herders’ camp. If you feel good, you can continue sleigh ride the next day.

Day 7: Herder’s Winter Camp. Daily activities with reindeer herders. Breakfast, lunch, dinner at the herder’s camp.

Day 8: Drive from the winter base to Khandyga. Breakfast. Packing belonging for the way back. Brunch. Transfer by a car from the herders’ place to Khandyga. 350 km for ~9 hr. Overnight at a private apartment-based hotel.

Day 9: Drive from Khandyga to Yakutsk. Arrival in Yakutsk by the evening.

Day 10: Departure. Transfer to Yakutsk Airport in the early morning. Flight from Yakutsk.

Price includes:

– visa support;
– transfer from Yakutsk Airport to the hotel on the Day of Arrival and transfer from the hotel to the airport on the Day of Departure;
– English-, German-, French-, Spanish- or Chinese-speaking guide for the whole period;
– 6-hour transport hire for shopping for additional warm clothes and sightseeing in Yakutsk on Day 1;
– 4WD transport with a driver for 8-day trip en route Yakutsk – Khandyga – Reindeer Herders’ Winter Camp in the wilderness of the Oymyakon valley – Khandyga – Yakutsk;
– accommodation at a private hotel in Khandyga (twin rooms w/ shared facilities, no breakfast);
– accommodation at the family’s in Oymyakon (twin-triple rooms, shared kitchen, sink inside, outdoor toilet, 1 dinner, 1 breakfast);
– accommodation at reindeer herders’ camp in a wooden cabin w/ breakfast, lunch, dinner (toilet in the wilderness);
– reindeer herders’ service at the winter camp and during the sleigh expedition;
– meals and drinks during 2/3-day reindeer sleigh expedition;
– tents, stove, generator, and reindeer skin (as floor cover in tents) rent (please, note: if the temp would be below -50C, the night might be spent in a hunter’s cabin);
– sleeping bags;
– satellite phone for emergency calls.

Does NOT include:

– air tickets to/from Yakutsk;
– accommodation, meals and entry tickets to venues in Yakutsk;
– meals at roadside cafes during driving days en route Yakutsk – Khandyga – Winter Camp and Winter Camp – Khandyga – Yakutsk for 4 days (1000-2000 RUB/day/person);
– extra warm clothes;
– personal travel insurance policy;
– tips & gratitude.