Ten reasons to visit the Far North

Why don't people fly north? Well, who wants to spend their long-awaited vacation amid permafrost, when you can go to warm resorts and to convenient cities?

Yes, it is almost always cold, there are no roads and no amenities for tourists. But you should visit the Arctic Circle at least once in your life. And that's why.

To be on the edge of the earth

Yamal-Nenets Okrug is far and cold. Most of the region lies beyond the Arctic Circle, snow melts by July, and already in September it falls again. Getting here is much easier than to Kamchatka or Chukotka, just two to three hours from Moscow. But this is only the beginning.

Fly a Helicopter

For many, even an airplane is exotic; only oligarchs and officials fly helicopters. In the north, this is public transport like a minibus: sometimes this is the only way to get to remote villages. Helicopters fly every day. Tickets are on sale.

To see the snowy desert

If you have not been to the tundra, close your eyes and imagine yourself in the desert. Only snow instead of sand, and brutal cold instead of heat. There are no roads, almost no people, and these places are not "spoiled" by civilization. But I warn you, in the summer the tundra is a completely different story!

Marvel at the ordinary

Northern cities and towns live in a special way. Separation from the "big land" makes itself felt. Even ordinary prams here look different. There are other "regional features" that surprise guests, but are quite familiar to the local population.

Live in the tundra

Organized tourism is practically not developed here, but if you agree, you can go to live with the Nenets in a plague. Everyone will have to sleep, hiding in hides. The main thing is not to drink with the indigenous population of Yamal.

Tame deer

The main occupation of the tundra is reindeer herding. Some herds have more than a thousand heads. They graze on their own in vast expanses. But there are also "domestic" deer, which are raised like cats.

Change your image

Once you arrived north in winter, be prepared for a change. Even if you don’t go to the reindeer herders, you’ll have to warm yourself. In the local climate, even the Arctic down jacket will not warm much. The best clothes are malitsa. Almost everyone is wearing a traditional reindeer skins outfit, otherwise you will freeze to death.

And at the same time, the diet!

Such familiar products as milk, yoghurts and fruits and vegetables are not produced here, but are imported by helicopters from other regions. They are not the freshest and are more expensive. Deer is not only valuable fur. Therefore, the main diet of the inhabitants of Yamal is just venison.

Take a ride on an all-terrain vehicle. And on a snowmobile. And on deer. And on the dogs.

Transport here is also special. Forget about cars, in the north they “drive” Trakols, or familiar Niva and UAZ cars, also on big wheels.

There is a snowmobile in almost every family. A wooden ski box is attached to it, where the luggage and the whole family are placed. Deer or dog teams are no less popular, but this is already among those who live in the middle of the tundra.

Catch up before it's too late

The world is changing rapidly. North too. Today, even in such a distant land, there is fast mobile Internet, microwave in the plague and satellite television in the middle of the icy desert. The children of the tundra go to a boarding school, then leave for the cities, and few return to become a reindeer herder. There are fewer of them.