CHUKOTKA

Dates: April 18 – 28, 2023*

* The dates of the expedition can be shifted 1 week back or forward, depending on the spring schedule of ChukotAvia Airlines' domestic flights in Chukotka, as well as depending on the dates of the annual Nadezhda ("Hope") dog sled race (mushers and dogs participating in our expedition, must also participate in the "Hope" race).
The final dates of the expedition will be determined upon receipt of information on the flight schedule and the dates of the "Hope" race, in any case no later than in January 2023.

Duration: 11 days / 10 nights

Number of participants: 4 – 6


EXPEDITION FINISHED


TRAVEL PROGRAM: PHOTO TOUR TO CHUKOTKA

Day 1. April 18, 2023 (Tuesday). ANADYR AIRPORT – GUDYM – UGOLNYE KOPI

Arrival in Anadyr at 12:25 pm with Aeroflot from Moscow or another flight.
Meeting at the airport, transfer to the small town of Ugolnye Kopi, satellite of Anadyr.
Excursion to the abandoned military base Gudym. Gudym, built in late 1950th, served as a nuclear weapon base during the Cold War period and was completely hidden underground. Picnic at the military base with packed army lunchbox.
Back to Ugolnye Kopi.
Dinner and tasting of salmon, caviar and other local delicacies.

* Recommended flight:
- direct from Moscow to Anadyr by Aeroflot airlines, departure from Moscow on April 17 at 19:35 with arrival in Anadyr at 12:25 on April 18,
- or any other flight from Moscow or another city with arrival in Anadyr no later than 15:00 on April 18.

Meals: lunch, dinner
Accommodation: hotel "Nord" or apartment


Day 2. April 19, 2023 (Wednesday). ANADYR AIRPORT – LAURENTIUS – INCHOUN

Breakfast, transfer to the airport.
Flight from Anadyr to Laurentius, to the very east of the Chukotka Peninsula. Meeting at the airport with a guide and team-leader (scientist – ethnologist).
Lunch in Laurentius.
Transfer to the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the village of Inchoun (90 km, 3 - 4 hours), photographing the tundra along the way.
Arrival, arrangement in the apartments of the mushers, acquaintance with the locals.
Dinner - home cooking, traditional food of sea mammals hunters.
Meeting with representatives of the Eskimo and Chukchi cultures, discussion on issues of intercultural interaction.
Stories from ethnologist about local rituals and traditions. Ritual of feeding the spirits

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: apartment


Day 3. April 20, 2023 (Thursday). INCHOUN

Breakfast. Walking tour around the village
Master class "musher school" - acquaintance with mushers and their dogs, teaching the basic skills of driving a team.
Test drives. Everyone drives their dog sleds, accompanied by an experienced musher-instructor.
If possible, going out to the ice edge with sea mammals hunters, subject to good weather, observing the seal hunting.
Overnight at the apartment, preparing for the trek.
Lecture by an ethnologist on the history of the development of Chukotka.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: apartment


Day 4. April 21, 2023 (Friday). INCHOUN – UELEN

Breakfast. Dog sledding from Inchoun to Uelen (about 30 km) along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. The group is accompanied by the TrEkol all-terrain vehicle and snowmobiles.
Along the route meeting with animals is quite possible - polar bear, arctic fox, wolverine.
On the way – a picnic, hot tea.
Arrival at Uelen. Accommodation in a hotel or boarding school.
Dinner. Walking tour around the village, meeting the locals.
Overnight at the apartment or hotel.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: hotel or boarding school


Days 5. April 22, 2023 (Saturday). UELEN – CAPE DEZHNEV – UELEN

Breakfast. Departure by dog sleds to Cape Dezhnev, the easternmost point of Eurasia (round trip about 30 km).
The dog sleds remain with the mushers. Trekking to the lighthouse and the monument to Semyon Dezhnev. Visiting of the archaeological site - the Eskimo old settlement of Naukan. The descent takes about an hour, the ascent is about 2 hours, the elevation difference is 400 meters. If icy occurs, the slope can be slippery, then descent will be impossible.

