"Dude, Cover Up": Foreigners in Yakutia Hit Fences with Bananas, Eat Foals, Get Frostbite
Residents of the republic have noticed that Yakutia has recently been overrun by foreigners. Everyone«s coming here: British, Dutch, Indian, Brazilian. They all crave to experience the prickling sensation of extreme frost, try raw foal meat, and the bravest even plunge into an ice hole at -47 degrees Celsius (-53°F). Russian celebrities and bloggers were also among the throng of overseas visitors: Pavel Volya, Stas Natanson, and Denis Bukhintsev. A story about this phenomenon was even filmed for the Izvestia TV channel. The editors of 14.RU have collected all the visitors» impressions and share them below.
Briton Learns Yakut Language and Criticizes the Baltics
Briton Nick Darlinson lives in Russia and is married to Russian woman Alexandra. According to him, he gets irritated when he sees negativity towards our country. Nick is sure that anyone who tries the national food, studies the history, and feels the atmosphere can no longer think badly of Russia.
The man often travels and films videos about it. In mid-December 2025, he flew to Yakutsk with his wife. The first thing that surprised him was the cold (it was -42 degrees Celsius (-44°F) outside that day), the modernity and beauty of the republic«s capital, and the fabric garages.
«The first thing that surprised me was the fabric garages they call »Natashas.« They cover cars with them so they don»t freeze. The second was the ice fog, very beautiful. They say it forms because Yakutsk is located in a valley. And the third—Yakut people don«t just survive in winter, they live—and live beautifully! Yakutsk not only surprises but conquers my British heart,» admitted Nick Darlinson.
Nick visited the Kingdom of Permafrost—an ice cave located right inside a hill—the Mammoth Museum, restaurants with national cuisine, and fairs. In some of his videos, the man is dressed in Yakut brands—so shopping was a success too.
Besides city walks, the tourist made time for a trip to the Lena Pillars. He admitted it had been his dream.
«Yakutia is a warm place. We are absolutely delighted with Yakutia; your nature is like from a fairy tale, a place is always made by people: here they are incredibly friendly, warm-hearted, and beautiful. We were sitting in a cafe and noticed that everyone was smiling, talking warmly, hugging, and laughing,» says Nick in one of his videos.
The republic apparently impressed the couple so much that they decided to learn the Yakut language and tested each other«s knowledge of words using a local board game. In the video caption, Nick compared Russia to the Baltics.
«You often hear from Europeans that there is no freedom in Russia. However, it»s interesting to compare language policy: in the Baltics, there is a consistent pushing out of the Russian language from the public sphere, while in Russia the state supports dozens of the native languages of the country«s peoples,» wrote the Briton.
The couple decided not to stop their trips to Yakutia and plans to fly again in the summer to visit the Anabar District, but they are not revealing the purpose of the trip. Maybe they want to see the mysterious Dragon«s Head?
Chinese Tourists Did Not Find Happiness
The Dragon«s Head is Cape Paksa, located in the Anabar District. It is considered the easternmost point of the Russian Far East and resembles the head of a mythical creature cutting through the sea and rocks. According to Chinese tradition, seeing such a head means gaining eternal happiness.
A group of 18 tourists from China arrived in the republic in nine cars, their route passing through Beijing and Kazakhstan. Yakut residents actively responded to the dreamers« wish and even organized a send-off with all national traditions: they performed the algys ritual for blessing and gave them kumis to drink.
On January 10, the group set out from Yakutsk, but the first mishap occurred on the road—two cars broke down and had to be towed back to the republic«s capital; two young men also returned with the cars—they were scared of the cold. They spent hundreds of thousands of rubles (thousands of dollars at current rates) on the journey. Commentators on social networks scolded the tourists and their guides for their inexperience, outraged that their cars were not ready for such a difficult trip.
On January 20, it became known that the Chinese, in Trekol all-terrain vehicles, had almost reached the coveted Dragon«s Head, but a blizzard interfered. They had to turn back but did not get upset. On the way, they fed the earth with pancakes and sang Russian songs. They also saw the northern lights and even cried with happiness, lying on the snow.
