Yakutsk
Discover Yakutsk
Yakutsk (Russian: Яку́тск, yee-KOOTSK) is the capital city of Yakutia (a Russian republic the size of India) and one of the oldest and coldest cities of Siberia. Yakutsk has gained attention as potentially the coldest city in the world, but is worth a visit more for the great natural beauty of its surrounding countryside, unique cryogenic museums, and just for the spirit of adventure in the most remote lands of the world.
What to Experience in Yakutsk
Taste of Yakutsk...
Most Yakutians do not often eat out in restaurants. When they do, it is most often for special occasions such as for weddings, birthday celebrations, and so on. Most of the local restaurant customers will tend to be the younger generation who were born after 1970. Traditional Yakutian food is simple and extremely bland. Soups are probably the most common items, and most Yakutians will have soup at least once during the day. Salads are very common, and almost always made with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise, as everywhere in Russia, is used everywhere and on everything. Yakutian delicacies include fish, reindeer, and young horse. Pork is the most common meat, but sausages and kolbasa are very common. Fish is often served frozen or pan fried. Meat is often boiled or fried and is generally overcooked, or "cooked until death", making it tough. There are a lot of places where hamburgers are offered in Yakutsk, but there are no places offering a good one. Most are made from pork, not beef. Most have been precooked and then reheated to serve. Don't be fooled by the fact that many places are using McDonald's trade-marked product names. What you get will not resemble the McDonald's product. Mexican sounding dishes have been introduced in Yakutsk, but so far these have been local interpretations by local chefs who have no clue about Mexican food. There was a so-called Mexican restaurant which seems to have closed.
A Rich Past
Explore the historical roots that shaped Yakutsk into what it is today.
The Yakut are a Turkic people who live in Yakutsk region in the Far East. A detachment of Cossacks under the command of Pyotr Beketov founded the city as the Lenskii fort, on the right bank of the Lena River, which grew into (and changed its name to) Yakutsk in 1647. As one of the most important Russian outposts in eastern Siberia, Yakutsk became the economic and administrative center of the region—a base for probes (and later scientific expeditions) into the Far East and the extreme North. In 1822, Yakutsk was designated a city, and in 1851 became the administrative capital of the Autonomous Republic of Yakutia. Today Yakutsk is a major administrative, industrial, cultural, and research center—standing out as one of the most dynamic and fast-developing cities in the Russian Far East. Yakutsk is situated at the fairly high latitude of 62°N. Its climate is definitively very continental, with temperature records of +38 °C (100 °F) and −64 °C (−83 °F) (a range of over 100° C)! The average temperature in January is around −42 °C (−44 °F); in July, +19 °C (66 °F). The ideal time to visit (unless you're traveling here purposely to experience the extreme cold) is from March to July. The sunny spring months will allow you to enjoy winter sports like skiing, ice-skating, dog sledding, ice sculptures, etc., under temperatures permitting outdoor human life. The average March temperatures, of course, are still cold at an average of −22.5 °C (−8.5 °F)....
Climate
Yakutsk is situated at the fairly high latitude of 62°N. Its climate is definitively very continental, with temperature records of +38 °C (100 °F) and −64 °C (−83 °F) (a range of over 100° C)! The average temperature in January is around −42 °C (−44 °F); in July, +19 °C (66 °F). The ideal time to visit (unless you're traveling here purposely to experience the extreme cold) is from March to July. The sunny spring months will allow you to enjoy winter sports like skiing, ice-skating, dog sledding, ice sculptures, etc., under temperatures permitting outdoor human life. The average March temperatures, of course, are still cold at an average of −22.5 °C (−8.5 °F). The summer months of June–July are great for the opportunities to see the Northern wilderness in its full glory, to enjoy the White Nights when it never gets really dark, to set off on adventures along the Yakut rivers, and to experience the Yakut national holiday "Ysyakh.
Essential Information
Best Time to Visit
Mar – Julideal time to visit (unless you're traveling here purposely to experience the extreme cold) is from March to July....
