Kamennyye Labirinty Solovetskikh O-Ov, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia

This is a territory of midnight sun and polar night, frozen tundra, frozen seas, thousands of islands, hundreds of thousands of lakes, four sizable cities fully adapted to the most extreme of climates, and some barely believable masterworks of old Russian architecture in the most isolated of locations (Varzuga, Kizhi, Solovetsky…), testifying to rare depths of resilience and spirituality. The Russian north is a place you might even find yourself falling in love with.

For many visitors, the deepest impact is made by the Solovetsky Islands, a hauntingly beautiful White Sea archipelago that is home to a fabled, historic monastery and also housed one of Stalin’s most brutal Gulag camps. The hills, rivers and the pristine southern coast of the Kola Peninsula and the forests and lakes of Karelia provide lovers of the outdoors with marvellous hiking, boating, skiing, rock-hunting and off-road tours, and world-class fishing

 

Epic Russia Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound

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