Attractions
Vast expanses of tundra and forest-tundra, with an abundance of wildlife; islands featuring polar desert and semi-desert terrain; innumerable mountains, lakes, and streams offering recreational opportunities; the highest ethnic diversity in the Arctic, including 11 indigenous peoples; and historical artifacts and monuments.
Notable wildlife
Nearly every species of Arctic mammal, including polar bears, Arctic foxes, Greenland whales, narwhals, beluga whales, Atlantic walruses, ringed seals, bearded seals, and Greenland seals; an estimated one million wild reindeer; and about 1000 varieties of plants.
Activities
Sea cruises, boating, fishing and hunting tours, rafting, skiing, walking tours, visiting cultural and historical sites.
In Arctic Russia tourists have endless opportunities to catch glimpses of wildlife activities at sea and on land.
Popular destinations
North Pole
With 30,000 tourists visiting this destination annually, the North Pole offers cruises on nuclear-powered icebreakers to the top of the planet beginning on the Kola Peninsula, at Murmansk. Passengers are treated to a host of shipboard amenities and activities, including the chance to view marine life such as walruses, seals, and polar bears. Helicopter excursions to drifting ice floes provide seasonal opportunities for skiing, sledding, and boat trips to Franz Joseph Land, when weather permits.
With 30,000 tourists visiting this destination annually, the North Pole offers cruises on nuclear-powered icebreakers to the top of the planet beginning on the Kola Peninsula, at Murmansk. Passengers are treated to a host of shipboard amenities and activities, including the chance to view marine life such as walruses, seals, and polar bears. Helicopter excursions to drifting ice floes provide seasonal opportunities for skiing, sledding, and boat trips to Franz Joseph Land, when weather permits.
Other icebreaker cruise ships voyage to Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Passengers can fish in the open seas, visit island bird colonies, and even go scuba diving to glimpse the extreme sub-sea environment. Some research vessels also provide tours.
Murmansk
The Arctic’s biggest seaport, boasts comfortable hotels and numerous museums and historical monuments, while the nearby Khibins and Lovozero mountain ranges are ideal settings for mountaineering, hiking, skiing, mountain bicycling, dog sledding, and other sports. Other popular ski centers nearby are at Belaya Rechka, near Apatity, and on Mount Aikuaivenchorr, near Kirovsk, where international competitions are held.
The Arctic’s biggest seaport, boasts comfortable hotels and numerous museums and historical monuments, while the nearby Khibins and Lovozero mountain ranges are ideal settings for mountaineering, hiking, skiing, mountain bicycling, dog sledding, and other sports. Other popular ski centers nearby are at Belaya Rechka, near Apatity, and on Mount Aikuaivenchorr, near Kirovsk, where international competitions are held.
The Khibino-Lovozero region also features archeological, historical, and cultural sites, as well as places of geological and mineralogical significance. Organized excursions allow tourists to explore points of interest such as the ancient stone labyrinths and rock carvings on the coast of the Kola Peninsula; Saami cultural artifacts in and around Lovozero; and Russian historical monuments along the shores of the White Sea.
Archangelsk Province
This region boasts more than 3,000 historical monuments and an array of museums depicting Russia’s cultural heritage. Kenozersky National Park, deep in the region’s taiga forest, protects a secluded corner of the ancient Russian North and all its traditions. Lakes and pastoral villages with restored churches and other historic buildings are nestled among densely forested hills, luring nature lovers and history enthusiasts alike. Other tourist favorites are sea cruises to the Solovki Islands, paddle-boat cruises, rafting on Archangelsk’s numerous rivers, and winter snowmobile tours. The province’s national parks and more than 30 nature sanctuaries will likely encourage the further development of ecotourism there.
This region boasts more than 3,000 historical monuments and an array of museums depicting Russia’s cultural heritage. Kenozersky National Park, deep in the region’s taiga forest, protects a secluded corner of the ancient Russian North and all its traditions. Lakes and pastoral villages with restored churches and other historic buildings are nestled among densely forested hills, luring nature lovers and history enthusiasts alike. Other tourist favorites are sea cruises to the Solovki Islands, paddle-boat cruises, rafting on Archangelsk’s numerous rivers, and winter snowmobile tours. The province’s national parks and more than 30 nature sanctuaries will likely encourage the further development of ecotourism there.
Yugyd Va National Park
A UNESCO World Heritage site, this park covers 18,917 square kilometers (7400 square miles) in the northern Ural Mountains of the Republic of Komi. More than half of the park consists of taiga boreal forest; the rest is tundra. The park’s abundance of wildlife includes some 180 bird species and 20 varieties of fish, along with mammals such the mountain hare, flying squirrel, reindeer, ermine, otter, moose, wolf, and fox. Due to the park’s remote location, visitation is still quite low, however several tourist centers cater to travelers who come for rafting, boating, and hiking in the summer, and Nordic skiing in winter.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, this park covers 18,917 square kilometers (7400 square miles) in the northern Ural Mountains of the Republic of Komi. More than half of the park consists of taiga boreal forest; the rest is tundra. The park’s abundance of wildlife includes some 180 bird species and 20 varieties of fish, along with mammals such the mountain hare, flying squirrel, reindeer, ermine, otter, moose, wolf, and fox. Due to the park’s remote location, visitation is still quite low, however several tourist centers cater to travelers who come for rafting, boating, and hiking in the summer, and Nordic skiing in winter.
