In the Magadan region, in the Yagodinsky district, in the upper reaches of the Kolyma, in the most beautiful mountain face there is a stunning lake - Jack London Lake. This romantic place in the photo resembles the fjords of Norway or Scotland, but not Russia.
You may ask, where did such a strange name come from for the Russian lake? The fact is that the discoverers discovered a volume of Jack London on its shore. In 1932, the lake was discovered by geologist Pyotr Ivanovich Skornyakov, who gave it its name. He was a fan of Jack London's work.
One of the most exotic and beautiful lakes in the Far East is located at an altitude of 803 meters above sea level. Its length in the northwest direction is 10 km, and its depth is 50 meters. The highest peak in the lake area is Aborigine Peak. Several streams and the Purga River flow into the lake. There are 4 islands on the lake, the smallest of which divides it into 2 parts - Big Jack and Little Jack. The low banks are overgrown with larch forest or dwarf cedar. There are also sandy beaches.
Ice floes float on the lake until the end of July, but off the coast the water warms up to +10-12 degrees. Freezing occurs in mid-October.
The lake is framed by deciduous forests. In the taiga you can find bears, stoats, chipmunks, moose, hares, squirrels, and red voles. Partridges live in the riverine willows.
The climate in these parts is harsh, and we recommend visiting the lake in the summer months. In winter, the average air temperature is −33 degrees, there can be strong snowstorms in the mountains, and there is a danger of avalanches. Summers in the valleys are quite warm, but in the mountains they are cool. At the beginning and end of summer there are frosts and rains that cause floods in rivers.
Jack London Lake is surrounded by many small lakes, such as Mechta, Gray Gull, Invisible, Anemone, Kudinovskie Lakes. All lakes are located in a depression surrounded by mountain ranges.
How to get to Jack London Lake?
Getting to Jack London Lake can be quite a challenge. There is an access to it from the P-504 Kolyma highway; between Yagodnoye and Debin there is a sign on the highway that says “Jack London Lake” (from Yagodnoye - 8 km, from Debin - 65 km). After leaving the highway, you need to immediately cross the Debin River over the bridge. During a flood, this may not be feasible. Next, follow the dirt road along the Sukhona River for about 50 km. There are swamps and fords on the road, so have a winch, jack and other things necessary in such cases in your car. The journey from the highway may take more than one day. Everything will depend on weather conditions and road traffic.
Excursions, where to stay
Jack London Lake is located in the protected area of the Jack London Lake National Park. This is a great place to relax, where you can spend time in the wild, in a tent, enjoying the silence and untrodden wilderness of these places.
Excursions to the lake are organized, which include visits to the sights of Magadan and a visit to the lake “Dancing Graylings”. Tourists are accommodated in wooden houses or tents. Fishing, picking mushrooms and berries, walking to Jack London Lake (3 km), photo hunting, going to the circuses of the Annachag ridge, to the foot of Aborigine Peak, excursions to the islands and many other entertainments are offered. The cost of such tours may immediately include accommodation and even the cost of travel to Magadan.
Many hotels in Magadan also offer their services, where the cost of a room will cost you from 2000 rubles. per day and more.
Visit this unique place and it will give you many pleasant moments and lasting impressions.
Yes, there is. Do you think it's somewhere in America? In Alaska or Canada?
But they didn’t guess...
Jack London Lake is the most romantic place in the upper reaches of the Kolyma in the Yagodninsky district of the Magadan region. It lies in the middle of a beautiful mountainous country, framed by the jagged saws of a harsh ridge. Its narrow mirror in the palms of larch slopes is reminiscent of the fjords of Norway and the lakes of High Scotland.
Geography. Jack London Lake is located at an altitude of 803 meters above sea level, occupies a deep depression in the Annachag mountains of the Magadan region. The length of the lake in the northwest direction is 10 kilometers, the depth reaches 50 meters.
