Us Khatyn (Ysyakh Festival Grounds)
Ус Хатын
The main venue for Yakutia's biggest summer solstice festival, Ysyakh. Every June, tens of thousands gather here to dance in circles and greet the sunrise.
Ysyakh, the summer solstice festival, is the New Year of the Sakha people and takes place in late June. The main venue in Yakutsk is the Us Khatyn meadow to the north of the city, which has wooden altars, hitching posts for horses, and large event structures. During the festival there are kumis offerings, sunrise rituals, the osuokhai round dance in which the whole community takes part, displays of traditional dress, wrestling, and horse racing. Tens of thousands of people attend.
The place is just a meadow outside festival time, so it is only worth visiting during the celebration. Accommodation is tight during the festival, so book well in advance. The coordinates come from the bus stop of the same name and are approximate.
Opening hours
Around the summer solstice (late June)
Nearby sights
- Yaroslavsky Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of the North
- Museum of Khomus
- Lenin Square
- Treasury of the Sakha Republic
- Old Town Yakutsk
- National Art Museum of the Sakha Republic
- Transfiguration Cathedral
- Archy Diete Spiritual Culture Center