Upon returning to Yakutsk, the tour group held a press conference, as reported in the Rescue Service«s Telegram channel. It turned out they were not the only ones who decided to stock up on happiness—another group of Chinese went there but did not register with the rescuers. They didn»t even manage to reach the site due to vehicle breakdown.
These Chinese extreme travelers decided not to stop and planned a trip to Chukotka in March of this year.
Deputy Minister of Entrepreneurship Maria Karpova said in an interview with 14.RU that tourists from China could help develop travel in Yakutia and cited the tourist flow to see the northern lights in Teriberka as an example.
«The northern lights! We recently had them, and one tour operator took Chinese students to see them, for whom it is one of the most important omens. For example, Teriberka has built its brand on the lights: the Chinese have a belief that if you conceive a child on the day of the northern lights, he will become an emperor. And we can do something similar, we even have direct flights to Harbin,» said Karpova.
Dutchman Gets Frostbite on His Nose and Swims in an Ice Hole
Blogger Frankvd from the Netherlands flew to Yakutsk from hot Bangkok and stayed in the regional capital for two weeks. The risk-taking guy left Yakutsk airport building without a hat and in an ordinary sweatshirt, immediately starting to cough.
As he writes in his blog, he managed to record a temperature of -53 degrees Celsius (-63°F) and even got first-degree frostbite on his nose. The guy walked a lot and was amazed by the fog, fabric garages, and how people survive in such conditions. He even took a few short interviews with passersby, asking, «Well, how is it—living in Yakutia?» The tough Yakut residents answered briefly: «Normal.»
Frank also plunged into an ice hole and, of course, recorded it on video. In the footage, the guy screams from the cold, but we can assume also from pain—even without swimming in the frost, just being outside without clothes is painful.
To have fun, the Dutchman took a frozen banana and hit fences with it. He also froze a wet T-shirt outside and tore it to pieces.
Eating local delicacies was also on the agenda—a tour operator fed the Dutchman raw foal liver with salt, boiled moose nose, the traditional milk drink byrpakh, and fried fish caught during ice fishing.
The liver didn«t impress Frank; the blogger even fought off bouts of vomiting. The moose nose didn»t suit the guest«s taste either; Frank chewed it for 10 minutes before swallowing. But the fish and the taste of byrpakh pleased the blogger. He compared byrpakh to a milky version of Coca-Cola.
«It»s so weird. Usually, something carbonated should be sweet. It«s okay,» said Frank.
On his YouTube page, Frank has already published another long video from his Yakut journey: how he crawls under houses and wonders why pipelines run above ground, plunges into an ice hole, then plays street football with children, meets a wolf, and digs a grave in winter.
The video gathered 997 thousand views and 1.5 thousand comments. Users joke about Frank and advise him to cover his face with a scarf. They also criticized his outfit.
«Dude, you»re not skiing in Austria, cover up, man,« they write to him, wishing to give him more clothes.
Indian Appreciates Raw Meat
Indian resident Sherin flew to Yakutia in January. He was taken for walks around Yakutsk and had photoshoots; experienced travelers know how Indians love to take long photos in any location.
The standard tourist set included tasting local delicacies. Sherin was treated to raw foal meat, its raw liver, cream ice cream, and the «Indigirka» salad.
Sherin himself wasn«t very talkative but reacted with astonishment and admiration after each bite of the unusual food.
«Mmm… Wow! This is very lean meat,» he noted after tasting the raw foal.
The Yakut hosts who treated the Indian noted that few foreigners like raw liver and even many residents of the republic often don«t eat it. Sherin remarked that in India they also eat liver, but boiled.
At the end of the video, Sherin played the famous Indian-motive song Panjabi MC on the guitar. Commentators praised the foreigner, but some users suggested showing him how Yakut people butcher cows.
