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Voykit pocket guide · Russia
Kyubyume
Кюбюме
Skip unless you collect abandoned towns: Kyubyume is a walkable stop on the Kolyma Highway, with no shops, no water and no bed. Time on site: check.
Kyubyume is an abandoned town on the Kolyma Highway in Yakutia, at the junction of the old and new roads. It once held around 500 residents, a telegraph station and truck garages; today a handful of squatters strip buildings for materials trucked to Yakutsk. The site is covered on foot. There is no food, water or medical help, so it works only as a self-sufficient stop on a longer drive.
- Country
- Russia
- Local name
- Кюбюме
- Best months
- Check: SOURCES give no month-by-month timing. The new road is described as passable by standard vehicles in summer and winter; the old road is not kept clear of snow in winter.
- Avoid
- Check: SOURCES give no months. The old road east is not kept clear of snow in winter and is impassable then to all but cross-country skiers.
- Stay
- 0 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- RUB
- Money
- Foreign-issued cards, ATMs and most transfers do not work: see Insurance & payments above.
- Daily spend
- Budget ₽2,000–3,000 excl. bed · Mid ₽3,500–5,000 excl. bed · High ₽6,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- Emergency
- General emergency 112
Get in
By air
- YKS · Yakutsk (Platon Oyunsky) Airport
- Check: code, name and road access are not in SOURCES. Yakutsk is about 600 km (373 mi) west by the Kolyma Highway.Check: code, name and road access are not in SOURCES. Yakutsk is about 373 mi (600 km) west by the Kolyma Highway.
- USR · Ust-Nera Airport
- Check: code, name and road access are not in SOURCES. Ust-Nera is about 400 km (249 mi) north by road.Check: code, name and road access are not in SOURCES. Ust-Nera is about 249 mi (400 km) north by road.
Show 6 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
On foot; the whole site is a short walk. The signposted turnoff leads to a broken bridge passable only by nimble pedestrians; a better river ford is at the working petrol station about 3 km (1.9 mi) towards Ust-Nera, where the roads join at the town.On foot; the whole site is a short walk. The signposted turnoff leads to a broken bridge passable only by nimble pedestrians; a better river ford is at the working petrol station about 1.9 mi (3 km) towards Ust-Nera, where the roads join at the town.
See and do
Known for
- Abandoned theatre with graffiti
- Mineral spring by the old petrol station
- Truck garages and the telegraph repeater station on stilts
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Yakutsk | Drive the Kolyma Highway about 600 km (373 mi) west; the new road is passable by standard vehicles in summer and winterDrive the Kolyma Highway about 373 mi (600 km) west; the new road is passable by standard vehicles in summer and winter | About 10 h by vehicle |
| Ust-Nera | Drive about 400 km (249 mi) north on the Kolyma HighwayDrive about 249 mi (400 km) north on the Kolyma Highway | About 6 h by vehicle |
| Tomtor and the Pole of Cold | Old road east about 200 km (124 mi) across mountainsOld road east about 124 mi (200 km) across mountains | Half a day or more |
| Batagay | Drive north on the Kolyma Highway | Check locally |
Sleep
- Tent or a building that might not collapse
- No accommodation of any kind. Pitch a tent or find a nook; buildings collapse under snow or in freeze-thaw.
Etiquette, safety and scams
Scams and watch-outs
- Buildings collapse, mostly under snow or in freeze-thaw; expect broken glass and asbestos.
- No medical attention within 400 km: a serious injury is likely fatal.
- Bears and other wildlife re-enter the area; keep food sealed.
- No mobile coverage; the telegraph line is long gone, so bring a satellite phone.
- Be prudent about displays of wealth among people who have nothing and no police checking on them.
No medical help within 400 km (249 mi), no phone signal and no police: bring a first-aid kit, a satellite phone and bear-proof food storage, and treat every building as ready to fall.No medical help within 249 mi (400 km), no phone signal and no police: bring a first-aid kit, a satellite phone and bear-proof food storage, and treat every building as ready to fall.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Kyubyume yet. Suggested stay: 0 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Abandoned theatre with graffiti
- Mineral spring by the old petrol station
- Truck garages and the telegraph repeater station on stilts
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Wikidata — Kyubyume: www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4252523
- Wikivoyage: Kyubyume, revision 4731285 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4731285
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
KyubyumeКюбюме
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- General emergency112
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/kyubyume). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.