How does one get to Lake Vivi, at the geographical center in Russia?
In 2008 I went to Novosibirsk, Russia, for a solar eclipse. We were told at the time that The Chapel of Nikolai the Miracle Maker in town marks the geographical center of Russia.
I also went back in 2011 on a trip across Russia on the train. Myth or out of date or whatever, it's apparently not true, and there's a monument on the shore of Lake Vivi indicating the true spot.
However, my interest now piqued, I can't find if it's even possible to visit this spot. It seems fairly far north of the standard train lines. Can one visit, or would it require a more substantial expedition to venture out into this region of Russia?
Best Answer
This area is close to the Putorana plateau, "near" the city of Norilsk, and indeed not too far from the village of Turokhansk.
As a look at the topographic map shows, the area is full of rivers and hills. You might be able to get there by boat from Turokhansk, as mentioned in VMAtm's answer, but it's probably easiest to get there in winter.
January and February are very cold, but in March and April, it's not so cold; mean minimum temperatures around -20°C, and temperatures below -35°C might be rare, so it's not all that cold. So skiing might do it. It's less than 300 km from Turokhansk to this spot, and you might be able to get a taxi ride quite a bit into the area; Richard Löwerherz, when cycling in northeastern Europe and western Siberia in winter (in temperatures down to -50°C), seemed to be offered a ride by nearly every car passing by. Mind you, he wasn't cycling on roads; he was cycling on rivers. Given the extreme cold in the deep winter, there probably isn't too much snow. However, there don't seem to be official ice-roads maintained on the rivers, so I'm not sure if it's actually possible there. Skiing or snowmobiling, of course, is. If it's possible to cross Greenland and Antarctica, it's also possible to get to Lake Vivi. But it is an expedition.
But, I would recommend to dress properly if you're venturing on such an adventure!
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The lake is located in a remote area and has no permanent settlements along its banks. It is known for having the geographical center of Russia lying on its southeast shore at 66\xb025\u2032N 94\xb015\u2032E. The spot is marked by a 7-metre monument erected in August 1992.Where is the center of Siberia?
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The Geographical Centre of the Asian Continent (Chinese: \u4e9a\u6d32\u5927\u9646\u5730\u7406\u4e2d\u5fc3) is the name of a monument indicating the supposed geographical centre of the Asian continent. It is located about 20 km south-west of \xdcr\xfcmqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. The measurement on which it is based dates to 1992.The geographical center of Russia.
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