Muskoxen of the Polar Urals, Siberia

Day 1
Meeting in Salekhard

Our trip will begin right on the Arctic Circle in the city of Salekhard. Arriving on the morning flight, we will board a 6WD Trekol and take a trip to the Gornokhadatinsky section of the Polar-Urals natural park. The road there will take 7-10 hours depending on the weather.

Days 2-5
Yamal, Nothern Urals

We will spend five days with a family of locals: Nenets reindeer herders. We will live with them in their hut, photograph their daily life, live amidst a herd of half-wild reindeer in the tundra. Together with our hosts, we will eat traditional dishes, predominantly venison, fish and taiga berries. Of course, there will be more familiar menus available as well. We will rest in sleeping bags, inside a traditional dwelling, and, at night, our hosts will run a generator to recharge our batteries.

We will learn how to harness the reindeer and ride them. At night we will watch the polar sky in the hope of photographing the northern lights, and every day (if weather permits) we will ride a snowmobile with attached sleds to the habitats of the musk oxen and photograph them.

There are not many places in the world where you can see and photograph these majestic animals in the wild. Musk oxen were brought to the Yamal in 1997 where they were kept in an enclosure. Some of them have been released into the wild, but they still prefer to live near their relatives. Here, musk ox are not very shy, and we can approach them close enough for a good photo.

Day 6
The way back

After breakfast we will go through the tundra on our way back to Salekhard by the Trekol. In the evening we will stay at the hotel near the aiport of Salekhard (double occupancy).

Day 7
Flight home

In the morning we will fly home through Moscow.