One of the most beautiful and exotic lakes in the Far East. The most significant mountain peak in the area, Aborigine Peak (2586 meters above sea level), is located in the Jack London Lake area. The Purga River and several streams flow into the lake: Studeny, Nevedomy and small nameless ones. It is connected by the Variants channel to the Lake of Dancing Graylings, from which flows the Kyuel-Sien River, the left tributary of the Kolyma, which flows into the Kolyma Reservoir. There are 4 islands on the lake. The central island, the smallest, divides the lake into two parts - Little Jack and Big Jack. There is a weather station on Vera Island, located in the northern part of the lake.
The banks are low, often overgrown with larch forest or dwarf cedar. There are sandy beaches along the shores. Several picturesque headlands jut into the lake. Until the end of July, ice floes float on the lake, but off the coast the water warms up to +10-12 °C. The highest water levels occur in mid to late July. The lake freezes in mid-October. The ice thickness reaches 170–190 cm by the end of May.
Jack London Lake is located in an area of sparse larch forests. Higher up dwarf cedar grows, above which there is a belt of mountain tundras. Bears and wolverines are common in the taiga. Lots of chipmunks and red voles. Moose live in taiga valleys. Often found are ermine, white hare, and squirrel. A partridge lives in the willows along the river.
There are many small lakes around Jack London Lake. The most prominent lakes in size are lakes Mechta, Anemone, Gray Chaika, Nevidimka, Neighboring, and Kudinovskie lakes. The lakes occupy depressions formed by moraines of ancient glaciers. The entire group of lakes is located in a small depression surrounded by mountain ranges.
The climate of the area is sharply continental and harsh. The average air temperature in January drops to?33 °C. In winter there are strong snowstorms in the mountains. On the leeward, often eastern, slopes and ridges there are powerful snow cornices. During the winter months there is a high risk of avalanches. Summer is relatively warm in the valleys, cool in the mountains. The average air temperature in July is +12 °C. At the beginning and end of summer there are frosts and snow falls in the mountains. It often rains, causing floods on the rivers. Night frosts begin already at the end of August, if not earlier.
Here are protected areas, the Jack London Lake National Park. Jack London Lake is a wonderful place for active recreation, where you can spend one or two weeks in the lap of pristine nature, in the atmosphere of a comfortable tent camp or at a tourist base. The lake is surrounded by small, but no less beautiful lakes with islands that will leave you with an unforgettable experience. It’s true that getting to the lake is quite difficult.
History of the origin of the name. Old-timers say that the lake got its name thanks to an unusual find made by the “discoverers”. When the lake was discovered, on the shore the researchers found a volume of Jack London’s “Martin Eden”...But it is well known that the sonorous name was given to the lake by a geologist who explored local reservoirs in 1932 - Pyotr Ivanovich Skornyakov. He was fond of the works of Jack London and the geologist really liked the beautiful northern lake. This is how this name of the lake, unusual for Russian people, appeared.
Jack London Lake is the most romantic place in the upper reaches of the Kolyma in the Yagodninsky district of the Magadan region. It lies in the middle of a beautiful mountainous country, framed by the jagged saws of a harsh ridge. Its narrow mirror in the palms of larch slopes is reminiscent of the fjords of Norway and the lakes of High Scotland.
Geography. Jack London Lake is located at an altitude of 803 meters above sea level, occupies a deep depression in the Annachag mountains of the Magadan region. The length of the lake in the northwest direction is 10 kilometers, the depth reaches 50 meters. One of the most beautiful and exotic lakes in the Far East. The most significant mountain peak in the area - Aborigine Peak (2586 meters above sea level) - is located in the Jack London Lake area. The Purga River and several streams flow into the lake: Studeny, Nevedomy and small nameless ones. It is connected by the Variants channel to the Lake of Dancing Graylings, from which flows the Kyuel-Sien River - the left tributary of the Kolyma, which flows into the Kolyma Reservoir. There are 4 islands on the lake. The central island, the smallest, divides the lake into two parts - Little Jack and Big Jack. There is a weather station on Vera Island, located in the northern part of the lake.