The Eskimo (the Inuit) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, Chukotka and Alaska. The Inuit languages are part of the Eskimo-Aleut family. Inuit are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule culture, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 CE. They had split from the related Aleut group about 4,000 years ago and from northeastern Siberian migrants, possibly related to the Chukchi language group, still earlier, descended from the third major migration from Siberia. They spread eastwards across the Arctic.
Photographing landscapes. With good visibility - observation of the Diomede Islands: Ratmanova (Russia) and Kruzenshtern (USA).
Return to Uelen by dog sleds.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: hotel or boarding school in Uelen


Days 6. April 23, 2023 (Saturday). UELEN – INCHOUN

Breakfast and visit to the bone carving workroom in Uelen.
Back way by dog sledges to Inchoun (about 30 km).
Picnic along the way.
Dinner in Inchoun, accommodation in the mushers' apartments. Exchange of impressions.
Discussion on the topic "Truth and Fiction in the film" The Chief of Chukotka ".
Hunting for the Northern Lights if the weather allows.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: apartment


Days 7. April 24, 2023 (Sunday). INCHOUN – REINDEER HERDERS' CAMP

Breakfast and farewell to mushers and dogs.
Transfer by TRECOL to the Chukchi reindeer herding brigade (travel time is depending on where the reindeer herders' camp will be located, presumably 4 - 6 hours).

The Chukchi are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukotka Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within Russia. They speak the Chukchi language. Chukchi originated from the people living around the Okhotsk Sea. According to most recent genomic research, Chukchi people are the closest cousins of the First Americans in Asia. Chukchi are traditionally divided into the Maritime Chukchi, who had settled homes on the coast and lived primarily from sea mammal hunting, and the Reindeer Chukchi, who lived as nomads in the inland tundra region, migrating seasonally with their herds of reindeer. The Russian name "Chukchi" is derived from the Chukchi word Chauchu ("rich in reindeer"), which was used by the Reindeer Chukchi to distinguish themselves from the Maritime Chukchi, called Anqallyt ("the sea people").
Lunch of reindeer herders' food. Reindeer cooking master class.
Drive to the herd. A master class in throwing a lasso.

Communication with reindeer herders, campfire stories about life in the tundra.
Overnight in yaranga in the reindeer herders' camp. If team decide reasonable, driving further to Lorino and stay overrunning in the apartments of sea mammals hunters.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: yaranga (traditional Chukchi dwelling) or fur tent.


Day 8. April 25, 2023 (Tuesday). REINDEER HERDERS' CAMP – LORINO

Breakfast.
Reindeer ritual slaughtering.
Farewell to hospitable reindeer herders and departure in the direction of Lorino – the capital of the whalers.
Walking tour around the village. Visit to the bone carving workroom, a workshop on bone carving art, ordering souvenirs.
Accommodation in the apartments of sea mammals hunters.
Dinner. Ethnographer's lecture on the history of whaling

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: apartment


Day 9. April 26, 2023 (Wednesday). LORINO – LAURENTIUS – ANADYR

Breakfast. Farewell to sea mammasl hunters and transfer to Laurentius airport.
On the way - hot springs, bathing.
Flight Laurentius – Anadyr.
Crossing the estuary to the city.
Accommodation at the Hotel Anadyr.
Russian banya (steam bath).
Dinner and lectures of the ethnologist on the history of the settlement in Chukotka

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Anadyr


Day 10. April 27, 2023 (Thursday). ANADYR

Reserve day in case of bad weather and flight change.
City tour (monuments to Grinevetsky, Rytkheu, Revolutionary Commissioner of Chukotka, St. Nicolas).
Visit to the Chukotka Heritage Museum.
Farewell dinner, exchange of impressions.
Performance of the folklore group – throat singing or dancing.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Anadyr


Day 11. April 28, 2023 (Friday). ANADYR – RETURN FLIGHT

Breakfast. Free time. Purchasing souvenirs.
Crossing the estuary.
Transfer to the airport and flight Anadyr – Moscow with Aeroflot at 15:25 or another flight.

