Way station en route to the stone figures of Arctic Yakutia

02.11.2023 /// Chokurdakh settlement is situated at the mouth of the Indigirka River, which empties into the East Siberian Sea. Its first mention in historical records from the time of Semyon Dezhnev was as Allaikha, named after the river. During that period, ethnographers noted that the settlement was home to no more than 10 families. Nowadays, it serves as a significant tourist hub on the journey to a distant attraction—the stone figures of Sundurun. The village itself is also noteworthy—the unique collection of the local museum rivals those in federal and republican centres.

The official record of the settlement's history starts in 1936. During the Soviet era, it was the hub of the Allaikhovsky state farm. Due to vast distances, communication between different sections of the state farm was only possible by air. Later, the settlement became the administrative centre of an ulus bearing the same name. Today, Chokurdakh retains its status as an urban-type settlement, with an airfield situated nearby. The story of Chokurdakh airport began during the Great Patriotic War.

The settlement was located along the Alaska-Siberia air route, serving as a convenient stopover point. Besides the airfield, the village has a port that allows for cargo delivery via the river during the brief summer navigation season. The first stop for the few tourists who make it to the settlement is usually the Allaikhovsky Museum of Nature, Tundra and Hunting. The museum was established in 1977 on a community initiative.

The founder and first director was local historian D. A. Lebedev, an Honoured Worker of Culture of the YASSR, a distinguished conservationist and an honorary citizen of the ulus.

Later the museum was transformed into a branch of the Yakutsk State Museum of History and Culture of the people of the North named after E. M. Yaroslavsky. At present, the Allaikhovsky Museum occupies four exhibition halls with a total area of 190 sq m. The museum's collections hold a wealth of ethnographic materials on the Even and northern Yakuts, fishing and hunting tools, reindeer harness items, transportation means, clothing and other exhibits. The museum boasts a large collection of taxidermy birds and animals, including rare species like the polar bear, wolverine, Siberian white crane and Ross' gull. The exhibits depict the district's history, highlight issues of northern nature conservation and preservation of traditional cultures of minority peoples: Even, Russian-Ustyins and Yakuts. Materials dedicated to one of the founders of Chokurdakh and its first doctor, S. P. Mokrovsky, hold a special place in the exhibition. The exhibition includes the Lekh mammoth graveyard and the interior of a traditional dwelling — a tordokh.

An open-air ethnographic complex, 'How Our Ancestors Lived,' was established as a branch of the museum. The complex is situated 15 km from Chokurdakh settlement, on the right bank of the Malaya Erge-Yuryakh channel. It features a summer dwelling—urasa, a winter dwelling—kholomo, two show-booths (balagans), a place for fish processing and a spot for preparing dry-cured fish (yukola). On display is a carbass boat, trap for polar fox hunting; an icehouse for storing supplies gathered during the hunting season; a cellar for keeping decoys as part of hunting equipment. The site features dog kennels, a residential house for the staff who maintain the complex, a hotel and a viewing platform.

The first expedition to the Stone People of Sundurun was conducted in August 2020, marking the inauguration of a new tourist route in the Arctic region of Yakutia. The Stone People of Sundurun are stone formations made of sandstone and quartz, standing up to 30 m high, and scattered across the tundra over an area of approximately 100 sq km. The Even name for this area, Bail Urukchan Sun-durun, translates to 'Stone People of Sundurun.'
This is easily explained as the stone sculptures indeed resemble human figures. Situated on the hilly elevations of the tundra, these remnants, in combination with the terrain, create a unique landscape not found anywhere else on our planet. During summer, you can observe polar bears and flocks of white cranes in the surrounding areas. Moreover, this is the place where you can feel like a genuine palaeontologist and discover the bones of ancient bison or woolly rhinoceros. The Stone People can only be accessed from the Chokurdakh settlement. The InYakutia company provides tourist transportation to this area.

The ethnographic complex 'How Our Ancestors Lived' serves as a training base for field practice for students from the Department of Biology at the M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University. The complex also hosts a children's tourist camp called 'Dyukeebil.' The programme includes recreational, environmental and educational activities that introduce students to the history and nature of their homeland.