Must-see attractions in Sakha Republic & Magadan Region

  • Yakutsk, Russia - CIRCA 2017: The scenery inside Permafrost Kingdom, a tourist attraction in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia. It is an underground cave with a lot of ice statues and sculptures.

    Permafrost Kingdom

    Yakutsk

    At Permafrost Kingdom, two neon-lit tunnels burrowed into a permanently frozen hill have been filled with dozens of fabulous, never-melting ice sculptures…

  • Druzhba Park Reserve

    Yakutsk

    This park, on the site of the original hunting settlement that later became Yakutsk, contains a series of excellently preserved historic buildings that…

  • Mask of Sorrow

    Sakha Republic & Magadan Region

    Ernst Neizvestny's famous Mask of Sorrow, erected in 1996, is the stark and brutalist concrete rendering of the suffering of the tens of thousands of…

  • Orto Doidu

    Yakutsk

    This popular zoo is some distance from Yakutsk, but it's well worth the trouble of getting out here if you're interested in the fascinatingly hardy fauna…

  • Yakutsk Regional History Museum

    Yakutsk

    A good place to delve deeper into Sakha culture, the Regional History Museum contains local minerals, information on the region’s first Russian settlers…

  • National Art Museum

    Yakutsk

    If time is limited, don't miss this excellent museum, with Sakha-themed exhibits covering local craftmaking traditions (mammoth tusk carvings, reindeer…

  • Magadan Regional Museum

    Sakha Republic & Magadan Region

    As well as a standard and very detailed look at the lives of the local indigenous groups, this excellent museum displays a moving collection of artefacts…

  • Transfiguration Church

    Yakutsk

    This mid-19th-century church with gorgeous golden domes in Yakutsk's old town is the city's most attractive.

  • Archaeology & Ethnography Museum

    Yakutsk

    These two separately run museums are in the same building; sadly, neither enjoys the luxury of signage in English. On the bottom three floors you'll find…

  • Khomus Museum

    Yakutsk

    Khomus (Jew’s harps) play a big part in Sakha culture. Concerts occur year-round, when performers imitate natural sounds such as a horse neighing. The…

  • Treasury of the Sakha Republic

    Yakutsk

    Pay a visit to this unique museum for a look at Yakutia's rich mineral wealth combined with fine craft traditions. You'll see exquisite carvings in…

  • Melnikov Permafrost Institute

    Yakutsk

    True permafrost nerds might check out the Permafrost Institute, about 2km west of the city centre. It has a lab that stays a constant –6°C, but high…

  • Mammoth Museum

    Yakutsk

    Despite its rather exciting-sounding name, this one-room museum is rather a let-down due to its total lack of signage in English. On the plus side, there…

  • Holy Trinity Cathedral

    Sakha Republic & Magadan Region

    This striking gold-domed cathedral would catch your eye almost anywhere, but in Magadan its beauty is instantly noticeable against the backdrop of grey…

  • Pyotr Beketov Monument

    Yakutsk

    This rather brash gold-plated pillar in the old town honours Cossack explorer and founder of Yakutsk, Pyotr Beketov.

  • Lenin Statue

    Yakutsk

    Vlad Ilych still stands on Yakutsk's main square doing a particularly directional pose.

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