* Recommended flight:
- direct from Anadyr to Moscow SU-6220 with Aeroflot, departure from Anadyr on April 28 at 15:25 with arrival in Moscow at 14:30 on April 28,
- or any other flight from Anadyr to Moscow or another city with a departure from Anadyr not earlier than 15:00 on April 28.

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation: no


* The operator reserves the right to change the order of execution of the program subject to keeping of all main activities.

** The program depends on the domestic flights schedule (subject to change) and availability of flying weather.

*** A member of an expedition to Chukotka must be motivated: respect the culture of the Chukchi and Inuit, be aware of the purpose of the trip and possible adjustments to plans depending on weather conditions, as well as on the decision of indigenous communities. The expedition member must be in good physical condition and able to adapt to an unfamiliar community and culture.

**** If certain visits and/or tours cannot be completed due to external conditions, they will be replaced where possible.



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS EXPEDITION:

While preparing for a trip to such a unique region as Chukotka, many questions arise, since such a trip is not easy to plan and conduct, firstly, due to the lack of tourist infrastructure there, and, secondly, due to difficult climatic conditions.

1. Transport
If you have already safely flown to the Anadyr airport, this does not mean that your trip is guaranteed to pass along the entire route. First of all, a ticket for a domestic flight must be purchased in advance, since in Chukotka there is a constant shortage of air tickets, and all tickets are usually sold out six months prior to the trip, as soon as they appear on sale. In addition, flights to the regions are often delayed, so we strongly recommend buying a return ticket back from Anadyr with at least one or two spare days after your return from the region, or with the possibility of changing the departure date.
Once at the airport, it is not easy to get into the city, although in winter, in general, traveling around Chukotka is much easier than in summer and autumn – you can travel overland. As part of this expedition, we will use various types of transport – from dog sleds to all-terrain vehicles. The main thing is to dress warmly and treat everything positively.

2. Accommodation
Upon arrival in Anadyr, we will accommodate for one night in private apartments or in the Hotel Nord. Why? The fact is that at the moment the Hotel Nord is the only one on this bank of sstuary, and is often used in emergency cases to accommodate people who got stuck due to the weather. For example, children returning from summer camps. Therefore, this hotel does not accept bookings. So that our travelers are not left without accommodation, we prefer to deal with private apartments. However, if there are available rooms at the hotel today upon request, we can accommodate you in the hotel as well.
Throughout the route, we will have to stop for the night in apartments and houses of local residents, and possibly in hostels where they are available. The hostels are very simple, but all the amenities are there.
In case of extreme cold overnight stay in the tundra, it is suggested to use a sleeping bag in a tent or yaranga. Our experienced local friends will take care of the accommodation for the night, they will do everything so that you do not feel cold.
Upon returning to Anadyr, we plan to check in at the Hotel Anadyr, basic standard double occupancy.

3. Meals
In the town of Ugolnye Kopi, in the city of Anadyr and in the village of Lorino, we provide for three meals a day. During long trips across the tundra, we often organize a picnic – hot tea and snacks. Upon returning to the base, we will already organize a full hot meal.
Since tourists come to Chukotka to learn about how the local people live, and the cuisine is one of the most interesting manifestations of culture, we try to give you the opportunity to test the "Chukotka exotic" as much as possible - dishes from the meat of marine animals, venison, fish and caviar. Of course, it is difficult for vegetarians and vegans to organize a full-fledged diet, since everything is brought to stores here during a short navigation period. Often there is shortage in vegetables and fruits, which are affectionately called the word "freshness" here.
Of course, we must know in advance about your diet restrictions. In any case, cereals and noodle are in abundance in summer. But some delights will have to be forgotten before returning home.

