You can celebrate the New Year in different ways: fly to the warm sea, arrange a home vacation or go explore a new region. Increasingly, Russians are choosing the Russian north for New Year's holidays – and there are reasons for this. There is no need to maneuver between endless tourist flows, prices remain mundane, and winter is real. The same crisp, frosty one, as if Frost had walked around before dawn, leaving a thin frost pattern on each branch.

Here you can ski right in the city, taste Northern cuisine, go to the campsite so that the children can see deer and huskies for the first time, or just wander around the festive grounds.

New Year's capital of Siberia

Every December, Khanty-Mansiysk seems to put on a festive outfit, officially and deservedly becoming The New Year's capital of Siberia. The city is changing before our eyes: themed venues are appearing, thoughtful navigation for guests, and the program includes concerts, gastronomic events, workshops, and activities for the whole family - from the youngest to those who have grown up a long time ago but still believe in a festive atmosphere.

The streets and squares sparkle with lights: glowing arches, snowflakes, garlands on trees, festive fir alleys and snowmen. In the evening, the city seems to light up with a second light – the facades are illuminated, and the illumination is reflected in the sparkling snow.

During the holidays inIn the Archeopark (a territory known throughout Russia for its bronze mammoths), "Chumovaya Street" appears here: ethnodecoration, traditional dishes, craft workshops, performances by creative teams, rituals and national games. All this is against the background of snow–covered figures of ancient animals and the northern sky. You can come at least every day: the space is open throughout the holiday season, and admission remains free.

In winter, the city also hosts themed festivals: SPA Festival, Christmas Tree residence, sports events and family activities - there is definitely a choice for any mood.

Dog sledding

Sledding is a special winter feeling that is difficult to put into words. You get into a wooden sleigh, breathe in the cold air, hear the snow crunching under your feet, and in front of you are dogs, collected and attentive, already knowing the route better than any GPS. One short command, and the team moves swiftly forward, leaving behind a light cloud of silvery snow dust. 

In Ugra, you can arrange such a trip: in Nefteyugansk – at the Parus base, in Yugorsk – at Esslandia, and in Surgut – at the Ugra husky center.", where skiing is often complemented by a photo shoot and a mini-walk along forest trails. A 1.5–kilometer family trip costs from 5,000 rubles, kids under three years old can ride for free in their parents' arms, and for those who want more, they offer a 5-kilometer route for 6,000 through winter fields, along rivers and among snow-covered forests. And if you ever wanted to try driving a team on your own, the instructors will help you take the first steps and feel like a guide, at least for the duration of the route.

A trip to the camp

A trip to the camp is a rare opportunity to find yourself in places where everyday life is arranged differently. Not a reconstruction for a tourist or an ethnopark, but a living environment: wind, dry frost, bonfire, skins, fish on coals, dogs that know their owners by their voice.

One of the most famous routes is the Sopochin family camp about 70 kilometers from Kogalym. Here, guests are greeted according to tradition with smoke, they explain how life works among deer, what is more important in these conditions, and what is just a habit brought "from the mainland." You can come for a few hours, you can stay for a few days – with an overnight stay, fishing, cooking according to national recipes. 

Ocean under the roof

While the frost is pinching my nose outside and steam is rising from every word, inside the Aquatica Aquarium in the Galaktika sports and cultural complex everything is different: warmth, tropics, and bright fish seem to be in a hurry somewhere. It seems to be cool, but it feels like I've opened the door to a strange climate.

The "Open Ocean" area is especially quiet.: you stand in front of a huge window, and it seems that you are not watching an exhibition, but a life that goes on by itself and does not depend on holidays or the business calendar. The most unusual moment is a tour with a diver. He talks on the other side of the glass, and you listen to his voice in your headphones as he moves among the fish. 

Weekend skiing

When you want movement and air in winter, you don't have to go far – there are several places in Ugra where you can spend your weekends actively. Fans of alpine skiing, snowboarding and tubing can choose from three complexes: "Coniferous Urman" in Khanty-Mansiysk, "Kamenny Cape" near Surgut and "Trekhgorye" near Nizhnevartovsk.

