The difference between summer and winter temperatures in Yakutsk reaches 70 degrees. A winter with 35°C below zero is a common occurrence. On the bright side, December evenings are great for observing the polar lights. This dazzling natural phenomenon, whereby the sky glows purple and green, is seen here more often than in other regions.
The best description of the Yakutsk weather is given by the local fishermen: fish freshly caught in the Lena River completely freeze within 1-2 minutes! The stroganina is almost ready, just needs to be sliced. The city restaurants offer authentic Yakut cuisine. It features stroganina made not only out of chir and nelma (white fish), but also out of meat. The local delicacies include haan (blood beef or horse sausage), salamat (heavy cream with meat) and kerchekh (whipped cream with fen berry and other northern berries).
Climatic factors had a major impact on urban development: all the structures are built on high stilts; otherwise, the upper layers of frozen ground can thaw. Therefore, Yakutsk is sometimes called «the city on chicken legs». There are no architectural wonders, except perhaps the Old Town – a quarter in the centre of Yakutsk. A reconstructed wooden fort founded by Pyotr Beketov in 1632 is located here. This place is definitely worth visiting: you will find Palisade Tower (Ostrog) — a monument of defensive wooden architecture, M. Ammosov's Memorial House Museum, the house of merchant-millionaire A. M. Kushnarev and the Preobrazhenskaya Church.
Around the corner is the Mammoth Museum at the North-Eastern Federal University, with displays of frozen mammoth remains (75% of the world’s mammoth graves have been found here). You can acquaint yourself with the history, archeology and ethnography of the Yakuts by visiting the Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of the North.
People often come to Yakutia to see the jewel in the crown of this land – diamonds. In the Treasury of the Sakha Republic, you can not only admire precious jewelry, but also learn more about the history of mining and the refining of stones and metals.
In the «Chochur Muran» ethnographic complex, you can experience deer and dog sledding, taste national cuisine, partake in traditional Yakut rituals, fish or hunt. It is also worth checking out the unique tourist complex «Kingdom of Permafrost». Located inside a former mine, the museum houses a giant glacier, ice sculptures and petrified artefacts. This is also the place of the Chiskhaan residence, the Yakut spirit of the winter, Lord of the Cold and keeper of the permafrost. In the winter, the cave temperature is relatively mild at around -10°C, while in the summer it occasionally reaches upwards of -5°C, so you are equipped with special thermal wear before the visit begins.
