Yakutsk to Magadan trip
Duration: 6 days (4 travel days + 1 full day in Magadan + departure day.)
Group size: 3-4 travelers.
Period: Summer – Autumn 2019.
Route: Yakutsk (start of the tour) – the Lena River – the Aldan River – Khandyga (overnight) – Teply Klyuch (GULAG Museum) – Verkhoyansk Mountains (Road of Bones) – Ust Nera (overnight) – Kadykchan (ghost town) – Susuman (overnight) – Yagodnoye (Kolyma History Museum) – the Kolyma River – Dneprovsky (GULAG) – Magadan (city tour + the Sea of Okhotsk bays) – Sokol Airport (departure).
Expedition-ready 4wd transports:
– Mitsubishi Delica (minivan);
– Toyota Land Cruiser Prado;
– Toyota Land Cruiser 105.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Lena & Aldan Rivers to cross by transport ferries;
- Yakutian villages between Yakutsk and Khandyga;
- Teply Klyuch (w/ GULAG Museum);
- Verkhoyansky Range w/ narrowest passes such as Chernyj Prizhim, Zajachja Petlya, Lastochkin Dom and w/ the highest, longest Olchan Mountain Pass;
- Kadykchan, ghost town;
- Susuman (the town of gold miners);
- Yagodnoye (Panikarov’s private museum “History of Kolyma”.)
- Kolyma River & Bridge;
- many abondend gold miner’s settlements;
- Dneprovsky GULAG, if weather would allow;
- Magadan City & Okhotsk Sea Bays Tour.
Itinerary Hide all details
DRIVE YAKUTSK TO KHANDYGA, 432 km (according to our GPS tracks), average moving speed 40 km/hr. Breakfast at hotel. Leaving hotel/place of stay at 09:00. Crossing the Lena River by a transport ferry, 8 km. Stop at Nizhny Bestyakh at a store for travelers to buy snacks and drinks. Start of journey on the Kolyma road through many traditional Sakha (Yakutian) villages. One stop at Cherkekh Outdoor Architecture History Museum. Two stops for meals at roadside cafes en route (not included). Crossing the Aldan River by a transport ferry in the evening. Arrival in Khandyga. Accommodation at private apartment-based hotel (twin/triple rooms, shared kitchen, shared bathroom, no breakfast).
From this moment, the Kolyma road goes through mountains’ valleys and passes. We depart the place of overnight at 08:00. Drive one hour to Teply Klyuch. Stop for breakfast in Teply Klyuch (not included). There is a chance to visit GULAG History Museum in Teply Klyuch. Drive through Verkhoyansk Range with numerous stops for photo sessions at such remarkable places as Zheltyk & Chernyj Prizhim (Yellow & Black Passes), Zajatchja Petlya. Stop for late dinner (not included) at Cuba Cafe in Kyubyume. This is the place where all adventure travelers leave their expedition stickers to a tube-like cash box. Stop on high points on Olchansky Mountain Passes. Arrival in Ust Nera in the evening. Dinner (not included) at cafe in the settlement. Accommodation in the Soviet-era hotel (single room/s with WC for travelers, no breakfast).
Visit to a cafe for breakfast (not included) and at a store to buy snacks and drinks. We depart Ust Nera ±10:00. On the way to Susuman, you’ll see abandoned settlements previously used by GULAG’ administration, and the lost coalminers town of Kadykchan. No cafes en route for stops to have lunch. Arrival in Susuman by the evening. Dinner (not included) at a cafe bar in Susuman. Accommodation in Susuman in gold-mining company’s hotel (single/DBL room/s with bathroom).
This day we leave Susuman after breakfast at a cafe (not included). We’ll see the famous plane cabin sticking out of the public administration building. Crossing the only bridge across the Kolyma River (stop for photo session). If weather is good to us and there had been raining, we would be able to do a 16-km turn to visit Dneprovsky GULAG. Final decision to drive to Dneprovsky belongs to a driver. We’ll see also many ghost towns, do stops for meals (not included) at cafes in Laryukovo and Palatka/Atka. Arrival in Magadan in the late evening. Check-in at hotel (not included).
Breakfast at hotel. City & Okhotsk Sea Bays Tour. Stops at bays, Mammoth Monument, the Mask of Sorrow, Magadan Surroundings, etc. We have a good tradition to visit a local fish market to get the perfect red caviar.
Breakfast. Transfer to Sokol Airport, 51 km. Hugs. Flight from Magadan.
What's included
- Visa invitation
- 4wd transport w/ experienced driver (who is going to be a guide at the same time) and all transport-related expenses for driving en route Yakutsk – Magadan road as per itinerary;
- travelers’ ferry passes on the Lena and Aldan Rivers;
- travelers’ entry tickets to museums in Cherkekh and Teply Klyuch;
- accommodation in Khandyga (apartment-based hotel, twin room, shared kitchen, shared WC & shower, no breakfast), Ust Nera (Soviet-type hotel, single/twin room w/ WC & shower, no breakfast), Susuman (standard hotel with single/DBL room, no breakfast);
- sightseeing in Magadan (entry tickets not included) as per itinerary;
- transfer from hotel to Sokol Airport in Magadan;
- sat phone for emergency calls only.
- air tickets to Yakutsk and from Magadan;
- any meals in Yakutsk (reserve 1500-4000 RUB/day/person);
- any meals en route Yakutsk to Magadan (1500-2000 RUB/day/person);
- entry tickets to Panikarov’s Kolyma History Museum in Yagodnoye (if Panikarov would be in the town, it’s possible to attend his private museum dedicated to the victims of Stalin’s repression);
- meals at restaurants in Magadan (2500-6000 RUB/day/person);
- personal travel & medical insurances;
- personal clothes & gears;
- tips & gratitude.
Visa
Russian visa support (Russian visa invitation letter) is included.
Sights included in program
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4 person - US$ 6356 (US$ 1589 per person)
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