The Extreme & Incredible Coldest Place on Earth: And Yes, You Can Actually Visit It
“Coldest place on earth” is a search term with a surprisingly slippery answer, because “coldest” can mean three different things. After weeks of reading station records, satellite studies, and tour itineraries, I found three winners.One holds the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth. One was measured only from space. The third is the coldest inhabited […]
“Coldest place on earth” is a search term with a surprisingly slippery answer, because “coldest” can mean three different things. After weeks of reading station records, satellite studies, and tour itineraries, I found three winners.
One holds the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth. One was measured only from space. The third is the coldest inhabited place on Earth, a Siberian settlement called Oymyakon, where children walk to school at −50°C. It is also the coldest village in the world that an ordinary traveller can actually reach.
In this guide, I explain every record with numbers, compare them with Delhi and Drass, and show you how to visit Oymyakon step by step. I have not stood in Oymyakon myself, so everything below comes from verified records and operator itineraries, and my own estimates are clearly marked.
Which Is the Coldest Place on Earth Right Now?
The coldest place on Earth by measurement is a high ridge on the East Antarctic Plateau, between Dome Argus (Dome A) and Dome Fuji (Dome F). Satellite readings from 2010 found surface temperatures of −93.2°C (−135.8°F) there, at about 3,900 metres above sea level.
Nobody lives on that ridge and no thermometer stands on the exact spot, so it is not an official record. Satellites read the snow surface, while official records use air temperature at standard height.
So when someone asks me for the coldest place on Earth, I ask back: coldest ever measured, coldest with a weather station, or coldest where people live? The ground-measured answer is Vostok Station. The lived-in answer is Oymyakon, the coldest inhabited place on Earth.
What Is the Lowest Temperature Ever Recorded on Earth?
The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth by a ground thermometer is −89.2°C (−128.6°F). It was measured at Russia’s Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983, at about 3,488 metres, far from any ocean warmth.
| Location | Lowest Temperature | Year | Type of Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dome A–Dome F Ridge, Antarctica | −93.2°C (−135.8°F) | 2010 | Satellite surface reading (unofficial) |
| Vostok Station, Antarctica | −89.2°C (−128.6°F) | 1983 | Official ground station |
| Dome A Weather Station, Antarctica | −82.5°C (−116.5°F) | 2010 | Automatic weather station |
| Klinck, Greenland | −69.6°C (−93.3°F) | 1991 | WMO-verified Northern Hemisphere record |
| Verkhoyansk, Russia | −67.8°C (−90.0°F) | 1892 | Station record |
| Oymyakon, Russia | −67.7°C (−89.9°F) | 1933 | Station record |
Delhi’s coldest day on record was roughly −2.2°C in 1935, so Vostok is about 87 degrees colder. Even a kitchen freezer at −18°C is 71 degrees warmer than the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth.
The South Pole is 5 to 10°C warmer than Vostok on average, simply because it sits lower, and its own record is −82.8°C. Altitude matters as much as latitude when you chase the coldest place on Earth. Keep in mind that the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth and the coldest village in the world are two different titles.
Why Is the East Antarctic Plateau So Brutally Cold?
Five things combine to produce the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth. At 3,000 to 4,000 metres the air is thin and holds little heat. Ice reflects most sunlight back to space. The plateau sits deep inland, away from the ocean.
The polar night lasts for months. And calm, clear skies let a layer of freezing air pool near the ground. Dome A even has some of the driest air on the planet, so the coldest place on Earth is also a polar desert. That dryness, plus the altitude, explains the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth.
Oymyakon: The Coldest Inhabited Place on Earth
Oymyakon, in Russia’s Sakha Republic (Yakutia), is officially the coldest inhabited place on Earth. About 500 people live in a mountain-ringed valley that traps freezing air like water in a bowl. The numbers I found:
- Official record: −67.7°C (−89.9°F) on 6 February 1933 at the weather station between Oymyakon and Tomtor.
- Unofficial reading: a village monument commemorates −71.2°C (−96.2°F), which is not an accepted station record.
