The city of Salekhard is the administrative centre of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, despite not being the largest city in the district. It is situated close to the mouth of the mighty River Ob and south of the Yamal Peninsula, straddling the Arctic Circle. The first Russian fort was founded here in what was then a Khanty settlement in 1595. The fort and the city that grew around it was originally known as Obdorsk. It was renamed Salekhard in 1933; a Nenets name meaning ‘Settlement on the Cape’. Today the city is a relatively pleasant, typical extreme-north city, where you can try national cuisine of the Yamal region and learn more about the Nenets and Khanty people and their cultures. It also makes a perfect base for exploring the extraordinary harsh and sparsely-populated territory of Yamal and visiting the reindeer herders who still observe a nomadic lifestyle in remote areas in the autonomous district.