XOL/Self Drive Upcoming • Wander Beyond Boundaries

XOL Self Drive Upcoming Expeditions

Road to the Pole of Cold

If driving to the remotest corners of the world, forgotten lands, to experience like and landscape in its raw form in your very own Mahindra has been on your bucket list, then this is how far you can make it!

We are all set to embark on a first of its kind overland drive from Delhi to Magadan via Oymyakon (the coldest inhabited place on earth) in Russia’s Far East in Aug & Sept 2023. Spanning over 21000kms, a convoy of 12 expedition ready Mahindra cars will journey across 8 time zones, for 58 days across Nepal, China, Mongolia, to Siberia all set to become the first ever Indian cars to reach the coldest region in the world.

Specially curated for Mahindra owners, the route offers a splendid kaleidoscope of terrain to drive on, varied landscape, people, cultures, food, and more. It knits together lands that are old, full of historical and geographical insight, and cultures have stood the test of time.

By the way we have successfully completed this route twice earlier (in 2016 & 2019), WBB brings in accomplished expeditionary experience, knowledge and sound leadership.

Indeed we are all set to become the First Indian cars to ever reach Oymyakon!

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the ardent driving, outdoors and adventure enthusiast. It is not only pushing boundaries on the outside but is a deeply enhancing and rich experience within too. By sheer nature of experience, demands of the road and weather, it pushes you to understand the threshold of your inner potential. If you are game and ready to embark on the mother of all possible extreme overland expeditions in the world, join us as we drive out to Russia’s Far East this Aug!

Quick Facts

Start Date: 5^th Aug 2023
End Date: 30^th Sept 2023
Start Point: Greater Noida
End Point: Magadan, Russia
Duration: 58 days
Level of Difficulty: Tough (from a sheer endurance standpoint)
Countries involved: India, Nepal, China, Mongolia, Russia
Cost: INR 12L – 15L per head
Vehicles: self-owned Mahindra Thar/Scorpio/XUV 500/XUV700 which will need to comply with expedition requirements
Tone & Tenor: self-reliant, expeditionary, participatory with team roles
Max convoy size: 12

Itinerary

Setting off from the Nation’s capital, New Delhi, we head to Nepal first and cross over to Tibet. With Everest Base Camp (North, Tibet) as the first highlight, we drive further to Lhasa before entering mainland China. Crossing Chengdu, we move to Xian to meet the Terracota warriors, and further towards Beijing stopping at the Hukou water (the largest waterfall on the Yellow river Hwango Ho) enroute. Further through Erenhot, we enter the Land of Genghis Khan, Mongolia. A rugged 11 days in this forgotten paradise crossing the Gobi desert from South to North, meadows, rivers, meeting locals tribes, giving in ger camps, we touch Ulan Bataar, the capital. From here, the drive towards Russia to reach the historic, vast, living museum of Lake Baikal in Southern Siberia, Russia. Post a visit to the Baikal Nature Reserve, we enter Buryatia, an ancient land of Old Believers in Siberia. Here’s where the conservative Christians of the Eastern Church in Russia sought refuge on being banished when the New Testament came in with the advent of ink in the 1700s. The vast, uninhabited, thickly forested Taiga, was ideal. Ulaan Ude, a unique city that boasts of inter-continental climate, seeing both a +40 & -40 degree centigrade each year, offers a warm entry to this land. A cultural experience with the Old Believers at Tarbagatai, cements the understanding of the land and its people. Post this, we are all set to traverse straight north east towards Yakutia in the Sakha Republic of Siberia.

We move to enter land that is the only remaining remnant from the Ice Age on our planet. Most of Yakutia is permafrost. Inhabited by the Yakut people, originally an Arctic tribe, Yakutsk the capital boasts of rich geological history. The permafrost museum gives an insight to the earth while the Woolly Mammoth museum offers a curious peek into life in the Ice age. From Yakutsk, we hit the infamous Road of Bones to Magadan. Built by prisoners in the Siberian gulags, this historic track is entirely made of permafrost where in the active freezes and defreezes, causing slush, basis outside temperature. A short detour leads us to Oymyakon, the Pole of Cold or the coldest inhabited place on earth. Every winter, this region sees temperatures as low as -65 to -70 degree centigrade. And yet, it’s a settlement. It’s fascinating to see how people have adapted to living in such extreme temperatures! Further, post a quick peep into the museum at Tomtor, we head back to the Kolyma highway to reach Magadan.

To join this EPIC drive, please reach out Nidhi your expedition leader on WhatsApp +91 9717002058