Rafting on the Indigirka River. Through the gorge of delight and admiration!

After arriving in Ust-Nera, catamarans are being prepared for rafting.

On this day, there will be a little rafting — about 15 km.

After the completion of the rafting, rest.

Day trip length: 15 km.

On this day, you can navigate by the highest mountain, which will be visible downstream of the river. This mountain is Nyurgun-Tas. Today we have to reach the foot of this mountain.

The Indigirka is a river with a fast current. The calculation of the traffic schedule along the route to the Gate is done in such a way that you do not lean heavily on the oars, i.e. on the intensity of rowing. 

The goal of the first days is to achieve the coherence of the team's actions, which is necessary to pass the thresholds.

The section to the Indigir Gorge does not have dangerous rapids — there are shivers and one small threshold in front of the village of Chuumpukytyl.

Overnight parking on the right bank 6 km above the mouth of the Olchan.

Day trip length: 39 km.

On this day, along the route on the right bank, you will see the village of Predporozhny, the Jubilee mine. The village is half-abandoned. In the 70s and 80s, life was in full swing here: there was a hospital, a school, a cultural center... 

In the 90s, with the decline of gold mining, due to the decrease in the value of gold, the village stopped working. Now the work is carried out in shifts.

Parking in front of the rock, popularly called "Horseshoe". At this place, the Indigirka, meeting a mountain of solid granite on her way, made a big circle. 

Day trip length: 47 km.

Behind the Horseshoe there is another old settlement of gold miners — the village of Arga-Moi. Translated from the Yakut Arga, Mine sounds like a Western Neck.

After the settlement, the mountains temporarily retreat from the river, small hills with flat fields appear, similar to the steppe prairies of the Yukon of Alaska. 

High granite banks cut by a strong river complement the landscape with an unusual appearance, and the Inhali River, which abruptly appeared around the bend with a snow-white blanket of ice, surrounded by high mountains, involuntarily causes delight and admiration! You will not see this anywhere on our planet!

On the opposite bank of the mouth of the Inyali River, the river Echenka flows into the Indigirka. Rafting to this place takes only half a day. Today we have planned a trip to the mountains in this amazingly beautiful place. The parking lot was planned just behind the rock. From here to Yechenka is 1.5 km away.

After lunch, climb the mountain. We don't have to reach the top of the mountain — the main thing is to enjoy the beauty from higher points of this unique landscape. 

You can take a snack for the evening and wait for sunset here.

The length of the daytime water crossing: 26 km.

Today our way lies to the Gate of the Indigir pipe.

At the beginning of the rafting, stop at the Inyali ice. The glaciers here are located on a large area. Surrounded by high mountains, it is one of the most beautiful places in Indigirka.

In the middle of the day route, the village of Chuumpu is located on the left bank I got it.

Chuumpu Kytyl translates from Yakut as "Quiet coast". Here, the Indigirka, as it were, calms down before the decisive throw over the mountains of the Chersky range. At this place, on both sides of the river, there are convenient valleys with rich vegetation suitable for keeping cattle and horses, and for this reason our ancestors chose this place. The village is surrounded by high mountains. 

The inhabitants of the village are courageous, hardworking people with a calm northern character. For more than ten years, our company has maintained friendly relations with them, and each of our visits is a joyful event for the village.

Here, on the shore near the village, we have lunch planned.

There is a second name for the village — Tebyulyakh. Tebyulakh is an Old Yakut name, meaning that the river has channels here. A short tour of the village, a meeting with the residents of the village — with our friends, with whom we have been in touch for more than ten years.

After Chuumpu Kytyl, the Indigirka expands. In this area, it is easy to see how a person changes nature in search of mineral wealth...

The parking lot is on the right on a high bank, from where the entrance to the gorge is perfectly visible.

Day trip length: 57 km.

"It's amazing that such a large river could fit into this narrow gorge!" our famous Yakut traveler Georgy Tsypandin admired in 2010.

Indeed, at this point the river narrows twice! Here, the Indigirka made its way through the granite massifs of two ridges of the Chersky mountain system — Porozhny and Chemalginsky.

After entering the gorge, the first rapids immediately appear. This is where teamwork is needed. 

In the campaign of 2010, tourists from the Czech Republic under the leadership of Roman Mach went with us. They went on small kayaks. There are daredevils who can cross the rapids on motorboats with small metal hulls. Catamarans are much more reliable in comparison with them, and the six-meter catamarans "Arctic-600" were developed by the company "Free Wind" specifically for these thresholds.

After 7 kilometers of rafting, the first stop. The famous Busika Rock and a five-meter high ice are located here. At this place, on the tops of the mountains, you can see the remnants of the kisilyakhs.

Parking at the mouth of the Chibagalakh river. There is a deep pit with clear turquoise water at the confluence of the river. Here you can perfectly fish for large grayling. It is better to set up camp on a terrace in the forest.

Day trip length: 25 km.

On this day, the passage of the strongest and most dangerous thresholds of the Indigirka: the Ytabyt rapids and the Krivun threshold. If the thresholds can be passed along the edge without burrowing into the main waves, then the curve will have to be passed, because it is even impossible to bypass the threshold.

The Krivun threshold is located near the mouth of the Kuellakh-Mustakh river and actually consists of three parts, which include separate rapids.

The first part consists of standing waves with a height of up to 2 meters at high water. It is not difficult to pass the threshold through the center with an experienced team.

The most dangerous part is the middle one.

In this area, at low water, rocky ledges appear along the entire width of the river. They narrow the river on both sides. Rocky outcrops appear in the middle of the river, and sometimes they are not visible from the shore. They divide the current into two powerful drains with barrels at the end. They are the "windows" of the threshold. Passage along the right drain.

It is not recommended to pass the threshold along the left bank, where the sharp ends of the rocky ledges can rupture the cylinders of catamarans.

At high water, only high standing waves without barrels can be seen here. The wave height is up to 3 meters.

Passing the threshold after careful exploration!

In the middle of the third section of the threshold there is a powerful barrel among the standing waves. The barrel is located in the middle of the river and can be bypassed from the left or right.

Parking at the mouth of the Chibagalakh River. People from villages located downstream sometimes come up here to hunt or fish.

Chibagalakh is a beautiful river surrounded by rocky mountains of white rock. Photographers from other regions come here on purpose.

Day trip length: 29 km.

The mountains here are rich in a variety of colors: the mountain slopes of the left bank are covered with yellow and bright maroon rocks, and the right bank is covered with an array of white rock.

After 30 kilometers, the river leaves the embrace of the mountains, calms down and begins to evenly roll its waters along the Moma depression.

It is better to spend nights on the islands, which the river is full of.

They will meet us at Honuu. Location in tents in the courtyard of a private house.

In the evening, the team will have to work on drying all the equipment.

Day trip length: 104 km.

Transfer to the airport. 

Departure to Yakutsk. Arrival at 19:00. Transfer from the airport to the hotel.

Attention! The cost of the tour is indicated without taking into account the flight from Honuu to Yakutsk (only air transportation of general equipment (catamarans, campfire equipment, awning) is included.