10 coldest places in the world you can visit

General Sep 9, 2025 0 12 Add to Reading List

When people think of travel, sun-soaked beaches, tropical islands, and warm destinations often come to mind. Yet, for the adventurous few, the coldest places on Earth hold a special kind of allure. These frozen frontiers, where temperatures plunge far below what most of us could endure, offer landscapes of breathtaking beauty and experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.

From Siberian villages where schoolchildren attend class at -50°C to Arctic research stations where the sun disappears for months, these destinations reveal how both nature and humanity adapt to extreme cold.

Exploring the world’s coldest places isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those willing to brave the chill, they promise unforgettable encounters with glittering ice fields, frozen seas, star-filled polar skies, and the remarkable resilience of life at the edge of survival.

Whether you’re fascinated by science, culture, or the sheer thrill of standing in the coldest spots known to humankind, these destinations remind us of the Earth’s extremes and the spirit of endurance that thrives within them.

MUST READ: Top 10 countries with the largest prison populations in the world

Discover the 10 Coldest Places in the World to Visit

1. Oymyakon, Russia

Record Low Temperature: -71.2°C (-96.16°F)

Average Winter Temperature: -50°C (-58°F)

Often called the coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth, this small town in Siberia is home to about 500 residents. Located in the Sakha Republic, Oymyakon experiences an extreme continental climate with incredibly harsh winters. The name "Oymyakon" means “unfrozen patch of water” in the local Even language, referring to a nearby hot spring that remains liquid even in extreme cold.

Fascinatingly, the ground here is permanently frozen to depths of 1,500 metres (4,900 feet), deeper than the Empire State Building is tall. Cars must either run continuously for months or be kept in heated garages, as fuel can freeze solid and tyres can shatter like glass.

Mobile phones die within minutes once temperatures fall below -40°C, and there is no indoor plumbing anywhere; residents rely on outhouses and water from a heated communal well. Even burials are impossible in winter, as the frozen ground can only be dug in summer.

Everyday life comes with unique challenges. Pen ink freezes instantly, eyeglasses stick to faces, and contact lenses can literally freeze in people’s eyes. The local school only closes when it drops below -52°C, meaning children still attend classes in what most would consider deadly conditions.

Residents survive on a heavy diet of raw frozen fish, horse meat, and reindeer to stay warm and energised. Days are painfully short, with only three hours of dim light in December. Local legends even claim that words freeze in mid-air and fall to the ground with a tinkling sound. Despite all this, locals adapt with fur-lined boots, wolf and fox hats, and remarkable resilience.

How to Visit: Fly to Yakutsk, then drive 8 hours on the “Road of Bones” (Kolyma Highway). Best visited in summer unless you want the full brunt of Siberian cold.

2. Verkhoyansk, Russia

Record Low Temperature: -67.8°C (-90.04°F)

Average Winter Temperature: -45°C (-49°F)

This historic town competes with Oymyakon for the title of the coldest inhabited place on Earth. Founded in 1638 as a fortress and trading post on the Yana River, Verkhoyansk has a population of about 1,300 and was once a place of exile during the Tsarist and Soviet eras.

What makes Verkhoyansk extraordinary is its record temperature range: it can plunge to -67°C in winter but climb to +37°C in summer, a staggering 104°C (187°F) difference. Winters bring 70 days of polar night, where the town lives in total darkness, while permafrost extends down nearly 1,400 metres. To survive, houses are built on stilts so heat doesn’t melt the frozen ground. Cemeteries use metal poles instead of wooden crosses, since wood becomes so brittle it snaps.

The frozen land preserves mammoth bones and tusks displayed in the local museum. Breath instantly crystallises into “the whisper of stars”, as locals call it, and buildings are connected with covered walkways to avoid deadly exposure. The air itself becomes so dense during cold snaps that voices sound muffled and distant. Once a place of exile for Bolsheviks, it remains today a test of human endurance.

READ THIS: iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max: 8 New Features and Everything You Need to Know

How to Visit: Accessible from Yakutsk by chartered flight or a difficult overland journey.

3. Eureka, Nunavut, Canada

Record Low Temperature: -55.3°C (-67.5°F)

Average Winter Temperature: -38°C (-36°F)

Located on Ellesmere Island, Eureka is one of the most northerly inhabited places on Earth at 80°N latitude. Only 8–12 scientists and staff live here year-round at a research station.

Though surrounded by endless snow, Eureka is technically drier than the Sahara, with only 75 mm of precipitation annually. It experiences four months of complete darkness followed by four months of endless daylight. Arctic wolves, muskoxen, and hares thrive in the polar desert. Since 1947, Eureka has provided vital climate and atmospheric data.

Life here is uniquely harsh—buildings are linked by ropes for guidance during whiteouts, and supply flights are possible only during a short summer window. Tools shatter like glass, rubber turns brittle, and winds exceeding 160 km/h can trap people indoors for days. Despite its remoteness, Eureka even has its own postal code, making it one of the world’s most isolated mailing addresses.

How to Visit: Only for researchers or special expeditions, with advance Canadian government permission.

4. Snag, Yukon, Canada

Record Low Temperature: -63°C (-81.4°F)

Average Winter Temperature: -27°C (-17°F)

This small, now largely abandoned village in Canada’s Yukon holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in North America. On February 3, 1947, Snag reached an astonishing -63°C, thanks to its valley location that traps and concentrates cold air.

On that record-setting day, the weather was so brutal that spit froze mid-air before it touched the ground. Observers reported their breath turning into ice crystals that fell with a tinkling sound, and trees cracked like gunfire as their sap froze and expanded. Tools became useless; axes bounced off wood, and metal shattered dangerously in bare hands.