Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk lies on the Yenisei River, which flows from west to east through the city and is a important junction on the Trans- Siberian Railway. There are several islands in the river, the largest of which are Tatyshev and Otdyha Isles, which are mainly used for recreation.

Facts about the city.
Krasnoyarsk is located 4065 kilometers from Moscow along the Trans-Siberian railway. It takes about 2 days and 10 hours to get there from Moscow by train and about 4.5 hours by plane.
Krasnoyarsk is the center of the vast Krasnoyarsk region, it is the second biggest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk and a powerful industrial center. There are about 950,000 inhabitants. Despite that Krasnoyarsk is a very pleasant city and we definitely recommend you to stop there for a day or two on your way along the Trans-Siberian. Near Krasnoyarsk (20 mins by car from centre) there's a national park Stolby - a very diverse natural area with unusual cliffs. Also, Krasnoyarsk can be a good starting place for trips in Khakasiya and Tuva.The city also amazes with the hospitality of local people — a typical Siberian trait, but especially evident in Krasnoyarsk. Everybody: from a bus conductor to a stranger on the street seem to want to make you feel good and proud of their city.

Krasnoyarsk lies along Enisey river — one of the most beautiful and powerful rivers of Siberia. It is surrounded by mountains, giving a very interesting flavour to the city views.
If you have only a few hours between trains in Krasnoyarsk, you can walk around the city center. The infrastructure is well-developed and there are a lot of cafes, restaurants, and a few 24-hour internet cafes. If you have more than 1 day, you may consider going to the national park Stolby, giving yourself a nice fresh-air break from train journey.

The history of Krasnoyarsk counts back to the year 1628 when it was founded by the cossack Andrey Dubensky. At that time it used to be a local center and was an important transport hub for river transport (Enisey river goes up to North ocean). During the XIX century it was an imporant cultural center of Siberia: in the end of 1880s the Regional Studies Museum was opened: one of the most imporant ethnographic and archeology museums in Russia. The Trans-Siberian road passing through Krasnoyarsk gave a boost to industrial development of the city, especially metal production, oil, and construction industries. Krasnoyarsk is also famous because of general Lebed, who was the governor of Krasnoyarsk region in the end of 90s. He died in a helicopter crash in 2002, but local people respect him and relate a lot of improvements in the city life to his governance.

Getting to / from and around Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is situated on Trans-Siberian railway about halfway between Novosibirsk and Irkutsk, so there are many trains passing by every day.
There are also daily flights between major Russian cities and Krasnoyarsk made by KrasAir.
The public transport is very easy to use and conductors are very friendly: when I took a trolley from the railway station to city center the woman who was selling the tickets made a little tour for me, and I saw how much she loves her city. It is rare you meet people like this.
Anyway, below are a few advices about transport in Krasnoyarsk.

Train Station.
Located in the center of Krasnoyarsk, about 10 minutes by public transport to the core of the city. The main building is being renovated now, but the temporary waiting hall is perfect: ticket offices opened 24 hours, train schedules, snack shops, and clean toilets. There's a luggage room located outside of the temporary hall and to the right (the old building just along the tracks, ask for "kamera khraneniya"). You can leave your luggage there for 30R ($1) per day and walk around the city between the train breaks. Check the opening time of the luggage room. It is supposed to work 24 hours, but there are long breaks.
Outside of the station, opposite the waiting hall there's a post and international telegraph, where you can make phone calls.
There are a lot of taxis around, but stay away from them, because they charge much more than the normal price is. Better order a taxi by phone and it will arrive in 10-15 minutes (see phone numbers below). There are also a lot of public transport routes departing from the railway station. Before taking a bus ask if it's going in the center (just say: "Center?!"). It will take about 5-10 munutes and the trip costs 4R ($0.12).

Krasnoyarsk Airport
Krasnoyarsk airport is situated about 40 minutes by car and 1 hour by bus from the city center along Moskovsky Trakt road (M-53).
If you go by bus, take the route #135, if you go by taxi, it's better not to take a car from the airport (too expensive), but order a transfer in one of the taxi companies listed below. The normal price would be around 300R ($10).
The airport has a post office, cafe, bank, ATM, currency exchange, snack and news shops, waiting hall, VIP hall, luggage storage room. Contacts: (3912) 230-400.
To purchase tickets from KrasAir you can contact their office in Krasnoyarsk: (3912) 65-16-39 (Aerovokzalnaya st., #9 and offices in city center).

