Our impressive journey along the majestic Jennisej River began in Krasnoyarsk and led from the industrialised south to the unspoilt north. On the way, we visited several towns, including exile sites of the Tsars and the Soviets. We hiked in the Siberian forests and mostly enjoyed the ride, on a river that gets wider and wider and swells into a gigantic stream.
The Jennisej near Krasnoyarsk. The bridge is also depicted on the 10 rouble note.
Whether the river is spelled Jennisei, Jennisej or Jennisey is a moot point. It is actually written in Cyrillic: Енисей
It is one of the world's great rivers and, with its longest headwaters, the Great Jennisej, is 4130 km long. Although the Nile is the longest river, the Jennisej is vastly superior in terms of abundance of water. In June, the month with the highest discharge, about 78,500 cubic metres of water flow past you per second. You have to imagine that first.
Two headwaters, the Big Jennisej (Bij-Chem) and the Small Jennisej (Ka-Chem), feed the Jennisej. They rise near the Mongolian border and join at Kysyl in Tuva Province. One of the largest tributaries to the Jennisej is the Angara, which is the only outflow from Lake Baikal itself and has a place among the largest rivers in the world. Near Turuchansk, the equally mighty Tunguska also flows into the Jennisej. The Jennisej flows into the 435km-long Jennisej Gulf, the Kara Sea, in the northern Arctic Ocean.
Wikipedia lists the Jennisej as a river system together with the Angara and its headwaters as the fifth longest river in the world at 5940 km.
IIn winter, the Jennisej freezes over. In spring there are usually major floods due to ice jams.
Click on the pictures to enlarge!
This nice wedding couple from Krasnoyarsk with bride's guide enjoyed having their photo taken. The city of Krasnoyarsk is in the
background.
I (Gerhard) also had the honour of being photographed with the bride and groom. Will they ever discover your picture on the internet? Whether they are still married?
Our guide, Lyudmila (Luda) is from Krasnoyarsk.
In the background the MS Anton Chekhov
MS Anton Chekhov with a seagull.
The MS Chekhov, here a shot from the sundeck, always had some seagulls as companions.
On the Jennisej
The slow glide along the river has an extremely calming effect and gives you a wonderful holiday feeling.
Endless taiga forests pass by.
Jennisej shore
The taiga (forest) slowly turns into tundra the further north we go.
Jennisej in the north
Here in the last third of its course, the Jennisej River becomes about 6 km wide!
To the left and right of the river no road or railway interferes
We went downstream far beyond the Arctic Circle - to Dudinka