4. Equipment
Before the trip, people ask to send a list of recommended equipment, and when they receive it, they begin to argue: "Do we really need sleeping bags? do we really need this or that clothing or footwear?" The list contains RECOMMENDATIONS! It is up to you. But most visitors underestimate the severity of the local climate. One tip – do not neglect the recommendations, take warm clothes and shoes, additional sets of thermal underwear and woolen socks, a sleeping bag, a thermos.

5. Hygiene
In order to avoid embarrassing situations and in order to prevent infections that are currently roaming the planet, we recommend (this is only a recommendation and is up to you) that everyone brings along a traditional tourist dishwear and cutlery personal kit: cup - spoon - plate - knife. While visiting reindeer herders, this is especially useful - there are not enough dishwear for everyone in the nomadic yaranga, and forcing the hostess to wash after everyone is also not really nice. In addition, you will be of the safe side – it is safer and more reliable to use your personal cup or plate.

6. Respect for the residents
We urge everyone to treat the people we have come to carefully and with high respect. The culture of marine hunters and tundra reindeer herders is a rare phenomenon that requires protection. Therefore, we ask that you listen to the requests and demands of the community regarding various rules and taboos, including those related to photography and video filming, which are currently limited and strictly regulated. We ask you to treat this with tact and understanding and do not shoot bloody scenes of slaughtering animals, do not photograph dirt, devastation and drunk people - all this can catch your eye, but you do not need to make hype out of it or post it online.

7. Safety
The nature of Chukotka has still saved its authenticity. – On the one hand, it is absolutely beautiful, on the other - dangerous. Even on the territory of the village, you can face a predator, you should always remember this when you are in Chukotka. Always listen to what the locals say – where you can go and where should not.
We will give you a safety briefing in the tundra, but common sense and precaution are the basis of your safety.
Welcome to smashing Chukotka! We wish you to get a lot of positive emotions and unforgettable impressions!

Cost includes:

- domestic flights Anadyr – Laurentius – Anadyr
- transport service according to the program (transfers, taxis, ferries, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles)
- dog teams and sleds (personal dog team and sled for each participant of the expedition) and escort of the TrEkol all-terrain vehicle and snowmobiles along the entire route from Lorino to Cape Dezhnev and back
- accommodation in hotels in Anadyr, on the basis of a double
- accommodation in an apartment in Lorino and Inchoun
- accommodation in a hotel or boarding school in Uelen
- accommodation in a yaranga or in a tent in a camp
- three meals a day throughout the whole program
- registration of passes to enter the border zone
- permit for National park, tickets for National park
- tickets to museums
- all activities and performances according to the program
- English speaking and Russian speaking local guide and team leader (professional ethnologist),
- lectures of the ethnologist about Chukotka
- fees for guides, local guides, financial support for local communities
- photo and video shooting




Cost excludes (additionally paid):

- flight to Anadyr and back
- medical insurance.
- Russian visa (if necessary)
- alcohol drinks and souvenirs
- additional activities not included into the program
- single supplement in hotels



To take with:

- very warm winter feather coat with windstopper
- very warm winter hat with windstopper (2 pieces), gloves with windstopper (2 pairs) andwarm winter trousers with windstopper (2 pairs)
- warm boots, warm and waterproof high boots (2 pairs of very warm winter shoes is a must)
- winter wear sets (warm wool socks, cotton socks, wool sweater, warm winter jacket)
- thermal underwear,
- sleeping bag for MINUS 10 degrees Celsius comfort temperature (can be freezing in the morning in yaranga)
- inflating tourist mattress
- sunglasses (is a must)
- alpine skiing glasses (up to you)
- buff / balaclava
- thermos
- head torch
- personal hygiene products (incl. towel, hygiene wet tissues, soap)
- minimum set of favorite snacks and drinks (nowhere to buy)
- personal medical kit (analgetic, antiseptic, antibiotic, antiviral, intestinal, multivitamins, rehydron, court plaster, your personal medications)
- sun and wind protection
- cameras, spare batteries, tripod
- Gifts for the locals