Country:
RussiaValue:
Duration:
Cost:
free
Founded:
GPS:
Country:
RussiaRegion:
Other names:
Value:
Visit duration:
Price (adult):
free
Why Top:
A partially built Soviet canal intended to link the Ob and Yenisei basins, now an abandoned industrial heritage site.
Description:
Construction began in 1936 with GULAG labor, involving earth canals, locks, and dams across Western Siberian swamps and forests. Due to water shortages, permafrost, and changing transport priorities, work ceased in the late 1930s, leaving several reservoirs, pump-station ruins, and flooded sections. Dutch-style buildings and lock remnants remain visible along the old route, attracting industrial-heritage enthusiasts and researchers. Abandoned shipping canal. Total length – 217 km.
Facts:
– Approved by the USSR Council of People’s Commissars in 1935.
– Over 25 000 prisoners used from 1936 to 1938.
– Approximately 70 km of canal dug and 4 locks built.
– Transport priorities shifted to railways in the 1940s.
– Section of the canal designated a historical monument in 1992.
Significance:
Regional; protected as an industrial heritage site of Novosibirsk Oblast.
Categories:
Why visit:
Interesting:
Fitness level:
Best visit time:
Do:
photography
Industrial tourism
trekking along the canal
Access:
Roads:
Rates:
Free entry. Guide fee from ₽1 000 per group.
Emergency:
112
Info:
Safety:
No lifeguards. Structures are unstable, risk of lock-wall collapses and slippery embankments. Crime minimal; no known terrorism threat.
Clothing:
Comfortable footwear, windbreaker, rubber boots or overshoes for the bog, headwear.
Climate:
Continental: cold snowy winters, warm humid summers.
Tips:
Bring a map, compass, water and food supplies, avoid rainy weather.
Connection:
No Wi-Fi. Mobile signal unstable, lost in low-lying areas. Satellite phone recommended.