Welcome to the coldest inhabited place on Earth

WELCOME to the village of Oymyakon — the coldest inhabited place on Earth.

IF YOU’RE one of those people that likes to complain about the cold when Winter rolls around each year, then spare a thought for the brave folk of Oymyakon.

Oymyakon is a small village in the Siberian tundra which happens to be the coldest inhabited place on Earth.

The average Winter temperatures drop to a frigid minus 50 celsius.

Oymyakon lies a two-day drive from the city of Yakutsk, the regional capital, which has the coldest winter temperatures for any city in the world.

Ironically, Oymyakon actually means "non-freezing water" due to a nearby hot spring.

The village was originally a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring.

Known as the "Pole of Cold", the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was a mind numbing -71.2C.

A woman walks over an ice-encrusted bridge in Yakutsk Village of Oymyakon.

A petrol station on the road to Oymyakon Village of Oymyakon.

Summer shoes waiting out the winter in a shed in the suburbs of Yakutsk Yakutsk.

New Zealand photographer Amos Chapple braved the conditions for a two-day trip to get some amazing shots of the town and its residents.

When he first arrived he had the audacity of wearing relatively thin pants.
“I remember feeling like the cold was physically gripping my legs, the other surprise was that occasionally my saliva would freeze into needles that would prick my lips,” he told Weather.com.

But the good news it that thanks to him you can witness the beauty of this remote town without leaving the warmth and comfort of home.

A young student poses for a portrait at a bus station in Yakutsk Village.

No need for AC.

Cows walk back to their sheds after watering in the thermal spring.

A statue of Ivan Kraft, one of the first governors of Yakutia.

A local woman enters Preobrazhensky Cathedral in a swirl of freezing mist.

The central square of Yakutsk on a -48c day.

The "Road of Bones" leading to Oymyakon Village.

Alexander Platonov, 52, a retired teacher, dressed for a quick dash to the outdoor toilet.

A toilet on the tundra at a petrol stop on the road to Oymyakon Village.

A guard dog in the suburbs of Yakutsk.

A woman in the city centre.

Young Yakutians let loose in a well-heated nightclub.

A man leaves his van and walks into Oymyakon's only shop as paper waste is burnt in a 40 gallon drum.

An East Siberian Laika puppy is held up by its owner.

Inside the freezing town of Oymyakon, Siberia

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