Khanty-Mansiysk is a modern and vibrant city on the banks of the Irtysh, one of the most famous Siberian rivers. The development of Western Siberia began with the arrival of the Cossacks at the end of the 16th century. And the discovery of oil in the 20th century gave a new impetus to the development of the region. Here, the traditions of indigenous peoples and modern technologies are combined, and parks and museums tell the history of an ancient and rich region. People come to Khanty-Mansiysk to walk among giant mammoths, taste Siberian cuisine and admire the expanses of the mighty Irtysh.
How to get from Moscow
From Moscow to Khanty-Mansiysk the flight is only three hours, tickets will cost from 10,000 rubles* per person round trip.
What to see
Archaeopark
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Just imagine: once upon a time on the territory of the cultural and tourist complex “Samarovsky Outpost. Archeopark” real mammoths roamed! And today, tourists and local residents come here to see sculptures of extinct animals and ancient people and imagine the life of the region tens of thousands of years ago, during the Pleistocene.
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The park combines the outcrop of the Samarovsky glacial outcrop, the archaeological monument “Samarov Town” and the largest archeopark in Russia.
Photo: Evgeni Romanov/shutterstock.com
Today you can see mammoths here – the embodiment of strength, power and eternity, because time seems to have stood still in the park. The height of the largest mammoth reaches eight meters. In addition to them, in the park there is a cave lion and a bear, a woolly rhinoceros, a herd of horses frozen in a swift run and a pack of wolves. At night, the figures are illuminated, creating a feeling of unreality of the moment: night, Siberia, silence, and only a chain of 11 mammoths frozen at the foot of the mountain. The ancient animals look more natural in winter, but at any time of the year it is worth spending a few hours on a fascinating walk into a vanished world. And from the park there is a beautiful view of the Irtysh.
Park “Samarovsky Chugas” and open-air museum “Torum Maa”
In the Samarovsky Chugas park, located almost in the city center, you can stroll through the real Siberian taiga, have a picnic, feed the squirrels and admire the centuries-old cedars and spruces. For children, there is a rope park “Kasne Maa”, which means “Land of the Conquerors”, and equipment is available for rent at the ski base and tubing track. Older visitors are offered to go to the open-air museum “Torum Maa”, which tells about the culture and life of the indigenous peoples of Siberia – the Ob Ugrians, this is the common name for the Khanty and Mansi. Translated from the Mansi language, the name of the museum means “Sacred Land” – the Ugric peoples considered sacred the hills that surround the confluence of the Irtysh and Ob, 20 km from Khanty-Mansiysk.
Tourists are shown reconstructions of the summer camp of the Khanty and the winter settlement of the Mansi with household and hunting storage sheds – special tree houses where food and furs were stored. Follow the recreated trail and view traps for large and small game to feel like a real hunter in the heart of Siberia. On the territory of the museum there is a “Sanctuary of the Ob Ugrians”, and in the summer and winter houses there is a rich exhibition of authentic items of everyday life and culture of the indigenous population. Where else can you see a bag made of fish skin or deer foreheads, decorated hunting belts and elements of clothing and harness, if not in the hunter’s home?
Museum of Nature and Man
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The oldest museum in the city – its history goes back almost a century – is loved by both guests and local residents. The futuristic building houses permanent and temporary exhibitions that tell about the distant past of the region and create an amazing feeling of the guest’s involvement in Siberian history. From hoary antiquity through the legend of the conquest and annexation of the rich lands of Siberia to the Russian state, visitors find themselves in the “Mythological Time”.
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Seven parts of the exhibition dedicated to the beliefs, spirits and deities of the Khanty and Mansi will be of interest to tourists who want to understand the culture of the indigenous people. Here, under the starry sky, the powerful Heavenly Horseman travels around the world, protecting sanctuaries and hiding places of spirits, and the Clawed Old Man, as the bear is called – the totem animal of the Ob Ugrians – celebrates the Bear Games. Ritual clothing, birch bark masks, staves and legends about the Golden Woman will give the key to understanding the world through the eyes of the original inhabitants of Ugra.
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If you want to penetrate the secrets of the thousand-year-old Siberian taiga, go to the “Rhythm of the Biosphere” exhibition. The most popular exhibit among guests is the monumental skeleton of a mammoth that lived three million years ago. In addition, see fossils and shells from vanished ancient seas and dioramas of the region’s main ecosystems and their inhabitants.
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Keep in mind that you will spend at least a couple of hours at the museum – you won’t be able to quickly run through it. Ticket price – from 150 rubles* for one exhibition or 250 rubles* for a single ticket, children under 18 years old – free.
