Russian Arctic

Welcome to Russian Arctic, the kingdom of polar bears and ice. Russia has the longest zone of permafrost in the world. It has twelve seas, with half of them lie in Arctic region! They are the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea counting from west to east. What a hard choice!

The best option for beginners is Barents Sea with the comfortable port of Murmansk where water never freezes during winter. It is a paradise for nature lovers.

The advanced arctic travelers should visit at least one of Russian polar archipelagos like Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land or Severnaya Zemlya. These harsh and unwelcoming islands are famous for their untouched nature and alien looking arctic desert landscapes.

But the most desirable part of Russia Arctic is doubtlessly Wrangel Island in the Chukchi Sea. It is included together with tiny and rocky Herald Island in the UNESCO Heritage list. This protected area is known for being a breeding ground for polar bears with the highest density of dens in the world! This is the easternmost national park of Russia. Despite polar bears you can observe walruses, seals, several species of whales and a plenty of sea birds.

Russian Arctic is vast and hardly accessible, that’s why to get there is a true adventure. Two most popular entrance gates are the international airports of Murmansk and Anadyr located in the western and eastern parts of the country, respectively. The only way to visit the remote polar archipelagos is to take part in one of Arctic cruises during summer months. The region you are going to explore is so unique that it is highly recommended to amend cruise itinerary with a land program.