Oymyakon expedition in Yakutia - the coldest town in the world
Oymyakon is a village made of many charming small houses, where about 1200 people live. It is here that the lowest temperature of the northen hemisphere, -71,2°C, was recorded, making it the world's coldest inhabitated place having a permanent municipality. I went on a frozen river with a fisherman, to see how ice fishing is carried-out, spending a few hours out at -52°C. I've also visited a nearby siberian horse farm.
The snow covered track between Tomtor and Oymyakon. About 2 hours are needed to cover the distance of 50km.
Along the way I see many horses, amazing animals living at extreme temperatures.
Photos of the landscape before getting in Oymyakon.
A small rainbow with clear sky, created by the ice crystals in the athmosphere.
Photos of Oymyakon, a charming village made of many small houses, where people live under extremely cold winter temperatures.
There are no hotels in Oymyakon, so the only way to sleep is with a local family.
Me under the symbol of cold. Here, the record lowest temperature of -71,2 was recorded. Now is just -50°C, but one week ago it was -65°C. These low temperatures make Oymyakon the coldest village in the world having a permanent population.
A fisherman shows me how to catch fishes on this frozen river. The temperature is now holding at -52°C.
Small fishes previously catched, are fixed on a wire and placed into the water through an hole in the ice and a pole.
The next day the fisherman returns to pull out the wire and check if some bigger fish was catched.
This is a different fishing technique, using a net placed under the ice, through two holes at about 15 meters of distance between them. Periodically, the net is pulled out through one of the holes, taking all the fishes trapped inside.Today we got our dinner ...
Just before 3pm, the sky is filled with these beautiful pastel colors and we go back to home.
Me after about 2 hours at -52°C.
At about 10pm, the thermometer shows a temperature of -54.5 degrees centigrades. The same night, the lowest value of -56°C was recorded. The Major of Oymyakon gives me a certificate about my visit to the Pole of the Cold, where only really few tourists come each year.
A wonderful sunrise at -49 degrees in Oymyakon.
I finally visit a farm where there are lots of siberian horses who survive to extreme cold.
Siberian horses running between the fences.