The village of Oymyakon is the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere. The average monthly temperature in January here reaches -50 degrees, and the lowest temperature was recorded in 1926 and amounted to -71.2 degrees. The village is located in the Oymyakonsky ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) on the Oymyakonsky highland.
The right to be called the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere is disputed by the nearby village of Tomtor. It is in these two villages that the Pole of Cold festival takes place at the end of March.with mass celebrations, snowmobile rides, reindeer and dog rides. In the vicinity of the villages there is a cave of the owner of these places, Chyskhaan (an image of the Yakut frost). In the cave you can see ice sculptures, furniture and even ice dishes. These places are a popular destination among lovers of extreme recreation.
Olenek, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Russia)
According to Existing Countries, the village of Olenyok is the administrative center of the Olenyok ulus of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The village is located on the Central Siberian Plateau on the banks of the Olenyok River.
The main attraction of the village is the Olenyok Historical and Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of the North. The museum exhibits the remains of fossil Pleistocene animals – mammoth, bison, musk ox and wild horse, grave goods from pagan burials and altars, as well as archival documents and photographs about the development of the region in the Soviet period.
Okhotsk, Khabarovsk Krai (Russia)
The village of Okhotsk is located on the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. This is one of the oldest settlements in the Far East. Back in 1674, a Cossack winter hut was founded here. At the beginning of the 18th century, a port was built, which became the main base of the Siberian military flotilla, which guarded the coast and islands of this part of the Pacific Ocean. In 1783, Okhotsk was given the status of a city. Gradually, the military port of Okhotsk was losing its positions, and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky came out on top. In 1850, the port of Okhotsk was liquidated and the city began to decline. Since 1927 Okhotsk is an urban-type settlement. In Soviet times, the Seaport of Okhotsk was revived, however, today it is in a deplorable state and operates as a port point. There are no attractions in the village. However, some villages of the Okhotsk region are interesting, where the indigenous peoples of the region live, who are engaged in reindeer herding. These settlements include the village of Arka, the village of Inya and the village of Vostretsovo. Also, the Even national-cultural center “Hedye” operates in the district.
Southwest of Okhotsk along the coast is the village of Ayan. It was founded in 1844 and is the first Russian settlement on the territory of the Ayano-Maisky district. In the village, the obelisk “Military Glory” and the monument “Red Army soldiers who died for Soviet power in 1924” are interesting.
On both sides of the village on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk lies the Dzhugdzhur State Nature Reserve. The reserve was established in 1990. Now it consists of three sites with a total area of 860,000 hectares, of which 54 hectares are in the sea area. The reserve occupies the central part of the Dzhugdzhur ridge and the southern part of the Coastal ridge. 480 plant species, 42 mammal species and 166 bird species have been identified here. Elk, musk deer, bighorn sheep, bear, wolf, wolverine, fox, sable, squirrel, Siberian weasel, ermine, white hare, black-capped marmot and otter live on the territory of the reserve.
In the coastal part of the Sea of Okhotsk there are ringed seal (akiba), spotted seal (larga), piebald seal (lionfish) and bearded seal (beared seal). Taimen, grayling, lenok, whitefish, chum salmon, pink salmon, char, coho salmon are found in the rivers of the reserve. Along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, there are migration routes of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. In the reserve you can meet birds included in the Red Book of Russia: osprey, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, Steller’s and white-tailed eagles, fish owl, gyrfalcon, wild grouse, long-billed fawn and mountain snipe.
Of the natural attractions of the reserve, one can single out Lake Baikalenok, so named because of the purity of the water, the Ardyakh River, the channel of which ends abruptly and the river simply disappears, the Selenda River, which flows out of the rock, the Tsipandinsky cave complex with calcium deposits and stalagmites, the Lantar and Aldoma rivers where spawning and migration of pink salmon and chum salmon take place. There are opportunities for fishing on the numerous rivers of the Dzhugdzhur Range, and the sport fishing of Dolly Varden and Kundzha is of particular interest. Very popular sightings of seals and seals on the rocks of the sea coast. In the local village of Nelkan, you can visit the Church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God, built of larch in 1893, and the regional museum of local lore.
In the Ayano-Mai region, karst formations along the Selinde rivers are also interesting. and Ardzhakh, the Ingili kimberlite field in the Ingili river basin, where 11 kimberlite pipes are protected, and the Bokur Mesozoic alkaline volcano in the upper reaches of the Bokur river.