Brazilian Drinks Tea with Local Beauties and Swears
Blogger Anderson from hot Brazil is followed by 1.5 million subscribers; he is called the first Brazilian to visit all countries in the world. Now the man has reached Yakutia, walks here without a hat, and tries to communicate with passersby. By the way, the traveler speaks a little Russian. He loudly greets Yakut residents on the streets, but they first glance sideways at the overly friendly man and only then wave back.
«I»ve never seen my face like this,« Anderson exclaims in surprise, filming himself on video. For a southerner, it»s indeed a strange picture—his eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard are covered with frost.
The blogger was shown Yakut horses—sturdy, hairy, and with short legs. He sincerely admired the beauty of the native animals and says in one of his videos that he hasn«t seen more beautiful horses. Anderson also watched how ice is chopped and tried to do it himself.
The Brazilian also managed to meet one of the local beauty bloggers, Paulina Turmel—they drank tea together. It turned out Anderson had presented his line of glasses and answered a few questions from the girl. During the conversation, he managed to show off his knowledge of Russian swear words, which caused laughter. He also noted the friendliness of people and the beauty of Yakut women.
«Very, very, very beautiful girls. Beautiful and smart,» he said, and Paulina agreed with him, noting that in Yakutsk every second woman could compete for the title of «Miss World.»
Not Just Foreigners
But not only foreigners are drawn to Yakutsk; for example, popular comedian Pavel Volya came twice: in summer and winter. He commented enthusiastically on any trip, be it the Lena Pillars, the Tukulaany sand mountains, or the market. According to the comedian, his son Robert is a fan of Yakutia and knows everything about it. We wrote about the Volya family«s adventures here and here.
In early January, well-known journalist and host of the travel program «Pognali!» Stas Natanson posted from Yakutsk. Natanson seems to have traveled the whole globe and has now reached the republic, boasting a photo with the biggest fish sold at the city«s Peasant Market.
«Guys, it»s -43 degrees Celsius (-45°F) here, and it«s even warmed up! But in this frost, I already feel I»m not dressed for the weather. I«m wearing a warm jacket, wool gloves, and a knitted hat, but in such cold it feels like you»re wearing nothing at all! The air here is immediately felt, it cuts your throat,« Stas said in his Telegram channel.
It turned out Yakutsk wasn«t the end point of the journey—Natanson headed to colder parts of the region. Subscribers guessed he was going either to the Verkhoyansk District or Oymyakon—the pole of cold.
Stas showed in his video that he«s setting off in a car that he thoroughly insulated: installed double windshield, covered the radiator, and most importantly—didn»t forget the portable «Natasha» garage.
For blogger Denis Bukhintsev from Stavropol, the journey in Yakutia didn«t start smoothly—he got into an accident in his »Niva«. The man set himself a goal—to travel to all regions of the country in it. On December 21, he drove from Magadan to Yakutsk, but a few days later on the »Kolyma« highway, he crashed into a KAMAZ truck and flew through the windshield.
«Bashed my head, injured my leg, but nothing terrible, I»m alive—that«s the most important thing. Everything»s fine, we will definitely get there, we just need to buy a new «Niva», prepare, and go on,« he says in one of his videos.
Denis was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of Yakut people. A team of nine people from the settlement of Khandyga in the Tompo District came to his aid in four specialized vehicles and pulled out the mangled car. All this was done for free, says the blogger, and they also provided him with a separate car to take him to necessary places.
His wife Yulia urgently flew out to Denis, they walked around the city together, marveled at the frosts, and tried local food.
The republic«s Ministry of Entrepreneurship published in its Telegram channel a story by the federal TV channel Izvestia, which told about the phenomenon of foreigners in Yakutia.
«Foreign tourists have decided to challenge the Russian frost. In every sense, »frostbitten« travelers, including bloggers, from all over the world are coming to Russia for extreme sensations and, of course, shock content,» said the host on air.
The ministry itself summed up that a trip to Yakutia is a conscious choice and a willingness to go beyond the usual tourist experience.
«Such interest from foreigners indicates that more and more people are striving for authentic destinations and genuine impressions, not standard routes,» concluded the Telegram channel.