Taxi in Krasnoyarsk
Taxi is the best way to get around Krasnoyarsk. Most of the travelers stop here for one day, and if you want to see as much as possible, taking a taxi is a really good option. If you have a mobile phone for the list of local GSM operators), you can just ring up the taxi operators when you need to get from one point to another. The "normal" prices are as follows: train station to main street Prospekt Mira: 30R ($1), city center to Stolby national park: 100R ($3), one hour driver services: 300R ($10).
Taxi telephones: (3912) 525-525 and 41-41-41.

Going Out, Eating Out & Sightseeing in Krasnoyarsk
Perhaps, the best thing to do in Krasnoyarsk is to just walk around — entertainment is not well developed yet, but the city itself is very pleasant and nice for walks. Most of the restaurants and cafes are located on the central Prospekt Mira, Karla-Marksa and Lenina streets. There's also the Central Park and 350-Year Krasnoyarsk square (located in front of Krasnoyarsk Hotel). At the 350 square there are a lot of open-air cafes in summer and also the famous Krasnoyarsk attraction - the local "big ben" - a "singing clock tower".

Here's a list of a few nice places to walk around:

Prospekt Mira street.
This is the main street of the city. It is located about 5 minutes by car or public transport from the center and can be a nice place to walk around if you have a few hours in the city. There are many restaurants, cafes and shops along this street. Usually there are many people in the afternoon. At one point there are even palm trees (which are taken out in summer) in a little square near Gostiny Dvor hotel - a nice place to sit and watch people. Some sections of the street are paved and there are trees on both sides, making it a pleasant place to walk around.

Best places to eat in this area are:
Rosso-Pizza - a popular pizzeria, full meal about $7-$10, located on Prospekt Mira, #117. Opened 11.00 to 21.00
Laplandia - a "family" restraurant specializing on ice-creams, but also service well-made food. Full meal about $15, located on Krasnoy Armii st., #28. Opened 12.00 to 21.00
Aphrodite - a restaurant that caters for top-class public, specializing on Greek cuisine and romantic atmosphere. Full meal about $15-$20. Located on Prospekt Mira st., #124. Opened 12.00 to 24.00.
There are also many other cafes and restaurants along Prospekt Mira, Lenina and Krasnoy Armii streets.

The main place to go out is Luch cinema and entertainment centre located on Karla Marksa street, at the corner of Central Park. It shows popular Russian and foreign movies, has a cafe and you can ask people there for further directions.

Enisey River and "350-Year Anniversary" Square.
If you arrived to Kranoyarsk for a few hours only and don't feel like seeing the city centre, you can walk from the railway station along Enisey river and to the 350-year Anniversary square (located opposite of Krasnoyarsk Hotel). This square is a popular entertainment spot along local people and there are many open cafes during summer. Also, near this square there's Regional Studies Museum and it's easy to take a taxi to Stolby national park (costs about $3, takes 30 minutes). The walk along Enisey is quite nice, especially that it is calm and picturesque (the way it can be picturesque in a city).

Local Regional Studies Museum
Krasnoyarsk Regional Studies museum was founded by local archeology enthusiasts in the 1889. The collection featured items found at the place of ancient stops, and ethnographical expeditions at Khakasia and Tuva.

The museum was closed for reconstruction from 1987 until 2001, when it was finally opened in March 2001 completely renewed and expanded.
The exposition focuses on the history of Siberian region: from the ancient times to now. The main historical events and ethnic cultures are covered at the exhibitions and there are 11 permanent expositions in the museum: "Ancient civilisations on the shore of Enisey river", "Siberian ethnic cultures", "Biological memory" (paleonthology), "Tungus phenomenon" (exhibition dedicated to Tungus meteorite, foundings, theories, etc.), "Nature of Krasnoyarsk region", "Russian culture of XVI - XX centuries", "Nature. Human. Planet" (dedicated to the latest developments).
Overall, the museum is one of the best of this kind in Siberia and is definitely worth a visit.
Address: Dubrovinskogo st., #84. telephone (3912) 27-49-87. Opened tuesday to sunday 11.00 to 19.00 (ticket office closes at 18.00), closed on the last tuesday and wednesday of a month. Entrance: $1.

