Yagodnoye

A gold mining town of about 4000 people, Yagodnoye is the last major town before Magadan.

By road, around 500 km from Magadan or 500 km from Ust-Nera on the Kolyma Highway. There is an airport at Susuman, about 80 km back towards Yakutsk.

The city can easily be covered on foot.

The central park. There is an aviary in the cinema building.

Check out the abandoned waterworks about 1 km downstream.

Climb one of the hills above the town for an awesome view down the valley.

There is a hotel in the same building as the bus station, near the Yagodnoye Creek through the town, for 800 руб for a room with a bathroom.

There is public internet available in the post office. This is the only internet cafe between Yakutsk and Magadan.

Jack London Lake. About 10 km down the road from Yagodnoye is the turnoff to Jack London Lake. Cross the wooden bridge and from here a very bumpy dirt road runs about 60 km south to the lake. Some smaller streams have no bridge, and the area is full of Yagoda berries, which means bears, throughout summer. At the lake, expect mosquitos, excellent fishing, and even better views across the water towards distant snow capped mountains. Jack London lake is reputed to have the best fishing in the whole of the Russian Far East.