Cape Dezhnev
Cape Dezhnev is the easternmost point of mainland Russia. Despite the inaccessibility of this corner of the country and the enormous cost of traveling through Chukotka, there are daredevils who dream of seeing the deserted bluffs above the cold sea, the bones of whales washed ashore, the ruins of the whalers’ settlement and the monument to the pioneer Semyon Dezhnev, after whom the cape is named. The indigenous locals, the Chukchi, have long since moved from yarangs to modern low-rise houses, but have retained their skills as excellent hunters and fishermen, skillful bone carvers and folk dancers.
- History of Cape Dezhnev
- Geographical location
- Ratmanov Island
- Sights of Cape Dezhnev Sights of Cape Dezhnev
Dezhnev Lighthouse - Uelen’s bone-carving crafts
- Tourist information
- A few facts about Uelen
- How to get there
History of Cape Dezhnev
Geographical position of Cape Dezhneva
The eastern tip of Eurasia is sparsely grass-covered mountains up to 740 meters high. The shore of Cape Dezhnev is steep and precipitous, there is not even a narrow strip of sand below, characteristic of its surroundings. In clear weather one can see from here the opposite shore – Alaskan Cape Prince of Wales, which is only 86 km away from the Russian territory. Such an insignificant distance by navigational standards was the main reason for the liquidation of the village of Chukchi whalers Naukan, the nearest village to the coast of Cape Dezhnev. In 1958 the inhabitants were relocated to other settlements of Chukotka from the temptation to go farther away. The fears were not in vain: whalers from Ratmanov Island, which lies even closer to America, had migrated abroad en masse in search of sustenance before the war without asking anyone’s permission.
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After Naukan was deserted, Uelen remained the largest settlement on the Cape, located on a 200-meter-wide sand spit. It was a busy international fur trade site at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when ships stopped here or at the now abandoned Dezhnev. Nowadays Uelen is not so crowded, the settlement is mainly inhabited by bone artists and hunters.
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Ratmanov Island
If we stick strictly to the facts, Cape Dezhnev is the easternmost point of the mainland, but not of the whole country. 35 kilometers away lies Ratmanova Island, one of the two Diomid Islands. It is separated from its American neighbor, Small Diomid, or in the Russian version Kruzenshtern Island, with whom Makar Ratmanov sailed, by only 3 km. Only border guards and polar explorers live on the Russian side, it is impossible to get here without special permission. The American part of the islands is inhabited by Eskimos. There is an official date line between the two territories, so the islands are jokingly called Yesterday and Today. On Ratmanov Island there are many bird markets, walrus rookeries.
.Sights of Cape Dezhnev
The main population of the cape until about Dezhnev times were Eskimos, then they were displaced by the Chukchi. In 30 km from Uelen was found burial ground, which was named in honor of the settlement. Before the war archaeologists had time to study 76 Eskimo burials of two thousand years old. Near Uelenskoye an even richer burial ground Ekven was discovered – more than 100 burials were discovered in it, but the excavations have not been completed yet. Above the graves of the ancient inhabitants of Chukotka with their weapons and valuable objects they put frames of whale bones and piled them with stones to prevent polar bears from reaching the deceased. The most interesting remains belong to a shamaness, an old woman whose face is covered with a wooden mask.
Dezhnev’s Lighthouse
The abandoned structure, which is a hybrid of a monument and a lighthouse, was put up on Cape Dezhneva in 1956, when whalers still lived here. Attached to the body of the lighthouse is a bust of the traveler and cast-iron plates with the history of Dezhnev. The structure is set on a separate hill on the background of high mountains, next to it there is a simple wooden cross. You can go up to it from the sandy beach strewn with whale bones along a steep path or take a longer way through the abandoned village of Naukan. All that remains of the village are stones laid out in circles that look like miniature craters – the foundations on which the yarangs were built. Nearby there are dilapidated wooden barracks – the base of meteorologists, who came after the Chukchi, but soon left these places. Rarely in these parts tourists use the ruins to risk their lives to dry themselves in bad weather.
.The bone crafts of Welen
Carving walrus tusks is an indigenous trade of Chukotka, in which locals have reached unprecedented heights. The workshop in Uelen, the only one left from the Soviet era, was opened in 1931. Many people from it were honored with high titles, participated in all-Union and international exhibitions. Most often they made figures of people and animals, as well as representatives of Chukchi mythology. The workshop bears the name of Mikhail Vukvol – a skillful carver and literary man, translator, who died during the Second World War. By the way, Vukvol is not a surname, but the first, Chukchi name a child receives at birth.
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Legend has it that Mstislav Rostropovich once came to Uelen with a concert. Impressed by the sounds of his instrument, the workshop’s leading carver Tukkai made a statue of a peliken – a plump, big-eared creature with a smile to the ears – especially for the musician. However, instead of pressing his hands to his stomach according to the canon, he put a cello in them. For Rostropovich, according to the same legend, the pelican became a real talisman. Today, figures made of walrus tusks, and more often from more accessible whale bones, can be bought right in the village from any local resident – someone in the family is engaged in carving. The cost of a souvenir starts from 500 rubles. At the artel operates a free museum, it is considered a good tone to leave him as much as possible donations.
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Information for tourists
Guests of Chukotka, calculating the route, should remember that air travel in these lands is often canceled due to strong winds. In winter, snowmobiles travel between settlements, and it is almost impossible to get here from the center; in spring, storms make you wait weeks for a helicopter. The tourist season is limited to short summer months, when the sun appears above the horizon. Light plus temperatures and penetrating wind make a trip to Cape Dezhnev extreme even in summer.
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A few facts about Uelen
To prepare for the trip, you should familiarize yourself in advance with some features of Cape Dezhnev in general and Uelen in particular. Whales and walruses swim close to the shore of the cape – it is beautiful and safe, and near Naukan on the beach you can meet a polar bear, which is no longer so entertaining. There is no own agriculture on the cape, vegetables and fruits are sold at astronomical prices, so the main local treats are fish dishes: whale skin with meat, stewed intestines of seals, stuffed udder of female walrus. There are no hotels in the settlement, you can stay in the houses of locals. There is no Internet either in Uelen or in Laurentia.
.How to get there
Travelers will have a flight to Anadyr, from where local airlines fly to the village of Lavrentiya. In the settlement you can buy everything you need and admire the monument to the peliken – the Chukchi amulet. The flight will take about 2 hours, from Lavrentiya to Uelen there are sea motor boats for organized groups or helicopters. There are two heliports in Dezhnevsky village: the one located within Uelen belongs to the border guards, from the second, civilian, you have to walk 2-3 km to the nearest accommodation.
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