Stolby National Park
Just 20 minutes by car from the Krasnoyarsk center there's Stolby national park — an area with great natural variety, popular place for weekends out among local people, and a local center of cliff-hiking.

The main attraction of the park are its cliffs that have strange curved forms, as if they were worked on by water. Because of the peculiar landscape Stolby became the local center of cliff-climbing. The original way of cliff-climbing invented by local sportsmen (called "Stolbisty") was acclaimed worldwide.
Every weekend there are a lot of people in the park and it is a great place to take a break from the city.
To get there: It takes about 1 hour to go there and back from the railway station (if there's no traffic jam, costs about 250R ($8) both ways). Don't take a taxi at the railway station or the airport - it's too expensive. It's better to order a taxi, it will come in 15 minutes. See taxi companies' contacts in Krasnoyarsk Transport section. The cars can't go further the beginning of the park, but for 50R ($1.7) you can enter as far as Taletino check-point, which is about 2 km (20 mins walk) away. To get to the most interesting place in the park (which is where the cliffs are), you will need to walk about 1.5 hours from Taletino check-point. If you are lucky an occasional car will give you a lift, but it's rare. Once you get to the main check-point Narym, you can walk around and enjoy the views on the cliffs. There are refreshment shops along the way, where you can buy a map of the park also. Accommodation can be arranged at Narym kordon, but only if you have your own tent. There are plans to make a mini bed & breakfast there at 2004. Otherwise, it's forbidden to camp and to make in the whole national park. If you want to arrange accommodation (in a tent on permitted territory or Stolby), you can contact the local forester Anatoly or his wife Galina at (3912) 32-34-35 (Anatoly) or (904) 894-8534 (Galina). They speak Russian only. They have a small house near Narym and can permit you to put a tent there ($3). They also provide excursions for $7.

Tuva Republic.
Tuva republic (also called Tyva) is located about 600 km south from Krasnoyarsk. It is considered that Tuva is located in the center of Asia and that the geographical center of Tuva region lies exactly where the capital of Tuva is, Kyzyl. The region is completely unspoiled by industry (the main branches of economy and agriculture) and there are very few roads, which makes Tuva region not easily accessible, but very unique, authentic, and preserved. Most of the landscape is defined by mountains and taiga forests, which makes Tuva very attractive for active tourists. Such activities as rafting, mountain hiking, hunting can be practised here. Also, Tuva is the center of local ethnic culture. The main religions are shamanism and buddhism and, unlike many other Asian republics in Russia, Tuva people managed to retain their national identity and culture. In the capital of Tuva you can find traditional medicine centers, shaman schools, and buddhist centres.
Only 60 years ago Tuva was still an independent state, however, it was joined to Russia in 1944. Nowadays Tuva has about 300,000 inhabitants, more than 70% are ethnic Tuvinians.
Every year (usually July) there's a festival of worldmusic and religion held at Tuva republic. See more information in "web resources" below.
How to get there: The easiest way is to get to Tuva from Krasnoyarsk is to take a train or a plane (from Moscow) to Abakan (the capital of Khakasiya), and then take a local bus to Kyzyl (the capital of Tuva) from there. The train journey from Krasnoyarsk to Kyzyl takes about 10 hours, distance is almost 600 km. There's a daily train #124 departing Krasnoyarsk at 15.52 Moscow time and arriving at 2.23 Moscow time to Abakan. From Abakan there are a few daily buses to Kyzyl, the journey lasts about 4-5 hours.

Khakasia Republic.
Khakasia republic is located to south-west from Krasnoyarsk. This region is interesting for rafting and trekking activities. The capital of Khakasia is Abakan and you can get there by daily train #124 departing Krasnoyarsk at 15.52 Moscow time and arriving at 2.23 Moscow time to Abakan (travel time 10 hours). The train back is #124 with the same departure and arrival times.