- January average: roughly −46°C to −50°C, depending on the source.
- School rule: the school closes for young children only at −52°C and for older students at −56°C.
- Frostbite: on a −59.6°C morning, exposed skin could freeze in under five minutes.
In the coldest inhabited place on Earth, cars are often left running so engines do not freeze, and locals eat frozen fish, reindeer meat, and horse liver.
This winter is worth watching too: in late December 2025, Yakutia saw −40°C to −50°C; some areas touched −60°C, and schools were shut.
Is Oymyakon Also the Coldest Village in the World?
Yes, with a footnote. Oymyakon is widely accepted as the coldest village in the world that is lived in all year, but Siberia has rival claims:
- Verkhoyansk recorded −67.8°C in 1892, just 0.1°C colder than the coldest village in the world. It also holds the Guinness record for the greatest temperature range, about −68°C to 37°C, a swing of 105 degrees.
- Tomtor sits next door and has hosted the Pole of Cold festival every March since 2001.
- Yakutsk is the coldest big city, with about 355,000 people, a January average low near −42°C, a record of −64.4°C (1891) and under four hours of winter daylight.
- Snag, Yukon holds the North American record, −62.8°C (−81°F), from February 1947.
Klinck in Greenland, with its WMO-verified −69.6°C, is a research station, not a village, so Oymyakon keeps the title of coldest village in the world.
Coldest Places Compared: Numbers Indian Travellers Understand
Drass in Ladakh, usually called India’s coldest inhabited town, has seen roughly −45°C. That is brutal, yet still more than 20 degrees warmer than the record of the coldest inhabited place on Earth.
| Place | Lowest Recorded | People Live There? | Can a Tourist Go? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dome A–F Ridge, Antarctica | −93.2°C | No | No |
| Vostok Station, Antarctica | −89.2°C | Research staff only | No |
| Oymyakon, Russia | −67.7°C | About 500 | Yes, on winter tours |
| Yakutsk, Russia | −64.4°C | About 355,000 | Yes |
| Snag, Yukon, Canada | −62.8°C | Tiny settlement | Yes |
| Drass, India | Roughly −45°C | Yes | Yes |
| Delhi, India | Roughly −2.2°C | Millions | Yes |
If you want to feel the coldest place on Earth for real, Oymyakon, the coldest village in the world, is the one to pick: a tourist can walk around, sleep in a guesthouse and come home with a story.
How to Visit Oymyakon: Step-by-Step Route From India
If you are wondering how to visit Oymyakon, here is how to visit Oymyakon in seven steps, based on what operators and travellers describe.
I am not quoting a total price because I found no transparent public figure I trust. Get three quotes and run your own numbers in our Travel Budget Calculator.
- Check visa and safety first. Step one of how to visit Oymyakon is paperwork, because rules for Russia have changed a lot. Use our Visa Requirement Checker and Destination Safety Radar, and read your government’s current advisory before paying anything.
- Fly to Yakutsk. Moscow has direct flights of about 6 hours 30 minutes. From India, you will usually connect through Moscow or another hub, so check what is actually flying.
- Spend a night or two in Yakutsk. Visit the ice galleries and the Chochur-Muran ethnographic complex while you acclimatize.
- Take the Kolyma Highway. It is the only reliable road, about 1,000 km, and operators describe a two-day drive. Nicknamed the “Road of Bones”, it was built by prisoners in the 1930s; the full Yakutsk–Magadan route is 2,032 km.
- Stay in guesthouses. Overnight stops are usually private guesthouses in Khandyga and the coldest inhabited place on Earth, often with meals and a sauna.
- See the sights of the coldest village in the world. Visit the Pole of Cold monument, a Yakut horse farm, and the Chyskhaan ice residence near Tomtor, a museum in an old mine shaft.
- Keep a buffer for the return. The drive back also takes about two days.
Most packages leave airfare to Yakutsk out, and roadside meals are paid separately.