"Coniferous Urman" is located right in Khanty-Mansiysk, on the territory of a nature park, and is well suited for family holidays and the first steps on skis: there is a training slope, main trails and lifts, and the urban infrastructure nearby makes it easy to combine skiing and recreation.

Kamenny Cape is an option for a full–fledged winter trip: several trails of varying difficulty, a training slope with instructors, cabins next to the slope and a busy winter life of the resort, including sporting events. 

The more intimate Trekhgorye near Nizhnevartovsk is chosen by those who appreciate calm skiing among coniferous forests and the absence of fuss: the trails here are compact, with different terrain, and the atmosphere encourages a leisurely rest in company. 

Snowmobile safaris and ATV expeditions

The North offers its own version of a winter adventure. Safari here is about snow dunes and about speed, which feels especially clean. Short routes allow you to get used to technology and feel confident, while long expeditions lead further – to winter forests, wide river cliffs and open spaces where silence is denser than it seems.

In Nyagan, the recreation center "ATMOSPHERE" conducts guided tours along the routes "Rodnik", "Gidronamyv" and "Lesnaya Zaimka". This is an opportunity to see familiar places from a different angle – accompanied by an instructor, with stops at points that remain inaccessible to cars and casual walks.

The grill park "FINLAND" offers more than fifteen winter routes: from short trips of about thirty minutes just to try, to four-hour exits, where the main thing is not speed, but the path itself, the wind and the feeling that the real north is around, without frames and decorations.

Baths and saunas

There are several excellent bath spaces where you can relieve tension, strengthen your health and just relax your body and soul. One of such facilities in Khanty-Mansiysk is the Chugasovsky Baths, where a traditional Russian bathhouse, a Finnish sauna and a hammam are assembled under one roof, as well as a swimming pool and relaxation areas, SPA treatments and massages. Here you can not only steam with oak brooms and dump the load of the road, but also undergo scrubbing or use individual steam techniques.

Another place that is appreciated by both tourists and locals is the "Banny Dvorik" of the Yugorskaya Dolina hotel complex, famous for its outdoor warm outdoor pool. Bathing in warm water among the snowy landscape is becoming a particularly cozy winter tradition: after walking around the city, skiing or walking in the Archeopark, it feels like a well-deserved way to recover and continue your vacation. 

Museums

Winter days in Ugra can easily be diluted with cultural discoveries, especially if you want to change the format of your vacation without losing the feeling of traveling. For example,The Museum and Exhibition Center in Kogalym often becomes a real discovery for the guests of the region. This is not a classic museum with showcases and plaques, but a space where you can see a lot up close and literally live. Full-size exhibits are collected here: a Cossack boat, a real train carriage, a Khanty chum, a tent of oil pioneers. The hall of entertaining science and the clay workshop deserve special attention – especially for families with children, for whom it is important not just to watch, but to try and ask questions.

Those who want to learn more about the culture of the indigenous peoples of the North should visitTorum Maa is an open–air ethnographic museum. There are real plagues here among the snow-covered forest, and the expositions tell about the traditional way of life of the Khanty. A walk through the museum in winter is especially atmospheric: silence, snow, smoke, and the feeling of being in another time, where everything is simple and real.

You can continue your acquaintance with the history of the region in Museum of Nature and Man. This is one of those places where both adults and children feel equally passionate. There are impressive exhibits here – a mammoth skeleton, a soft woolly rhinoceros, fossils of ancient fish and marine lizards. The museum helps to see Ugra not only as a modern region, but also as a territory with a thousand-year history, where nature and man have always been closely linked.

Young researchers and their parents will be particularly interested in Museum of Oil and Gas Geology. Interactive tours here tell how the discovery and extraction of minerals influenced the development of Ugra, what was the path of the pioneers and why the oil and gas industry became part of the regional identity. The museum's format allows you not only to listen, but also to get involved – through layouts, multimedia and live examples.

And in Surgut, the cultural route can be laid directly through Old Surgut is an open–air museum where you can stroll through wooden streets, look into old houses and feel the atmosphere of the city as it was many years ago.