reindeer herders and fur tepees   

March 28 ⇾ April 04

In addition to our regular group departures to the Yamal Peninsula, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to the Yamal Peninsula! 

DAY 1 - Salekhard

  • Meet-and-greet at Salekhard Regional Airport, transfer to our hotel of choice in Salekhard and introductory briefing about the region, the route and the set of rules to observe while visiting the Nenets.

  • Salekhard City Tour: Lenin Statue, 66th Parallel Monument, Mammoth Statue, Fish-and-Fur Bazaar, WWII Memorials and colourful Soviet apartment blocks.

  • Overnight in Salekhard.

DAY 2 - Yar-Sale

  • Transfer trekol (all-terrain vehicle) to Yar-Sale, the first trading post built on the Yamal Peninsula by the Soviets in 1927.

  • Once in Yar-Sale, we'll enjoy a walking tour around this out-of-the-world settlement mainly inhabited by ethnic Nenets, a Samoyedic ethnic group native to the Soviet Arctic and mostly living within the vast territories of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

  • Overnight in Yar-Sale.

DAY 3 to DAY 5 - NENETS Camp

  • In the morning we'll reach the nomadic Nenets living and moving across the tundra surrounding Yar-Sale.

  • We'll spend three full days gallivanting around the endless tundra with the Nenets Reindeer Herders, sharing with them our time and our food and learning about their secretive culture and endangered lifestyle.

  • There is no strict travel plan for these days and you’ll enjoy that: the Tundra is place to be experienced at a slow pace and not an open-air museum to hasten through.

  • Highlights of your Yamal sojourn with the Nenets will include:

    • Participation in traditional activities such as sewing, cooking, singing, dancing, hunting and fishing;

    • Short walks and longer trekol drives across the magically surreal landscapes surrounding the Nenets camp;

    • Daily gastronomic adventures into the secrets of Nenets national cuisine (reindeer blood will top your list of try-before-you-die local recipes).

  • Meals and overnights in Nenets chums (traditional fur teepees).

DAY 6 - Yar-Sale

  • Today we'll slowly return to Yar-Sale travelling through the pristine tundra landscape of the Russian North.

  • Several photography stops en route and late afternoon arrival in Yar-Sale.

  • Overnight in Yar-Sale.

DAY 7 - Salekhard

  • After a lazy morning in Yar-Sale, we'll transfer back to Salekhard travelling along the mighty river Ob.

  • Free afternoon in Salekhard hunting for Soviet relics .

  • Dinner and overnight in Salekhard.

DAY 8 - FAREWELL TO THE ARCTIC  

  • After enjoying a last Arctic meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to Salekhard International Airport.

  • Upon request, we can also arrange a bespoke tour extension to the neighbouring Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, an area even more remote and less visited than the Yamal Peninsula itself.

  • Highlights of a trip to the NAO will include: the Pleistocene-like landscapes of the Northern Timan mountain range, the extremely isolated and polar-bear-infested Kolguyev Island, the ruggedly romantic coast of the Barents Sea, the high sand dunes slowly devouring the village of Shoyna and, of course, the local Nenets people themselves.

3900 €

INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Russia (jeep/trekol), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.

EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.

YAMAL TOURS