Getting There
Multiple OptionsDuring the winter, Yakutsk often has fog, sometimes lasting for days or even weeks. The airport may be closed as a result, or flights can be delayed by several hours. Although Russian airlines do land in some amazingly poor visibility, sometimes the conditions are so bad that even Russian pilots will not attempt it. It is not unusual for passengers to Yakutsk to find themselves staying in Magadan or some other alternative city instead, sometimes for days. The airline personnel generally will be most unhelpful in providing information about when you can continue on to Yakutsk, and they will not offer hotel accommodations or meals to passengers who have been stranded. It is advisable to carry at least some emergency money just in case you end up stranded somewhere. To get from the international airport to the city center, you can take a taxi (15-20 min), or one of the buses #4, 5, & 20 (30-40 min)....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Bus is the basic mode (and really the only mode) of public transport within Yakutsk. A well developed network of marshrutkas can take you to practically anywhere in the city. A few suburban routes to the nearest inhabited localities also run from the main bus station. All routes cost 16 руб, although kids less than seven years old ride free. There are several taxi companies in Yakutsk, which you can call for service. The prices are not fixed, and depend on the length of the trip (and likely how much they think they can take this foreigner for). The average price for a cross-town trip is about 100-120 руб. You can also hire a cab for the day, which will cost you about 350 руб per hour. Nowadays, it is easy to call a taxi using Indriver. app available on iOS and Android mobile platforms. YandexTaxi is also available. Prices vary, but tend to stay lower than official taxi companies. Take note: Yakutsk is far off the beaten path in Russia for international tourism.
Where to Stay
In spite of the fact that Guesthouse Sanaa still shows up on many hotel listing sites, it has been closed for several years. Yakutsk has the traditional set of Russian mobile operators: Check roaming prices before using non-Russian sim-card, especially those for mobile Internet. Some standards of mobile connection are not supported in Russia, e.g. those for Japan and United States. Staying in Russia for a week or more, it's definitely worth buying a local sim-card, but be aware that a passport is needed for that. The easiest way to refill a local mobile account is to use an ATM. Most ATMs have bilingual interfaces, allowing numerous kinds of payments, including those for mobile services by local operators. Another way is to use one of the terminals that are all over city, such as Qiwi or mobile shops. The full list of the offices can be found here. The General post office is at Dzerzhinskogo 2 building 4. Postal code is 677000.
Money & Budget
Most Yakutians do not often eat out in restaurants. When they do, it is most often for special occasions such as for weddings, birthday celebrations, and so on. Most of the local restaurant customers will tend to be the younger generation who were born after 1970. Traditional Yakutian food is simple and extremely bland. Soups are probably the most common items, and most Yakutians will have soup at least once during the day. Salads are very common, and almost always made with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise, as everywhere in Russia, is used everywhere and on everything. Yakutian delicacies include fish, reindeer, and young horse. Pork is the most common meat, but sausages and kolbasa are very common. Fish is often served frozen or pan fried.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
The center of the city, where you'll find the hotels, cultural activities, and the principal sights, are quite safe at any time of the day. The central streets are well lit and frequently patrolled by the police (who are probably more trouble than any actual criminal activity downtown). Do not drink in public at night or you will have problems with the police. There are street robberies/pickpocketing (especially on public transport), but such crimes are very rarely violent or even overt. Demonstrate the minimum level of prudence and you should not have any troubles. Although some locals may suggest to avoid some of the poorer neighborhoods at night, like the 17th Quarter (квартал) and Saisary (Сайсары), those neighborhoods have changed for the better and are as safe as anywhere else in Yakutsk. Hold on to your things, or keep them in inaccessible pockets, on public transport and crowded markets.
Nearby Destinations
Glimpses of Yakutsk
Siberian horse. These animals stay outside, even in temperatures of -40 C (= -40 F)
Orthodox Church and monument in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. In his creation, the sculptor Pavel Medvedev depicted the moment of the end of the prayer feat of St. Seraphim of Sarov (1000 days and nights of prayer standing on a stone)
a grass hill with a building on it
A reindeer rider competes while people watch.
A reindeer wears a purple halter.
A person pets a reindeer's snowy nose.
A person rides a reindeer in front of spectators.
Microphone with a fuzzy windscreen, outdoors.
a table with a pitcher and glasses on it in front of a window
Siberian horse. These animals stay outside, even in temperatures of -40 C (= -40 F)
Orthodox Church and monument in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov. In his creation, the sculptor Pavel Medvedev depicted the moment of the end of the prayer feat of St. Seraphim of Sarov (1000 days and nights of prayer standing on a stone)
a grass hill with a building on it
A reindeer rider competes while people watch.