Taimyr
This region sprawls across 2.55 million square kilometers and spans five natural and geographical zones. The region hosts spectacular waterfalls and numerous deepwater lakes, diverse freshwater fish life, and huge colonies of seabirds, as well as walrus rookeries and occasional polar bears on the coast. Taimyr is home to the world’s largest herd of wild reindeer, and hunters pursue a variety of game animals there. The area also has four natural reserves, including the Big Arctic and Taimyr Biosphere reserves. Other highlights include stunning Lake Taimyr, hunting and fishing tours in the Yenisei river basin, rafting on the numerous waterways, ethnographic tours to witness the lifestyles of various indigenous peoples, and visits to former Soviet GULAG facilities. Also worth seeing are the high northern outposts of Norilsk, Khatanga, the Dudinka seaport, and the gold mines at Severnaya Zemlya. While the tourist infrastructure in Taimyr is currently weak, the potential for future tourism is substantial.
This region sprawls across 2.55 million square kilometers and spans five natural and geographical zones. The region hosts spectacular waterfalls and numerous deepwater lakes, diverse freshwater fish life, and huge colonies of seabirds, as well as walrus rookeries and occasional polar bears on the coast. Taimyr is home to the world’s largest herd of wild reindeer, and hunters pursue a variety of game animals there. The area also has four natural reserves, including the Big Arctic and Taimyr Biosphere reserves. Other highlights include stunning Lake Taimyr, hunting and fishing tours in the Yenisei river basin, rafting on the numerous waterways, ethnographic tours to witness the lifestyles of various indigenous peoples, and visits to former Soviet GULAG facilities. Also worth seeing are the high northern outposts of Norilsk, Khatanga, the Dudinka seaport, and the gold mines at Severnaya Zemlya. While the tourist infrastructure in Taimyr is currently weak, the potential for future tourism is substantial.
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
This area occupies about one-fifth of Russian territory. Tourism is an emerging industry there, and a special tourist zone—soon to be established--will include a center on Arctic cultures and a popular science museum to be built underground in the permafrost. Yakutia’s sites of interest include the wildlife-rich Lena River delta, the cities of Yakutsk and Verkhoyansk, and the village of Oimyakon—which experiences the lowest recorded temperatures for any permanently inhabited location on Earth. From these points visitors can make “extreme expeditions” and take ethnographic tours; go rafting, ice angling, and bird-watching; and enjoy seasonal festivals. Other popular activities are air flights over the snow-and-ice-covered terrain, cruises on the Lena River, hunting and fishing tours, and visits to national parks and sanctuaries.
Chukotka
Also known as the Chukchi Peninsula, this region is known for the Wrangel Island State Reserve (the biggest in the Arctic) and the Shared Beringian Heritage Park Program. This program celebrates the common natural resources and cultural heritage of Russia and the United States in the Bering Strait area. The ancient monuments of Paleo-Asiatic people and the villages of the Chukchi, Eskimos, Koryaks, Lamuts and Evens peoples beckon visitors to learn about their traditional lifestyles. Dog races, deer races, rafting, sea cruises, winter excursions on skis and snowmobiles, and helicopter tours are other tourist highlights. An icebreaker ship makes trips to Wrangel Island, home to polar bears, musk oxen, and other wildlife.
Also known as the Chukchi Peninsula, this region is known for the Wrangel Island State Reserve (the biggest in the Arctic) and the Shared Beringian Heritage Park Program. This program celebrates the common natural resources and cultural heritage of Russia and the United States in the Bering Strait area. The ancient monuments of Paleo-Asiatic people and the villages of the Chukchi, Eskimos, Koryaks, Lamuts and Evens peoples beckon visitors to learn about their traditional lifestyles. Dog races, deer races, rafting, sea cruises, winter excursions on skis and snowmobiles, and helicopter tours are other tourist highlights. An icebreaker ship makes trips to Wrangel Island, home to polar bears, musk oxen, and other wildlife.
The Kamchatka
This peninsula is located in the Russian Far East and contains one of the world’s densest concentration of active and extinct volcanoes. The Klyuchevsky volcano (4,835 meters) is the highest in northern Eurasia. The Kamchatka environment is largely in a pristine state. Nearly 30 percent of the land is protected, and UNESCO has designated six of Kamchatka’s natural areas—including the magnificent Valley of Geysers—as World Cultural and Natural Heritage sites. Recreational opportunities on Kamchatka include boating, horseback riding, alpine skiing, dog sledding, rock climbing, sailing, rafting, fishing, diving, snowboarding, and heli-skiing. Ethnographic trips to the villages of the Itelmen, Koryak, Even, and Aleutian peoples can also be arranged. Tourists also enjoy bathing in the many pools of hydrothermal mineral water, valued for their health benefits.
Russian Arctic National ParkDesignated in 2009, this park stretches across the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, the northern part of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, and Victoria Island. When fully established, the park will encompass about 8.4 million hectares, including territorial waters. This remote expanse boasts some of the largest colonies of birds in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as walruses, polar bears, Greenland whales and seals, polar foxes, and eared seals. The park also contains historic sites linked to the discovery of the Arctic by Vladimir Rusanov and Georgy Sedov, as well as the camp of Dutch navigator Willem Barents. The Russian government plans to develop eco-tourism in this park.
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