Tour: Two Oceans

Day 1 (Mon)

1 pm – arrival by an overnight flight from Moscow* in Anadyr, meeting at the airport by your English-speaking activity instructor. Transfer (appr 1 hr) by mini-bus along the road and across the frozen Anadyr Bay from the airport to the city of Anadyr, the largest city of Chukotka. Accommodation in the hotel or in rented apartments (twin-basis).

Lunch in the restaurant downtown.

After lunch you will learn about the history and ethnography of Chukotka during the visit to the Local Lore museum. In order to find out a lot of interesting facts about the town of Anadyr, a multi-colored northern town on the shore of the sea, and feel its ambience today, you will go on a brief city tour of Anadyr.

Group briefing on the itinerary and safety, getting the outfit for winter activities. Dinner and overnight in the hotel or in apartments in Anadyr.

* - departure from Moscow on the eve of Day 1 (i.e. on Sun) at 7 pm from Domodedovo airport, Transaero or Domodedovo flight (duration 8-9 hours)

Day 2 (Tue)

Breakfast, enjoy a leisurely morning.

11.30 – 16.30 – Snowmobile practicing in the tundra starting just out of Anadyr town. Lunch as a snack in the field. Weather permitting, a radial snowmobiling trip to the settlement Kanchalan (140 km). Return to the hotel.

Dinner, packing the luggage for tomorrow, and overnight in the same hotel or in apartments in Anadyr.

Day 3 (Wed)

Early breakfast, check-out.

9.00 – start your real Chukotka snowmobile adventure with 200 km snowmobiling across the white tundra, towards the Bering Sea (the Pacific Ocean). Depending on the weather conditions and the snow quality, this trip can take from 5 to 9 hours. Lunch as a snack on the way.

Arrive in the afternoon in the Eskimo settlement Uelkal. Accommodation in the rented cottages of the locals, possibly in sleeping bags. Dinner.

In the evening, enjoy the performance of the Eskimo folklore. Overnight in Uelkal in simple conditions (possibly, sleeping bags) in rented rooms or cottages of the locals.

Day 4 (Thu)

Breakfast and time in Uelkal on your own.

10.30 – continue snowmobiling 100-120 km along the shore of the Bering Sea (3-5 hrs). Cross the Kresta Bay and arrive in Egvekinot settlement nested between the mountain range and the sea.

Check-in at the comfortable cottages for 3 and 4 people. Lunch. Free time for a walk around the small settlement on your own.

In late afternoon visit the small but interesting Egvekinot museum with the unique exhibitions on Chukotka ethnography, geology, and the history of Egvekinot area. The passionate museum staff will tell you many interesting facts about the political exile, GULAG, forced labour used in mining nearby, and the village role in WW II. The local museum guide can answer all your questions about the modern life of Egvekinot and social changes in Chukotka.

Dinner and overnight in the comfortable cottages in Egvekinot.   

Day 5 (Fri)

Breakfast.

10.30 – Radial challenging snowmobiling trip (70 km or, weather permitting, up to 120 km*) along the valleys, in tundra and past the mountain passes to the junction of the Arctic Circle and the 180^th meridian, the line where dates change. The snow thickness in this area can reach 2-3m in the beginning of the winter. On this day, you will see different Chukotka landscapes and will enjoy snowmobiling in the mountainous area. Lunch as a snack on the way.

Dinner. Packing for the next day trip. Overnight in the cottages in Egvekinot.

* 70 km is a shortcut in case of bad weather. Weather permitting, you will go off the short itinerary and enjoy radial rides snowmobiling for a total of up to 120 km.

Day 6 (Sat)

Breakfast.

10.00 – leave the hospitable Egvekinot and set off by snowmobiles (90+ km) for Amguema settlement. Cross on the way the Arctic Circle and, if the weather is fine, enjoy additional radial rides and the superb view of the canyons and mountains up to 1500m high. If the weather is bad, the shortest route of 90 km will become a great challenge (especially the first 35 km passing through the mountain folds and over the pass). Lunch as a snack on the way.

Arrive in the national settlement Amguema, a village of reindeer breeders, which looks modern with its cottages widespread in the northern areas worldwide. Banya and dinner. Overnight in simple conditions (possibly, in sleeping bags) in the rented rooms or cottages of the locals in Amguema.

Day 7 (Sun)

Breakfast.

10.30 – continue your Arctic snowmobile safari by a 200 km ride in the tundra from Amguema to Vostochny and further to Vancarem, a traditional Chukchi settlement of sea mammal hunters located on the shore of the Chukchi Sea, the Arctic Ocean. Lunch on the way.

Arrival in Vancarem, possibly communication with local sea hunter family. Dinner and overnight in simple conditions (possibly, in sleeping bags) in the rented rooms or cottages of the locals in Vancarem.

Day 8 (Mon)

Breakfast. Snowmobile another impressive distance of 200 km in the majestic landscapes. Lunch as a snack on the way.

Arrive in the national settlement Amguema, a village of reindeer breeders, which looks modern with its cottages widespread in the northern areas worldwide. Banya and dinner. Overnight in simple conditions (possibly, in sleeping bags) in the rented rooms or cottages of the locals in Amguema.

Day 9 (Tue)

Breakfast.

11.00 – leave Amguema and snowmobile towards the new adventures, to the reindeer herding camp in the open tundra (60 km or, weather permitting, up to 130 km).

If you are lucky and the weather is fine, stop on the way to enjoy ice-fishing on the Amguema river or one of the numerous lakes. A burbot weighing 4-5 kg is rather frequent in this area. Lunch as a snack on the way.

18.00 – arrive in the reindeer herder camp, meet the local herding team. Accommodation in yarangas (Chukchi traditional tent, teepee-type). Talk to your Chukchi hosts over the dinner consisting primarily of reindeer meat, and relax next to the fire in yaranga.

Overnight in yaranga, in traditional curtained beds for several people, made out of the hides.

Day 10 (Wed)

Breakfast. Your hosts will pick and catch reindeer for sledding, and you will try reindeer sledding in tundra.

After lunch, set off for snowmobiling to Valunisty (“Rocky”), a former gold prospecting site (100 km or, weather permitting, up to 150 km).

Dinner and overnight in the expedition conditions, in sleeping bags.

Day 11 (Thu)

Breakfast. This is the last day of our snowmobiling expedition. Enjoy snowmobiling 200 km from Valunisty to Anadyr. Lunch as a snack on the way.

Dinner downtown, overnight in the hotel or in apartments in Anadyr.

Day 12 (Fri)

Late breakfast. Time in Anadyr on your own and transfer to the airport. Departure for Moscow in the afternoon.

Arrival in Moscow in the afternoon of the same day.

*This programme can be amended with dog-sledding.

 The length of day snowmobiling routes and the exact day itinerary from one point to the other depend on the weather conditions. Tour operator reserves the right to alter the itinerary in case of bad weather.