Kolyma auto tour: Yakutsk — Oymyakon — Magadan

07:30 Wake up, breakfast at the guest house.

09:00 Departure.

A road begins from Khandyga, which was built by Gulag prisoners in the 40s and 50s of the 20th century. During these years, camps were set up along the road every 20-30 km.

Winding through the high mountains, the route passes through the Tomporuksky ranges, Rocky Mountains and Suntar Khayata.

Mountain passes in this area: Tomporunsky, Cherny Prizhim, Aldan-Indigirsky.

There are stops at picturesque and memorable places on the way: Tomporuksky, Shaman Creek, Black Pinch, Rabbit Loop, border of Oymyakon.

Meals at the Odo roadside cafe.

There is a branch road to Oymyakon from the area of the Kuba gas station. Tomtor is 156 km away from here.

In the village of Tomtor, accommodation and meals in a guest house (facilities inside the house, there is a sauna).

The length of the highway is 481 km, 10-12 hours on the way.

07:00 Wake up, breakfast.

08:00 Departure to the village of Oymyakon. Tomtor is 40 km from Oymyakon. The journey time to Oymyakon is 1 hour.

A weather station is currently located in the village of Oymyakon.

Since Oymyakon is located lower in sea level than Tomtor, the air is concentrated in the Oymyakon lowland, colder than in Tomtor.

The program in Oymyakon:

• the program of the Oymyakon village House of Culture (depending on the circumstances, it is possible to conduct this program in the recreation center of the village of Biarek Yurdya);
• obtaining a certificate of visiting the Pole of Cold — Oymyakon at the Stele of Cold from the hands of Chyskhaan;
• program "Visiting the Lord of the Cold": Yakut rite "Algys", photo gallery "Beauty of Oymyakon";
• visit to the horse breeding base. Here you will see Yakut horses in pens.;
• visit to the Indigirka River. In winter, a heated cabin is installed here, which is used by "walruses" — extreme bathers. If desired, and for an additional fee, you can test yourself.

Return to Tomtor.

Including:

• visit to the village museum. The museum is rich in materials and exhibits from the times
  THE GULAG;
• visit to the underground residence of the Lord of Cold — Chyskhan;
• Visit Ebe Hai, a place on the mountain with a great panoramic view of the Oymyakon Valley.

Dinner at the guest house, rest.

The length of the highway is 80 km.

09:00 Departure.

Today we are returning to the Kolyma federal highway.

A reindeer herding brigade is located 30 km from the intersection with Federalka.

A reindeer caravan with sleds will be waiting for us here. The riding time is 40-50 minutes.

This is an exciting action that gives you the opportunity to get in touch with the life of reindeer herders of the North.

Lunch at the Kuba roadside cafe.

Mountain passes in this area: Bryungyadinsky, Olchansky. Olchansky Pass is the highest pass on the sections of the highway located on the basins of the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers.

There are stops for photographing at the passes.

After descending from the pass, the route crosses the Indigirka River.

There's a bridge crossing here. The village of Ust-Nera is located across the bridge 2 km away.

Ust-Nera is the "golden" capital of the northeastern part of Yakutia.

Overnight stop at a hotel in the village.

Meals at the cafe in the village.

The length of the highway is 393 km.

08:00 Breakfast at the cafe.

Today, the road has been following the Nera River for a long time. There is active gold mining here.

After 85 km, in the area of the bridge over the Burustakh River, there is a branch of the winter road to Chukotka.

Stop for taking photos.

After 93 km, the road crosses the border of Yakutia and the Magadan region.

The Delankir weather station is located here, which records the lowest temperatures in Yakutia.

Mountain passes in this area: Kolymo-Indigirsky, Arkhagalinsky.

We will organize a lunch at the Kolymo-Indigirsky pass.

175 kilometers from the border there is an abandoned urban-type settlement Kadykchan, familiar to travelers as a "Ghost Town". Kadikchan was "mothballed" in 2001, and finally abandoned in 2010.

The branch road to Kadykchan is not maintained, and it is often swept away by wind and snow. The car stops moving at this point.

For this reason, you should be prepared to hike to Kadikchan, which will require "walking" through deep snow.

Overnight at the Susuman Gold Hotel in Susuman.

Meals at the cafe in the village.

The length of the highway is 391 km.

There is a long way to go today, and with that in mind, the ascent is at 06:00.

07:00 breakfast at the cafe.

At the beginning of the journey, the road crosses the beautiful Burkhalinsky pass. If you're lucky, you can see the sunrise in the mountains here.

The village of Yagodny is located 106 km from Susuman. There is a museum here, created by local historian Ivan Panikarov, which we must visit.

The museum contains a huge amount of material on the history of the Gulag.

Next, the route goes along the Debin River and after 74 km it will cross one of the major rivers on the route — the Kolyma.

Lunch at the Laryukovaya roadside cafe.

From here, the road enters the mountains again, and the passes follow one after another: Gerbinsky, Dedushkina Lysina, Chernoozersky, Yablonevy, Karamkensky.

After passing through these passes, the route enters the Sea of Okhotsk basin, and you will immediately feel the warming of the air temperature.

Dinner at a cafe in the village of Palatka.

Palatka is a village that differs from others in the decoration of its streets. The townspeople have created beautiful corners here that attract the attention of tourists.

The tent was founded in 1932 in connection with the construction of the Kolyma highway. The name is given by the Palatka River, on the banks of which the village stands. The name of the river is translated from the Yukaghir and Even languages as "stony" — "Palya-atkan".

During the existence of the Dalstroy, there were three camp sites in the Tent, including one for women.

During World War II, Palatka was one of the largest transportation centers in the Far East of the USSR, where, among other things, carburetor cars were converted to wood-fired gas generators.

In the 1950s— it was the terminus of the Magadan — Palatka narrow-gauge railway (dismantled in the late 1950s). The status of an urban—type settlement has been since 1953.

In the era of "stagnation", it was a "sleeping" village for gold miners and miners of the Karamken Mining and Processing Plant (gold ore processing).

In 2019, the village entered the Russian Book of Records as the locality with the largest number of fountains per capita. There are 4 of them in the village, 800 people per fountain.

It is 82 km from Palatka to Magadan.

In the city, accommodation at the Magadan Hotel.

The length of the highway is 626 km.

Breakfast at the hotel in the morning.

The program of the day includes a visit to the memorial "Mask of Sorrow", dedicated to the memory of victims of political repression (with a guide), the museum of local lore (halls "History of the Gulag", "People of the Earth and the Sea") and the embankment of the Nagai Bay (with a guide).

Lunch at the Mayak cafe.

Free time after lunch.

11:00 Transfer to the airport.

The airport is 52 km from the city center.