Arctic Russia - Arctic Khatanga: a base for travel in the Arctic Circle

11.06.2023 /// One of the northernmost settlements of the Russian Federation, the Khatanga settlement, retains its status as the most important stronghold in the polar region. It is isolated from the infrastructure of the 'big land,' beyond its borders begins endless tundra, forests and rivers, as full of life as they were hundreds of years ago. Today you can travel there in the comfort of a plane and see for yourself the beauty of the rugged face of the North.

Following the founding of the legendary Mangazeya, the rapid development of neighbouring lands began. Russia annexed the Khatanga territory in the first half of the 17th century, and in 1626 pioneers set up a small wintering hut on a high river outbank, where hunters and fishermen would stay. In 1859, Khatanga had only nine inhabitants, five men and four women.

The name of the village and the Khatanga river, on the banks of which it stands, means “big water” in Evenki.

Khatanga is one of the northernmost settlements of Russia: it has an average January temperature of -31.5°C, with the absolute minimum reaching ¬59°C. In the village you can find the northernmost Orthodox Church in Russia, the Saviour and Epiphany Church, which was rebuilt in the 1990s in its original form in the beautiful wooden architecture style of Old Russia.

On February 8, 2000, the Museum of Ogdo Aksyonova, the first Dolgan poetess and the founder of the Dolgan writing system and literature, was opened there. The museum has become an educational centre that not only safeguards Aksyonova’s creative heritage, but also maintains the traditions of the small indigenous peoples. For instance, it introduces schoolchildren to Dolgan games, the revival of which Ogdo (who was also known as Evdokia Yegorovna) considered her most important achievement.

The administration of the Taimyr Nature Reserve and the Museum of Nature and Ethnography that is attached to it has been operating for more than 25 years, located in Khatanga. The exhibits of the museum include models of a winter camp and a balok (a portable, sled¬mounted cabin), reindeer harnesses, items made of mammoth bone, and unique articles of Dolgan and Nganasan clothing. The palaeontological department is a museum ¬within¬ a ¬museum, created on the basis of the Museum of Mammoth and Musk Oxen named after Professor N.K. Vereshchagin: it has the skull and bones of the “Mikhailov” mammoth, discovered in 1976 in the area of the Bolshaya Rassokha river.

The village also has a separate Mammoth Museum, which is certainly unusual in its location: it is set in a glacier, in the permafrost itself. The museum was created thanks to the joint efforts of the French businessman and palaeontologist Bernard Buigues and the administration of the Khatangaregion. The famous mammoth known as “Zharkov”, found at the end of the last century in the surroundings of the Bolshaya Balakhnya river, can be found there.

The site leaves no one unmoved, with the huge powerful mammoth captured in a block of frozen soil, its two impressive tusks sticking out.

Khatanga settlement is a convenient base for travel to the Arctic Circle, which is actively used by tour operators. The presence of an airport, as well as the remote location of the settlement, is a factor. Usually, travellers take a two-hour flight from Norilsk, and they find themselves in the tundra within an hour of landing. The most common types of tours are hunting (with a rifle or camera), fishing and ethnic tourism. Tour operators are more likely to offer trips for smaller groups, which are easier to service and secure. Around the Khatanga settlement, nature is in its pristine state, so precautionary measures are advisable. When visiting the Taimyr's Arctic zone, you should prepare for the unexpected: weather can make adjustments to any tour by cancelling a plane or making river navigation impossible. Delays of several days are the norm here. However, experiencing this pleasure is getting easier and easier. Just five years ago, a tourist trip to Khatanga was a holiday for the well-to-do, but today the market offers a mid-price offer that is accessible to the masses.