Traversing the Road of Bones

The Kolyma "Highway", or the Road of Bones, links the Russian Far East cities of Magadan (next to the Sea of Okhotsk) with Yakutsk (next to the Lena River). The word "highway" is in parentheses because it is more like a (dotted) line on the map than an actual, contiguous, roadway. In this, the most remote of roads, bridges are often washed out and the road disappears with the spring thaw. The most ideal time of the year to travel on this road is in the winter, when the rivers have frozen sufficiently and bulldozers and tractors are on duty to clear paths and pull errant vehicles stuck in ditches and ravines.

I first heard about the Road of Bones in Jeffrey Tayler's "Siberian Dawn". In that book, Tayler traveled from Magadan to Poland, an 8,000 mile journey, by land. He made the journey between Magadan and Yakutsk by hitching a ride from a truck driver.

I saw what the Road of Bones looked like for the first time in Long Way Round, a documentary which showed Ewan McGregor, his best mate Charley Boorman, and cameraman extraordinaire Claudio von Planta ride around the world in BMW R1150GS's. It is called the Road of Bones because of the thousands of gulag prisoners under the Stalin era who died building this road.

After much research, I have come to the conclusion that unless you are equipped with brand new, modified motorcycles, 4x4s, and a support crew with a sat-phone, the best way to go is to hitch a ride with a truck driver. Just make sure you don't get a ride from the driver of the truck pictured above.

For more information, see "Siberian BAM Guide" by Yates and Zvegintzov.

CKY