The banks are low, often overgrown with larch forest or dwarf cedar. There are sandy beaches along the shores. Several picturesque headlands jut into the lake. Until the end of July, ice floes float on the lake, but off the coast the water warms up to +10-12 °C. The highest water levels occur in mid to late July. The lake freezes in mid-October. The ice thickness reaches 170-190 cm by the end of May.
Jack London Lake is located in an area of sparse larch forests. Higher up dwarf cedar grows, above which there is a belt of mountain tundras. Bears and wolverines are common in the taiga. Lots of chipmunks and red voles. Moose live in taiga valleys. Often found are ermine, white hare, and squirrel. A partridge lives in the willows along the river.
There are many small lakes around Jack London Lake. The most prominent in size are the lakes Mechta, Anemone, Gray Gull, Invisible, Neighboring, Kudinovskie lakes. The lakes occupy depressions formed by moraines of ancient glaciers. The entire group of lakes is located in a small depression surrounded by mountain ranges.
Climate. The climate of the area is sharply continental and harsh. The average air temperature in January drops to −33 °C. In winter there are strong snowstorms in the mountains. On the leeward, often eastern, slopes and ridges there are powerful snow cornices. During the winter months there is a high risk of avalanches. Summer is relatively warm in the valleys, cool in the mountains. The average air temperature in July is +12 °C. At the beginning and end of summer there are frosts and snow falls in the mountains. It often rains, causing floods on the rivers. Night frosts begin already at the end of August, if not earlier.
Here are protected areas, the Jack London Lake National Park. Jack London Lake is a wonderful place for active recreation, where you can spend one or two weeks in the lap of pristine nature, in the atmosphere of a comfortable tent camp or at a tourist base. The lake is surrounded by small, but no less beautiful lakes with islands that will leave you with an unforgettable experience. It’s true that getting to the lake is quite difficult.
History of the origin of the name. Old-timers say that the lake got its name thanks to an unusual find made by the “discoverers”. When the lake was discovered, on the shore the researchers found a volume of Jack London’s “Martin Eden”...But it is well known that the sonorous name was given to the lake by a geologist who explored local reservoirs in 1932 - Pyotr Ivanovich Skornyakov. He was fond of the works of Jack London and the geologist really liked the beautiful northern lake. This is how this name of the lake, unusual for Russian people, appeared.
Kolyma tract From Magadan to Jack London Lake: trekking, fishing, abandoned camps
Duration of the tour
11 days / 10 nights
Price from
Tour itinerary
Magadan - Dneprovsky mine - Yagodnoye - Jack London lake - Sinegorye
Jack London Lake is the most romantic place in the upper Kolyma. It lies in the middle of a most beautiful mountainous country, framed by the jagged saws of the harsh Annachag Range. Our tour along the Kolyma tract is a good opportunity to combine an excursion into the history of the development of the “golden” Kolyma with active recreation surrounded by magnificent nature. The best time to travel is July, early August. Basically - from June to early September.
