Summer food tour to Yakutia

Today we are having breakfast at our hotel and we are preparing for a very exciting day!

First of all, we will visit the only mammoth museum in the world. It was founded in 1991 on the initiative of the first Yakut mammothologist.

Mammoths in Yakutia are the same exclusive wealth as gold and diamonds!

After that, they will be waiting for us at the Atlasov Manor ethnographic complex. Its founders are the married couple Vasily and Valentina Atlasov. They are one of the first residents of the republic who decided to show the residents and guests of Yakutia the richness of culture of the peoples of the North, tell their stories, discover the spiritual world and folklore of local peoples.

We will have a traditional "purification ceremony" and a short tour of the complex, and then we will go to a gastronomic master class with one of the best chefs of Yakutia, the founder of the Arctic Cooking School.

First, the chef will beautifully and colorfully serve whitefish stroganina to the table and tell you about the subtleties of slicing this northern delicacy, which seasonings should be used and which drink is best suited to the dish.

The second course will be the most "ceremonial" and at the same time the most everyday dish of Yakutia — salamat, which is based on cream, flour and salt. It is believed that this dish gives strength.

Then we will taste the "Yakut chocolate", and our taste buds will have to figure out what the delicacy is made of.

Next, we will try a salad with the sacred Yakut crucian fish.

The next course is Yakut traditional snacks: subai khaan and kharta. Served as a scallop with red caviar and frozen green apple snow.

Grilled foal will be the main dish of today's master class. The chef will tell you the secrets of choosing the right meat and cook it right in front of us.

In Yakutia, foal meat, the meat of animals up to a year old, is an object of worship.

At the end of the master class, we will taste a dessert with a fancy name "Monkeys". This is a dish where frozen whipped cream with cloudberries turns into real magic in every bite.

All dishes are accompanied by local tinctures, sparkling and dry red wine.

After lunch, we'll take a memorable photo with the chef and continue exploring the unique Republic of Sakha!

The next stop is the Kingdom of Permafrost, an interactive museum dedicated to permafrost and its impact on life in Yakutia.

We will see unique exhibits, including frozen remains of ancient animals, and learn about how permafrost shapes the ecosystem of the region.

There are many tunnels with numerous branches in the center. Previously, there was a food warehouse cut down in a glacier.

A unique place: the temperature does not drop below -10 °C and even in summer it does not rise above -4 °C.

And we will definitely have a shot from an ice glass in the bar where the bigfoot Yeti works!

For dinner, we will be waiting at the restaurant, which is considered the center of traditional Yakut cuisine and which has been awarded the title of "the best restaurant in Yakutia" twice in recent years.

The interior of the restaurant is decorated in a traditional style, which makes you feel like a part of the Yakut culture.

For an appetizer, we will try a salad with juicy smoked colt with pine nuts and lingonberries, accompanied by a shot of the restaurant's signature tincture.

For the hot meal, we will be served baked muksun with a glass of dry white wine. Muksun is a valuable commercial fish, the meat of which is considered a delicacy: it is fatty, tender, easily digestible and rich in useful substances.

We will also taste a traditional dessert made from local natural cream with taiga cranberries. There is nothing more fluffy and airy in any other kitchen in the world!

After dinner, we return to the hotel, relax and look forward to tomorrow's trip.

Today, after breakfast, we are going on a trip to Yakutia.

We will have prepared cars waiting for us, in which we will go to the majestic famous Lena pillars! These are unique geological monuments that stretch for almost 40 kilometers along the Lena River bank in Yakutia.

On the way, we will make a stop at the "Emegattah" rock paintings. These drawings are located on the left bank of the Lena River and were created by people who lived here during the Bronze Age.

We arrive at the place and check into a cozy eco-hotel on the banks of the Lena River directly opposite the Lena Pillars, each room offers an incredible view!

After checking in, we immediately go for lunch to a grill cafe with a panoramic view of the national park to refresh ourselves before a walk.

We will be served Batamai fish soup, named after the nearby village of Batamai. The indigenous small—numbered people of the North and Siberia, the Evenks, live here.

We'll try venison dumplings as the main course, and Yakut pancakes with lingonberry jam will be the final chord.

We have lunch and go for a walk to the Lena Pillars. We will cross the Lena River, the largest river in Eastern Siberia, by boat, where our guide will conduct an excursion for us.

Lena Pillars in summer is a magical place where nature creates a unique landscape that fascinates with its beauty and grandeur. Grandiose limestone cliffs, which, like giant guardians, bathed in the sun, stand on the banks of the Lena River.

The guide will tell you about the geological history of this unique place, how the pillars were formed millions of years ago, and the legends associated with them.

In 2012, the Lena Pillars Nature Park was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After the tour, we return to our cozy hotel, relax and meet for dinner in the evening.

We will be served a salad with northern venison and kebabs cooked over coals.

We will also taste beer brewed at the local Yakutia brewery, famous for its mild taste due to the pure water used during brewing.

We are enjoying dinner and chatting in the company of travelers and conquerors of the vast expanses of Yakutia!

After dinner, we return to our rooms to relax and prepare for the next day of our gastronomic trip.

Today we have a leisurely breakfast at our hotel on the banks of the Lena River and set off on our way back.

We return to Yakutsk and check into the same hotel in the city center.

We take a break from the road and go for lunch to a traditional cuisine restaurant, one of the first to open in Yakutsk.

The brand chef of this restaurant is Innokenty Tarbakhov, an ethnographer, author of many cookbooks and creator of the recipe for the most famous dish outside Yakutia, Indigirki.

Of course, we'll start our lunch with indigirka! The dish is named after one of the great local rivers. It is made from cold fish, cut into large cubes, and seasoned with salt, pepper and onion.

Indigirka is the same local brand as Yakut diamonds.

For the second course, we will be offered a rich ear made of chir with an open top, and for the hot we will enjoy fried nelma. Nelma is a freshwater whitefish with delicate pink meat that lives in cold Siberian rivers.

At the end of lunch, we will be served the traditional Yakut dessert "kerchekh" — whipped cream with berries. A delicate and incredibly delicious treat.

After lunch, we will go to the Treasury of Yakutia, a unique museum foundation that has no analogues in Russia.

Treasures from all over the republic are collected here: the largest diamonds of Yakutia, the best diamond jewelry, gold, platinum and silver nuggets.

After that, we will visit the peasant fish market, which has become a real attraction in Yakutsk! Here we will see the wealth of local rivers and be able to buy Yakut delicacies and souvenirs.

In the evening, we will have dinner at the ethnographic museum-restaurant, which was built in honor of the Russian pioneers of Siberia.

We will have a short tour of the buildings, interiors and trophies, and then we will go to taste the authentic cuisine of Yakutia.

First of all, we will be served a favorite snack of many Yakuts from foal liver with green onions and spices — "dancing". This is a traditional dish that is served at any festive table.

Then we'll try the subai and haan black pudding. These are two types that differ in cooking technology. This is another festive dish that is served at any table. It is delicate, soft and smooth in texture.

For a hot meal, we'll try farm venison medallions with demiglas cream sauce, ptitym and cloudberry gel.

The dinner will end with the restaurant's signature dessert, sardana with blueberries. This is a combination of chocolate sponge cake with cottage cheese, blueberries, mint and walnuts.

After dinner, we return to the hotel to relax, take stock of our gastronomic journey and prepare for the final day.

Today, after breakfast at the hotel, we will escort you to the airport. Happy, rested, full of new impressions and memories!

See you soon!

Recommended flight: June 21, 2026, Yakutsk – Moscow, S7 Airlines, S7‑3006, 10:40-11:40.