Confirm this before booking. That is the whole answer to how to visit Oymyakon: one flight, one highway and a lot of warm layers.
Can You Visit the Coldest Place on Earth in Antarctica?
Not the real one. The true coldest place on Earth, meaning the Dome A–Dome F ridge, and Vostok Station are research territory, not tourist stops. But you can visit Antarctica, and the peninsula is far milder than the interior plateau where the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was measured.
Expedition cruises leave from Ushuaia, Argentina, between November and March. From the operator listings I checked:
- Most cruises cost US$6,000 to US$15,000 per person.
- November and March trips are often 20–40% cheaper than peak season.
- The cheapest ship lists shoulder-season departures under US$6,000, against US$10,000 or more in peak season.
At about ₹88 per US dollar (check the live rate), that is roughly ₹5.3 lakh to ₹13 lakh, before flights to Argentina. Compared with how to visit Oymyakon, an Antarctic cruise is a different trip: Oymyakon is colder and likely cheaper, while Antarctica gives you penguins, whales and icebergs.
Best Time, Budget and Packing for the Coldest Village in the World
For anyone planning how to visit Oymyakon, timing matters most. Oymyakon: December to February delivers the real extreme. March is milder and matches the Pole of Cold festival. Summer is cool but will not give you the coldest village in the world experience.
Antarctica: November (penguin courtship) to March (whale activity).
Packing for −40°C and below:
- Three layers: merino or synthetic base, fleece or down mid-layer, windproof shell. No cotton.
- Insulated boots rated for extreme cold and two pairs of wool socks.
- Mittens over thin liner gloves.
- Balaclava and insulated goggles, because eyelashes freeze.
- Spare batteries and power banks kept inside your jacket.
Never go out alone, keep skin dry, and stop at once if fingers or nose go numb. At Oymyakon temperatures, frostbite can start within minutes.
Common Mistakes When Planning How to Visit Oymyakon
Here are the errors I would warn a friend about before she books. First, booking only a flight and assuming the village is close to Yakutsk; it is a two-day road journey. Second, ignoring the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth for your own trip and packing for −20°C instead of −50°C.
Third, expecting hotels: the coldest inhabited place on Earth offers simple guesthouses, so book through an operator who confirms beds, heating and meals. Fourth, forgetting the paperwork, which is the part of how to visit Oymyakon that changes most often. Finally, visiting in summer and expecting the coldest village in the world to feel froze.
Conclusion
The coldest place on Earth has three honest answers: a satellite-measured Antarctic ridge, Vostok Station with the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, and Oymyakon, the coldest inhabited place on Earth.
Only the coldest inhabited place on Earth is realistically open to travellers, and the route is clear: Yakutsk, two days along the Kolyma Highway, then a guesthouse in the coldest village in the world. If your budget stretches further, Antarctica offers a gentler cold and wildlife no Siberian village can match.
Whichever you choose, check visa rules, read official advisories and pack for temperatures that sound unreal until you feel them. Questions on how to visit Oymyakon? Drop them in the comments and I will reply. For more ideas, browse our adventure travel stories and destination guides
FAQs
Is Oymyakon the coldest village in the world?
Yes. It is generally treated as the coldest village in the world that people live in all year, though Verkhoyansk and Tomtor have competing claims.
What is the coldest place on Earth?
By satellite surface readings it is the ridge between Dome A and Dome F in East Antarctica at −93.2°C. By official ground records it is Vostok Station at −89.2°C.
What is the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth?
The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth by a ground station is −89.2°C (−128.6°F), at Vostok Station on 21 July 1983.
Which is the coldest inhabited place on Earth?
Oymyakon in Yakutia, Russia, with about 500 residents and an official record low of −67.7°C. It is the coldest inhabited place on Earth that tourists can reach.
How to visit Oymyakon from India?
Check visa rules and advisories, fly to Yakutsk (usually via Moscow), then drive the roughly 1,000 km Kolyma Highway over about two days with an operator. Book guesthouses early and compare quotes.
