By Michael Shaw
(exclusive to Russia Blog)
As British children, we read grimly embroidered stories of Russia's intolerable cold, starving wolves, and polluted wasteland. Many of us still have yet to discover that, in reality, Russia's wilderness is gloriously untouched, and vast enough to offer many diverse environments.
To many Western visitors, Russia means Moscow, St Petersburg. Some might cruise the Volga, or stay in Black Sea resorts. But it's still rare to meet a non-Russian who's seen much of Russia's vast wilderness, unless perhaps through a Trans-Siberian carriage window.
Yet this uninterrupted expanse offers endless outdoors adventure, from guided mountain hikes to skiing, white-water rafting, & full-on survival training courses. Factor in Russia's patchwork of world class UNESCO sites & you have a top-notch, relatively undiscovered destination.
Where to start: Siberia is Russia's most famous wilderness, although perhaps not, to non-Russians at least, its most obvious tourist destination. It's not always covered in snow, either. During the summer, the thaw reveals a green & complex landscape.
Lake Baikal, in eastern Siberia, is a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site, excellent for camping, hiking & mountaineering. Baikal's several islands are worth exploring, particularly Olkhon, which is inhabited by the Buryats, a minority population from Mongolia.
Khakassia, just above western Mongolia, is described as the "Siberian Switzerland". The similarity is only visual - you don't see many wolves or lynx in Switzerland - but Khakassia does have around 300 mountains and over 200 rivers to explore. Fly or bus in to Abakan, where you can join arranged treks along the riverways & into the highland tundra.
Back towards Moscow, the Ural Mountains are not as dramatic as Siberia, but do offer an encyclopaedia of winter sports, with rafting becoming popular in springtime when the melting snow swells the rivers. You can find organised excursions in Yekaterinburg.
If you're reluctant to venture too far into the wilds, but still keen to see some of Russia's splendid countryside, try Vodlozero National Park, 200km north-east of St Petersburg. Protecting the 180km-long Lake Vodlozero, it covers a vast stretch of wetland taiga - coniferous forest with a subarctic climate. This is some of the most ancient landscape you're likely to encounter in your lifetime. Many of the forest's trees are several hundred years old, & ancient cultural remnants are hidden here.
Practical advice: You can usually find guided tours & treks with English in them somewhere, at least in the more popular destinations. However, English is not widely spoken in Russia, so learn some Russian if you prefer to be independent. Learning Cyrillic - not as hard as you might expect - will also make your journey much easier.
Visit in early summer, before it gets too rainy & your Russian hosts disappear on holidays of their own - or autumn, after the air has cleared of biting insects. Russia's rail system is comprehensive & popular with most travellers. If you do decide to drive, you're best off finding a cheap car hire company in Europe, before you cross the border. Russia's roads are poorly maintained, its traffic rules complex & enthusiastically enforced by traffic police.
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