22.07. Departure from Moscow to Jakutsk. Overnight in the plane.

DAY 1 (23.07.): Arrival in Yakutsk on a flight from Moscow.

Flight (on a local carrier, flying time 2½ hours) to the Arctic village, Tiksy, which is local on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Transfer and accommodation at the hotel. Lunch. Excursion around Tiksy and a visit to the visitor’s center of Ust-Lensky Zapovednik. Overnight in hotel.

DAY 2 (24.07.):

Breakfast. Ride by several motor boats (8-10 hours) to the International Biological Station “Lena-Nordensheld,” built in the Lena River Delta and financed by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Hike up Ysy-tuoidakh Mountain (3 kilometers), from the peak of which you will enjoy a panoramic view of the Lena Delta. Observation of many catchers (Family Haematopodidae) and marmots (Marmota sibirica). Frequent sightings of reindeer and musk ox. Overnight on the biological station in double rooms with bath.

*Note: in case if the motor boat voyage would be not possible due to weather conditions, a visit to Stolovaya (“Table”) Mountain will be organized. Panoramic view to the Primorsky Ridge, Tiksy Bay and Neelov Gulf.

DAY 3 (25.07.):

Walking tour along the Tyyllaakh River (10 kilometers). Observation of predatory species, including the peregrine falcon, rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus), Arctic fox, and the snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca) as they hunt for lemming. Overnight at the biological station.

DAY 4 (26.07.):

Hike (15 kilometers) along a picturesque gorge to Peregrine falcon nesting sites. Overnight at the biological station.

DAY 5 (27.07.):

Observation of bird species including the golden eagle, rough-legged buzzard, Peregrine falcon, gray plover, snow lark-bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis), catchers, and ducks, including rare species on the many lakes in the outlying mountains of Tyyllaakh-Khaya. Overnight in tents at the ravine outlet.

DAY 6 (28.07.):

Boat trip (5 hours) to Samoilovsky Island, located within Ust-Lensky Zapovednik. Tour of Sardakh Khaiya Island, which is the site of various fossils from the Upper Pleistocene Era. This ancient island is inhabited by reindeer, Arctic fox, rough-legged buzzard, and other species. Overnight in the zapovednik’s ranger cabin. Accommodations will be in the rustic cabin facilities with a wood-burning stove.

DAY 7 (29.07.):

Motorboat trip (30 minutes) to Lake Stolb, which according to the legend of the local indigenous people, is the home of the Spirit of the Lena River. The picturesque residual island Stolb is 400 million years old, 114 meters high, and one of the most impressive natural monuments of the Arctic. From it peak can be seen a magnificent panoramic view of the Lena Delta, as well as the labyrinth of its many tributaries and islands.

Motorboat trip (1 hour) to Amerika-Khaiya Mountain. Viewing gravesites of participants in the American expedition of George DeLong, who died in 1881 in the Lena Delta not far from here. Viewing ancient native deposits from The Devonian Period of the Paleozoic Era dating back 400 million years. Return by boat to Samoilovsky Island. Overnight in the zapovednik’s ranger cabin.

DAY 8 (30.07.):

Travel (2 hours by boat) to Tit-Ary Island and the fishing village of indigenous fisherman who catch cisco (Coregonus) and sturgeon in the richest fishing grounds of all of Yakutia. Tit-Ari Island is known for having the northernmost forest massif in the world. In the village of Tit-Ari, there is a monument honoring victims of the Stalinist repressions. Great cliffs rise up across from the village, on the right bank of the Lena; they are signs of grandiose geological processes which took place here long ago.

Introduction to the methods of the local fisherman and participation in fishing. Sampling northern cuisine (frozen reindeer strips, poached fish, fish soup, reindeer venison, berries, mushrooms, etc.). Overnight in the zapovednik’s rustic ranger cabin.

DAY 9 (31.07.):

Travel (2 hours by boat) to Cape Krest-Tumsa. Excursion along the Lena River shore to a unique outdoor paleontological exposition. The fossilized imprints of many bottom-dwelling marine animals - sea stars, urchins, and mollusks - which inhabited the territory 270 million years ago during the Permian Period can be seen in rocks lining the shore. Hike to Sokol Mountain and to the polar station “Khabarovo.” Sightings of polar bear, musk ox, and reindeer are possible. Taimen (Hucho taimen) up to 2 meters in length and weighing up to 40 kilograms can be caught here with fishing poles. Return to Samoilovsky Island. Overnight in the zapovednik’s ranger cabin.

DAY 10 (01.08.):

Return to Tiksy by boat.

Boat trip to Muistakh Cape (note: in the local Yakut language, “muistakh” means “bone” or “tusk”). Walking tour along the eastern shore of the Bykov Semiisland. Return to Tiksy.

Two thousand years ago, as the time the armies of Julius Caesar were marching through Rome, far-flung Muostakh Island was little more than part of an ancient immense plain. The strait which now divides the island from the mainland was, at that time, only just beginning to form.

The photographs and film footage you will take of the shore are assured to be unique. The global warming theory predicts the swift and complete destruction of these shores, which are comprised of underground ice. The sea is grinding away at the shoreline and advancing inland. In the lifetime of one generation, the islands of Semyonovsky, Vasilievsky, Figurina, Merkuriya, and others will disappear into the Laptev Sea. The Northern Cape of Mustakh Island is now literally being destroyed before our eyes. The shore is receding at a rate of 6 meters a year. The sea is advancing on the land, and soon this unique landscape will disappear. Often ,bones of ancient animals which have melted free from the ossified layers are seen on the bluffs.

Overnight at the hotel in Tiksi.

DAY 11 (02.08.):

Visit to the local museum, which presents the history of the region’s development and also features a gallery of maps. Flight by local carrier to Yakutsk. Overnight in the hotel “Ontario.”

DAY 12 (03.08.):

Sightseeing trip around Yakutsk. Visit to the Yakutsk State Museum of History and Cultures of the People of the North. This museum is one of the oldest and richest museums in Siberia and the Russian Far East. Visit to the peerless International Museum of Khomusnaya (Jew's harp) Music and the Mamooth Museum. Trip to the Yakutsk national estate, where you can learn about the ancient Sakha (Yakut) culture; see traditional ceremonies of spirit offerings and cleansing; hear traditional Khomusnaya music and the singing of traditional toiuks; and try traditional cuisine. Overnight in hotel.

DAY 13 (04.08.):

Transfer to the town of Pokrovsk and further motor boat trip to Lenskiye Stolby National Park. Hike along the “Feathered World of Buotamy” ecotrail. Overnight in the ranger’s quarters of the national park. Accommodations will be in a wooden cabin with an outhouse.

DAY 14 (05.08.):

Continued excursion by motor boat around the national park, combined with excursions by foot. Visit to the famous Lenskiye Stolby (Lena Pillars), and a stop at the site of the ancient tomb Diring Yuriakh.

The Lena Pillars are a unique natural phenomenon; they are very steep cliffs, up to 200 meters in height, which extend along the Lena River for 80 kilometers. This is fantastic “city,” of suspended stone palaces and towers, and gaping collapsed caves. In 1983-84, at the Diring-Yuriakh site along the Lena River, Russian archeologists unearthed the tomb of an early human dating back 1-2 million years. It has been suggested that Diring-Yuriakh is one of the oldest settlements on earth. It is an archeological discovery on par with those of Louis Leakey in eastern Africa.

Return to Yakutsk. Overnight in hotel.

DAY 15 (06.08.):

Flight to Moscow.