Must see attractions in Sakha Republic & Magadan Region

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

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

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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

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 (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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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