Tour program
|
Departure from Moscow at 23:10 from Sheremetyevo airport, regular Aeroflot flight SU-783. |
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| Day 1 | 15:00 - arrival at Magadan. Meeting at the airport and transfer to the VM-Tsentralnaya hotel. Accommodation and rest. Acclimatization after a difficult flight. The time difference with Moscow is 7 hours. |
| Day 2 | Free day in Magadan. We recommend visiting: regional museum of local lore with five showrooms on Gulag themes. Geological Museum, where there is a unique collection of gold nuggets (“Golden Room”) found on mines Magadan region. Mineralogical Museum, showcasing one of the world's finest collections of meteorites. Monument "Mask of Sorrow" by the famous sculptor Ernst Neizvestny, dedicated to the memory of victims of political repression. |
| Day 3 | Moving by all-terrain vehicle to the northwest along Kolyma highway to the village of Yagodnoye (about 500 km). Next - overcoming about 60 km of off-road to Lake of Dancing Graylings. Accommodation on the lake in wooden houses of a small tourist base (or, if desired, in tents in a more “wild” place near the lake). |
| Day 4 | A day of rest after a long journey. Getting to know the area. Possible activity: fishing on the Lake of Dancing Graylings (spinning, fly fishing), pedestrian crossings along Studenogo stream, according to the season - picking mushrooms and berries. |
| Day 5 | "Active program": Walking route to Jack London Lake(about 3 km). The group of lakes is located in a small depression and is surrounded by mountain ranges; there are a number of islands on the lakes. Fishing, photo hunting surrounded by magnificent nature. On Lake Jack London there are practically no traces of anthropogenic intervention in nature - only clean water, fish in the lake, around there are mountain ranges and a riot of colors of the Siberian autumn. In the evening - return to base. |
| Day 6 | For two days - tracking to circuses Annachag ridge and to the foot of Aborigine Peak. Overnight in a mobile tent camp. Dinner, breakfast, and lunch by the fire. In the evening of the second day - return to base. Or: rest in the camp - radial walking and boat trips in the vicinity of the lake, excursions to the islands. |
| Day 7 | A day on the lakes. Fishing, hiking, if the weather permits - you can swim sandy beach Jack London lakes. |
| Day 8 | Packing for the trip. Transfer to the village of Yagodnoye. You can visit Museum of Ivan Panikarova, dedicated to the victims of Stalin's repressions (4,000 rubles per group). Overnight at a hotel in Yagodnoye. |
| Day 9 | Transfer to the Dneprovsky mine. Dneprovsky mine is located 320 km from Magadan. It was organized in the summer of 1941, worked intermittently until 1955 and mined tin. The main workforce of "Dneprovsky" is prisoners, victims of mass repressions of the Stalinist regime and the bloody Gulag. All the years of Dneprovsky's activity, the main tools of labor here were a pick, a shovel, a crowbar and a wheelbarrow. However, some of the most difficult production processes were mechanized, including with American equipment from the Denver company, supplied from the USA during the Great Patriotic War under lend-lease. Later, this equipment was dismantled and taken to other production facilities, so nothing was preserved at Dneprovsky. Remains of industrial and residential buildings still exist today. In particular, houses similar to Russian huts, in the working and camp zones, are part of a crushing factory with large ore dumps, camp towers, barbed wire, lanterns. At the very top of the working area, at an altitude of more than 100 meters, there are several pits from mined ore, clearly characterizing the hard labor process of its extraction. The Dneprovsky mine is one of the best preserved production facilities camp Kolyma, Kolyma Gulag. Overnight in a tent camp. |
| Day 10 | Further travel along the Kolyma highway to Magadan, hotel accommodation. |
| Day 11 | Transfer to the airport, departure to Moscow on an Aeroflot flight at 17.30. Arrival in Moscow, Sheremetyevo airport, at 17:35. |
Cost of the program per person: 220,000 rubles
(for a group of 2 people)The tour price includes :
accommodation at the VM-Tsentralnaya hotel in Magadan in double rooms (including breakfast). Accommodation during the tour outside of Magadan - at a tourist base in double rooms and in tents during trekking and at the Dneprovsky mine. Meals on the route - full board on days 4–8, self-payment for meals in a cafe on the remaining days of the trip. Medical insurance. Services of a guide along the route (except Magadan), all transfers throughout the trip by individual vehicle. All trekking equipment (tents, kitchen utensils, food).
Not included in the tour price :
air flight Moscow - Magadan - Moscow (from 22,000 rubles), all personal expenses, all other expenses not specified in the program.
Attention: This tour to Kolyma assumes our intention to organize a trip along the described route. However, the Magadan region is a region with a harsh climate and unstable weather. The tour program is subject to change based on current or forecast weather/natural conditions for the safety of tourists on the route. Factors such as the current condition of roads and bridges along the route and the physical fitness of tour participants may influence changes in the route. Sole decision The guide will inform you about a change in route.
Our route is designed for ordinary people without special training, but who are in satisfactory physical shape, ready for some everyday inconveniences and for crossing rough terrain.
