KOLYMA HIGHWAY. MAGADAN - HETA MINE - TALAYA RESORT

1. Theme

SIGHTSEEING & FIRST SIGHT

ACTIVITIES ADVENTURES EXTREME

NATURE & SNOW EMPIRE

GASTRONOMY

2. Region, city, itinerary

Magadan - Talya - Magadan

3. Seasonality

Year-round

4. The complexity, style of the tour

Comfortable extreme, Moderate

Winter adventure

Auto expedition

Wildlife watching and trekking

5. Accommodation

Hotel, hostel

6. Number of days

3-4 days

7. Number of people

4-12 people

8. Booking conditions

7 days before the tour start

MAGADAN and KOLYMA. In the minds of people all over the world, these words are associated, first of all, with the history of the creation of the Gulag system in the Soviet Union, with the terrible system of concentration camps, with repressions, with thousands of innocent victims and broken destinies. We offer you a 2-3 day tour of the Kolyma Highway with a visit to memorial places of mass repression, former camps.

Day 1. Magadan. Acquaintance with the city.

The tour starts at the observation deck in Nagaev Bay. It was here that the construction of Magadan began in the distant thirties. Ships came to the bay to bring prisoners and civilians for the construction of roads and the city. Prisoners also worked on extraction of gold, silver, and tin. Development of Magadan continues with the construction of the Kolyma highway, which is called the "Road on the Bones."

During the sightseeing tour you will see the city’s memorable places: “Pioneers of the exploration of Kolyma and Chukotka”, a monument to the poet, singer and actor Vladimir Vysotsky, the Sea Square, the sculpture “Time” (“Mammoth”).

Take a tour around the central streets of Magadan: Portovaya, Lenin, Gagarin, Karl Marx, Proletarskaya, Parkovaya. Visit the city park, the Cathedral Square, the Cathedral, the Cosmonauts Square, the monument to Lenin, the memorial complex "Memory Knot", the monument to E. P. Berzin. Outside the city center there are the Deer sculpture and the Magadan Stella - a city limits sign.

On the Krutaya Hill, a 15-meter monument “Mask of Sorrow” was erected in 1996 (Sculptor Earnst Neizvestny). A magnificent view of the city,  between the Nagaevo Bay and the Gertner Bay, where the city itself is built, opens from the observation deck offers. Next stop is the Gertner Bay, from there you can get a great view of the three islands - the Brothers Islands, the Widow, the Koni Peninsula.

Excursion along the Olsky Highway, Nyuklinskaya Spit, Village of Ola.

The village of Ola is one of the oldest settlements on the Okhotsk Coast. A beautiful view of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk opens up on the way along the coast, several viewing platforms near Cape Nyuklya are available for viewing. Another name for Cape Nyuklya is “The Sleeping Dragon”, as well as “The Sleeping Beauty”. A rocky ledge, extending far into the sea, from afar really resembles a sleeping dragon. The panoramic view of Nyuklya is considered one of the main attraction sites of the Magadan Region. The most beautiful view opens up from high banks on the eastern side of the cape. If you go down and continue going along the rocks at low tide, you can see wonderful bird colonies and exposed monolithic rock deposits.

On the banks of the Nyuklya River there is a small chapel. A memorial sign was opened  on July 4, 1978 next to the chapel on the day of the 50th anniversary of the First Kolyma Expedition landing. This place annually hosts traditional national holidays of the indigenous peoples of the North. The Olsky Lagoon is a shallow sea bay. 132 species of birds are recorded at the lagoon and its shores. The Olsky Lagoon is one of the important stopping points on the East Palaearctic migration route. The bulk of migrants are ducks and waders.

Day 2. Kolyma Tract. Magadan - Heta Tin Mine - Talaya Sanatorium (260 km).

The trip starts early in the morning in Magadan continues to Stekolny Village, thereafter to Palatka Village, tin mine Heta, finishing at the health resort Talaya. 

In the village of Stekolny there is an exhibition - a workshop of the famous Magadan stone-cutter Vladimir Gartvik. The master’s collection contains a large number of pieces cut from minerals - crystal, agate, jasper, chalcedony, which amaze with their beauty. Next stop is the village of Palatka. The name of the village Palatka derives from the Chukchi or Yukagir word Palya-Atkan, which means "a rocky river."  There used to be three labor campsites in Palatka, including a female one. In recent years, this village has been transformed, it stands out from other villages. It even got fame in the Russian Book of Records as a village with the largest number of fountains per capita. The center of Palatka is decorated with various installations, interesting sculptures and structures, lanterns in the form of tulips and carnations, many fountains, a beautiful playground with sculptures of animals, etc. In the center stands a large Church of Christ Transfiguration.

Heta Tin Mine, founded in 1938, is located at a distance of 230 km from Magadan. At the campsite you will witness the barrack foundation remains as well as many scattered objects - window bars, stoves, pottery, utensils and everyday objects of prisoners. A guide, in his story about the mine, will transfer you back in time to those days when labor camps were full of prisoners, describe each building and life of prisoners. The camp did not exist long, only until 1945, but tremendous work done by prisoners with a shovel and kaylo will impress you.

In the evening you stop at the Talaya Sanatorium. the Talaya resort is located on the northwestern Kolyma Range in the Magadan Region, at an altitude of more than 700 meters above sea level, right on the slope, - the only resort in Russia located in the subarctic, in the zone of permafrost.

The main attraction here is the silicon thermal mineral spring, which allows for balneological treatment of many diseases. The healing power of local nitrogen thermal siliceous alkaline waters was discovered in the 18th century. In lakes Shchuchye and Nalimnoe sapropelic mud is extracted, it treats diseases of the musculoskeletal system and other problems. Beautiful surroundings of the resort, silence, cleanliness and transparency of the air have a beneficial effect on a person, have a calming effect on the nervous system. The Hill of Love - a relatively small hump located in the immediate vicinity of the village where you can take a walk. There are several lakes near the sanatorium, including the deep lake Galitur.

Day 3. Talaya Resort - Magadan

Accommodation in the Talaya Resort, breakfast and lunch included.

In the morning you take a trip to Lake Galitur - this is a deep mountain lake located five kilometers from the resort village of Talaya. It is located in a long crevice under Mount Wizard. The lake is narrow and very long. Its depth is about 700 meters. There are many myths and legends about this lake. Upon request, you can order mud and water treatments.

The return to Magadan is in the evening.