Mirny Diamond Mine

KarlH's picture

Location

Mirny
Russia
62° 31' 39.1296" N, 113° 59' 32.9784" E
RU
General info: 

Mirny is a small town, with less than 40,000 citizens, but is one of the most famous in Russia. It is fairly remote town, surrounded with cold and wild Siberian forests. During the 60´s Mirny was the center of world’s diamond production and had the biggest diamond mine in the world. As the years went by, the mine started to dry out of diamonds. Finally in 2011, the site was closed. The workers went away, leaving the 2-nd biggest hole on Earth behind.

An interesting fact is that the airspace above the mine is closed even today, a few years after the mine was abandoned. The reason for that are alleged incidents involving several helicopters falling in the abyss, after being dragged down due to air temperature differences and unexpected currents.

Getting there: 

Mirny is not the easiest place to get to. There are no direct flights from Moscow but you can get there through Yakutsk. Or take the car, 9500km from Moscow, 4300km from Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Costs: 

Flights to Mirny are around 500€ from Yakutsk. The town itself and the lodging there are very affordable.

You might be interested in

Through the history, the Prague Castle has always been the center of political life of Czech people.

Prague’s Old Town is a historical settlement founded in the medieval period. This area is today, one of the most visited in Prague as there are dozens of monuments worthy of visiting.

Tiananmen Square is one of the largest city squares in the world, in fact the 4th largest. It has great cultural significance as it has been the site of several important events in Chinese history.

The construction of the Charles Bridge in Prague lasted for almost 150 years making it one of the most impressive buildings of this country.

Beijing was the host for 2008 Olympic games where total of 204 countries competed. Chinese athletes had done their homework right and were ranked no.1 in the overall medals table with 51 gold medals and 100 medals altogether.

Enjoy in the natural side of Prague, far away from the crowd. Petrin Hill is a hill in the city area with many parks ideal for hikers.