Sakha is one of Russia's largest regions - vast tundras,  wilderness area of taiga forests, fast flowing rivers like the Lena, bears, deers, elk, bighorn sheep and a variety of flora. The region is extremely rich in minerals and has Russia's largest deposits of diamonds and gold.

In its early years, Yakutsk was used as penal settlement - a kind of jail without doors. Apparently, it didn’t need any because the escaped convicts had nowhere to run to. Except into an isolated, barren and hostile landscape, millions of miles of swamps, mosquito-infested forests and the freezing long months of the notorious Russian winter. It was the discovery of gold in the late 19th century that transformed Yakutsk's fortunes - boom town gold city soon became the eastern version of Dodge City. It became a bawdy center for rest and recreation for gold miners, prospectors and merchants, complete with bars, brothels and brawls.

But for two centuries before the gold rush, Yakutsk was the launching pad for the exploration of the extreme north and the northeastern regions of Asia. Many an international expedition that was to make significant geographical, anthropological and geological discoveries used Yakutsk as take off point.  In the last hundred years, Yakutsk has developed into a major port on the Lena River, a transport hub and industrial centre for eastern Siberia. The main industrial ouput of Yakutsk is concentrated around tanneries, sawmills, and brickworks.

But despite its valuable natural resources, potential for industrial and commercial development, and relative accessibility, Yakutsk remains sparsely populated. One of the main reasons is its stark and hostile climate – winter temperatures can touch lows of –60°C and black ice, heavy snowfall and poor infrastructure for heating only add to the winter blues. Spring is a time of mud, slush and sleet as thaw sets in turning Yakutsk into a giant cesspool. Thankfully summer temperatures scoot up to a warm 20°/25°C.

Most people travel to the region drawn by the tundra-taiga combination landscape, its austere ice-clad wilderness, its eight month long winter and its Yakut cultural heritage. Within the city, the few attractions that await visitors include such delights as the Museum of History & Culture devoted to the Yakut cultural traditions, lifestyle and native flora and fauna. The Yakut Literary Museum houses exhibits on the Yakut literary, musical and linguistic heritage and on Yakut authors, playwrights and musicians. The Academy of Sciences Institute of Permafrost is a geological museum devoted to the region's unique permafrost landscape.

Getting there: direct flights come in daily from Moscow and once a week from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.  Ships and hydrofoils operate only in the short summer season, and connect Yakutsk to and from the port of Ust Kut, 200km up the Lena River. This journey takes a week travelling time upstream to Ust Kut but only four days downstream to Yakutsk. To get to Yakutsk by road on the Trans Siberian highway is one tough endurance journey and only for the foolhardy or diehard road traveller. Buses connect Yakutsk to Bolshoy Never via Tynda. 

Accommodation:  One of Yakutsk's more comfortable hotels is conveniently located near the airport, another built in traditional Yakut style is 20 minutes from the city center - and comes with all the mod cons including the ultimate luxury of hot water.

140 km away from Yakutsk is the site of the Lena Pillars. They line an 18 km stretch of the 4400 km long Lena River that originates in Lake Baikal.   The river freezes over in winter and can even be used as a road but in summers hydrofoils take visitors to see these huge tower like sandstone formations. The town of Mirny is single mindedly dedicated to diamonds - it is the USP of Mirny and the one reason why this township came up in the first place in 1955. Mirny has an airport, a hotel and even   museums devoted to diamonds, diamond production and processing but each and every visitor is seen as a potential diamond thief unless proved otherwise.

The territory north of Yakutsk falls within the Arctic Circle. The most special is the town of Verkhoyansk some 650 km from Yakutsk - the coldest inhabited place on earth with extremely inhospitable terrain and temperatures that fall as low as –71° Celsius. In the valleys of the Oymyakon Mountains the temperature falls to –82° Celsius. Summers here are uncomfortable - June is blighted by rains and midsummer 'white nights’ when the sun barely sets.