Expedition to Yamal, Arctic Circle, Russia.

November 20 - December 2, 2020

3100 euros

Prices may change without notice for reasons not dependent on the tour operator but due to force majeure due to the pandemic of COVID-19.

Included:

• Flight Moscow - Salekhard - Moscow
• Transfer to and from Salekhard airport
• Hotel in Salekhard 2 nights and in Moscow 1 night
• All transportation on the way: cars, snowmobiles, trains
• Stay with the Nenets in chum
• Local guides
• Guide in Italian
• Satellite phone for emergencies
• Rental of clothing, sleeping bag and more.

Not included:

• Flight Italy - Moscow - Itaia (about 400 euros)
• Restaurants in Salekhard and Moscow (80 euros)
• The visa for Russia (145 euros)

The trip is organized through Hidden World Travel tour operator.

It starts from Italy on November 19th and arrives in Salekhard on November 20th (airport code SLY). On the 20th we will spend the day discovering the city located exactly in the Arctic circle.

We leave towards the camp of the nenets in the Polar Urals. We will do about 4 hours by snowmobile with tea stops. The day will be long.

When we reach the camp we settle in the chum.

In chum (the typical tents of the nenets) we will be their guests; there we must therefore respect their rules. The mistress of the chum, the wife, prepares food at least 4 times a day. We are free to get out of the chum when we want to take photos even at night when the Northern Lights could be there.
During the day the fire is lit inside the hut, instead at night you need the CONFORT -20 C sleeping bag, because the fire slowly goes out and from midnight until 8 am it's cold. We will sleep on the reindeer fur which is very warm, a unique experience.

Inside the chum there are dividing curtains that go down for the night and create a mini "room" where you can sleep all together. In these days we will live with the family of reindeer breeders, in their camp. This is not a "playground" for tourists, it is a place where nomads live, so you need to be ready as we are very far from civilization. This is another reality, almost another planet or another dimension. You begin to understand that we are in the 21st century, that is what is happening is in Russia and that you are a protagonist of all this. There are no showers or bathrooms, there are no beds, there are no shops or internet, sometimes people eat raw meat and drink warm reindeer blood to get vitamins and the water comes from melted snow.

But here the starry sky is extraordinary, the true unity with the nature and culture of the nenets who have carried their traditions through the centuries to the present day. The cuisine is traditional in chum and is based on reindeer meat and fish. They also eat buckwheat, pasta and potatoes as side dishes and also drink black tea. During the stay with the nenets we will have the opportunity to understand how they live and carry out their daily life. We will go to the pasture of the main herd where we can feed and communicate with the reindeer, we will photograph the nenets while they take a reindeer from the herd using the special rope made of reindeer tendons.

During the day, nenets women prepare wood for the stove which is also used as an oven; they treat dogs; they prepare lunch (they go out to get reindeer meat for cooking); they stitch the boots with reindeer fur. They go to get the snow and then use it to drink and to cook. Each clan of about 2-3 families who live together have a herd of about 1000 reindeer and therefore the men together with the tireless dogs take care of moving the herd to the best place for milking. And here we create situations for very interesting photos. Their gestures and expressions recount the effort of living in those areas and with those temperatures. Inside the chum we can organize a photographic set with lights (obviously if you bring the lights with you). In all this we are always at the Arctic Circle where we can admire the phenomenon of the Northern Lights (if weather conditions allow it).

We will make the lives of the nomads of Siberia. With them we will do the transhumance in the tundra together with the herd and all the sledges. A unique event to photograph.

In total we will spend 7-8 nights at the nenets.

December 1
We leave for Moscow where we will spend a night in a hotel in the center. From each Moscow airport you can reach the hotel by taxi about 1 hour and 15 min.

December 2
Departure for Europe

Clothing tips.
During the day the minimum temperatures are around -10ºC degrees, during the night they can go down to -15ºC, therefore you need thermal and warm clothing.

You will need a front torch for night outings and inside the chum.
Electricity is not inside the chum. The batteries charge when the generator is turned on.

You can bring some snacks from Italy (taralli, protein bars, dried fruit, chocolate).

For the precise list of clothing please contact me.

For travel to Russia a visa is required and the passport must be valid for at least 6 months at the time of departure.

Cancellation and refund policy
If a participant decides to cancel the reservation, he or she must communicate it as soon as possible to the email address of one of the two organizers.
However, the sudden absence of a participant would create management difficulties in bookings, in addition to the risk of not reaching the minimum quota of participants for the photo travel.

Then:
• If the cancellation request is sent at least 60 days before the scheduled departure date, the booking fee can be refunded (excluding agency fees only).

• If the cancellation request is sent less than 60 days before the scheduled departure date, the reservation fee cannot be refunded.
The entire amount paid (excluding agency fees only) will be refunded if the event is canceled.

Photographic equipment:

• photo camera
• lens (wide-angle, macro, medium-long canvases)
• tripod
• batteries
• cards
• remote control
• lens and sensor cleaning kit
• polarizer, GND, ND filters

• computer to download photos or external disks.
• front torches