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Museum of Geology, Oil and Gas
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To understand what caused the region’s rapid economic development, head to the Museum of Geology, Oil and Gas. The building’s shape resembles a quartz druse – a group of crystals fused at the base and symbolizes the richness and diversity of the region’s natural resources. Here you will learn what color “black gold” is, you will be able to touch oil with your hands, visit the geologists’ tent city, and even play checkers at a rough-hewn table. Admire intricate agates, crystals and other rocks, and learn the stories of native gold and quartz mining. By the way, the miner’s trolley in the museum is genuine. Don’t forget to buy a mini-barrel, an anti-stress drop of oil or a “Tourist Stamp” as a souvenir – a wooden souvenir depicting the symbols of Ugra. Ticket price – 170 rubles*, children under 17 years old – 100 rubles*.
Art Museum
In one of the youngest museums in Ugra, art lovers will find paintings by outstanding Russian artists of the 18th-20th centuries and will be able to admire little-known paintings by V. M. Vasnetsov, I. K. Aivazovsky, I. E. Repin and others. The section of ancient Russian art is proud of its collection of icons. Of particular interest to guests are the exhibits of the traditional craft of local people – bone carving. Here you can see archers made from deer antlers, bone combs, scenes from the life of bears on a mammoth tusk, caskets and animal figurines, and even entire chess sets. Tickets from 50 rubles*.
City parks and sculptures
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Khanty-Mansiysk has many interesting urban sculptures, monuments and parks that are pleasant to take a walk in. Near the Art Museum, find the only six-meter Faberge egg in Russia – a fountain of the same name. In the park named after Boris Losev, find the baby mammoth from the popular cartoon “Mother for the Baby Mammoth,” and not far from it, the sculpture “Fairy of Warmth and Kindness.” Make a wish and throw a coin into the Fairy’s pointy shoe – they say the good sorceress will certainly make it come true. Lovers will love the small plump cupid telling fortunes on a daisy, and lovers of monumental forms will love the “Ob and Irtysh” fountain with the adjacent cascade of waterfalls.
Near the airport, the “Khanty Family” is a sculptural composition with life-size figures of indigenous people, deer and dogs. In front of the District Library, a bronze owl carefully covers three owlets with its wing, and next to the Museum of Nature a hunter and a bear are fighting – you can look at the unusual sculpture with ethnic motifs for a long time.
Alley “Gods and Spirits”
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The pedestrian alley on Dzerzhinsky Street is decorated with sculptures by artist Galina Vizel, created based on the mythology of the Khanty and Mansi. The second title of the seven-part composition, “Mythological Time,” reflects the essence of the perception of the surrounding world by the indigenous peoples of the North. Among the seven sculptures, find the “Clawed Old Man”, “Heavenly Horseman” and “Shaman” and ponder the secret meanings of the spirit world. Bronze Age figurines became the prototype for the pantheon.
“Red Dragon”
The 1,316-meter-long road bridge across the Irtysh is called the “Red Dragon” for its color and outline, reminiscent of a mythological beast hovering over the river. In the list of the most beautiful bridges compiled by the Federal Road Agency, it takes an honorable second place – so don’t forget to take a photo. This bridge is also part of the Northern Latitudinal Corridor.
Ecological and educational center “Shapshinskoe tract”
30 km from Khanty-Mansiysk you can visit the bears Stepan, Tikhon and Eremey – they live in enclosures at the ecological center. They also offer a walk along eco-trails and a stylized area with a heated tent. You can rent a house for the night, attend a master class on making souvenirs, take part in an environmental festival, or ride horses or snowmobiles.
Where to eat
The main delicacy of Khanty cuisine is stroganina. It is prepared from frozen deer meat or fish – muksun, nelma, sterlet. It is cut into thin slices and dipped in salt. In general, the traditional cuisine of the peoples of the north contains a lot of different fish and venison – even raw deer meat, which is considered a special delicacy. Add nuts and berries to this and you get a unique cuisine. Of course, it’s better to get acquainted with it at the gastronomic festival “Taste Ugra”, which takes place in Khanty-Mansiysk in January, but you can also go to restaurants in the city, for example, in “Misna”. And when you miss your usual food, go to “Divan-Saray” – there you will be deliciously fed with more familiar dishes.
Where to stay in Khanty-Mansiysk
Hotel “Cronwell Inn Yugra” – from 3400 rubles* per night per person;
Boutique Hotel Molly O’Brain – from 5000 rubles* per night per person;
Guest House Gamma – from 2750 rubles* per night per person.
Main photo: Evgeni Romanov/shutterstock.com
*Prices valid at time of publication
