4x4 Expedition to the Arctic Circle: Overlanding Russia
Two weeks. Two UAZ jeeps. From 1200 USD / pax. 4x4 Overlanding Russian Arctic
Some photos were made by: A. Tulupov and A. Ermachkov
Philip Pullman
The Arctic
Behold the awesome splendor of the spectacular untouched landscapes! Rejoice in incredible and rare wildlife encounters, explore mysterious abandoned historic sites, experience unique local cultures, and soak in the breathtaking wonder at every turn!
Here is a very unique and rare chance to experience the true Russian Arctic on a rawboned exploration and expedition. Using all of your skills and all of your senses you will participate in a truly rugged adventure jam-packed with thrills as you travel on rough unmaintained roads through the pristine icy landscapes and picturesque villages.
And if we’re lucky, and we almost always are, you can experience the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights which will shock you with its especially vibrant colors, shapes, and ever-moving patterns. Amazing!
The Russian Arctic is one of the most spectacular under-explored, seldom visited, mysterious, and least understood places on the earth. A land of raw beauty at every turn, the Arctic is a place of endless wonder and one of the last vast and untouched regions on the planet.
Don’t wait for inspiration… Go after it!
This March we will travel across Russia driving two rugged and fully equipped 4x4 jeeps to explore the Russian Northland and Arctic. We will be on and off-road tripping in the middle of nowhere during for two cold but eventful weeks in order to experience Russian North Country and all it has to offer. Be ready to face the difficulties. Be ready to explore the wildernesses. Be ready to have a true adventure!
Starting from the bustling city of Moscow, we will quickly escape the angry traffic and move into a different Russia that many will never know. It’s a vast countryside, sparsely populated and underdeveloped. Passing several Golden Ring towns, we will gaze at the rare features of a culture still living in the past. Rural highways will take us to small towns and villages interspersed only by vast tracts of virgin forests with occasional lakes and rivers.
Moving towards the great Northland will bring us back in time… and back to nature! By the third day, we will arrive at the beginning of what we jokingly refer to as ‘Nowhere’. We will bid the rural highway a fond farewell at its last pothole and then only deep tracks of winter roads will be our travel mates as we will continue northwards. We will now enjoy another level of travel as during the next days we will fight our way through the wilderness of Russian Northland to the Arctic Ocean. Be ready to find what 4x4 is for!
We will spend a couple of days in a typical Arctic town of Vorkuta to see where true Russian wealth lies. In this Motherland of Coal, we will wander around abandoned settlements and memorable GULAG sites to see the former greatness of Soviet epoch and its dark traces. We will also do some exotic trekking to the Ural Mountain and drive snowmobiles to visit reindeer herds and their breeders at the Aboriginal settlements.
A Rare Opportunity to Explore the Russian Northland and Arctic. Experience It’s Rugged Beauty and Famous Mystery in real time!
Ours is a true exploration and adventure. We don't want to set any rigid schedule, we just want to be road tripping, actually off-road tripping in the middle of nowhere. This is how to really experience the country and all it has to offer.
We want to face the hardships and challenges, absorb the pristine nature of the Russian North, experience the unique and hardened life of the local people, become hypnotized from the brilliant and exotic glow of the Northern Lights and, most importantly we will bond with our new friends and enjoy the company of courageous and enthusiastic travel mates who are on the same wavelength with us.
But you must remember that this is the Arctic Expedition! You should be willing and prepared to face the difficulties. If we get stuck in a snowstorm, it will be our shared problem requiring the cooperation of all. It's the mandatory and expected way to live and travel in Arctic!
This is not typical of a luxurious all-inclusive tour that you usually find in Europe or Asia :) It is a rare and creative Exploration and Exotic ADVENTURE trip to the Arctic. This means that you should understand and be comfortable with rugged living and exploring. Be ready to face the difficulties. You will always be treated kindly and with respect and be safe, warm, and well fed, but you much be ready to help in overcoming obstacles. Be ready to cook food, pitch tents and decide what to do next
What is the price?
There is a big difference between an organized ‘Tour’ and an ‘Exploration’ or ‘Adventure’!
I once saw a TV travel program where people flew into some Arctic city… stayed in a luxurious Hotel, ate gourmet meals, and then boarded a huge ‘Expedition’ vehicle which drove out of town to witness real snow, a rabbit or two, one Arctic fox, and yes, they even saw a polar bear…at a great distance. But since their ‘vehicle was 20 feet in the air and they were viewing though strong Plexiglas windows, there was no hardship or thrill of danger. Not like having a polar bear with his face to your window wanting to eat you?!
There are many different possible ways to experience the true Arctic! Which of these would give you a true Arctic Adventure?
Fly to the Arctic for a three day all comfort and sheltered and distant experience like this:
Or, experience the true rugged Arctic with feet on the ground for 14 days with this:
Focus on the journey, not the destination!
Some photos were made by: A. Tulupov and A. Ermachkov
There are a lot of other surprising things in the winter arctic that are more down-to-earth. Oil and gas workers are everywhere! They drive pretty sizable cars, wear bright uniforms and know at which depth true Russian wealth lies. Rare are the arctic settlements which bear no connection to any sort of minerals. We even saw the monument to ‘Coal’ – a huge black cube standing in the depressed area of typical five-story apartment blocks...
Rampant destruction and desolation are the other sides of this region. Since the time of USSR, the coal industry experienced recession and then came to the current lean and curious state. We don't need as many miners now, especially here, in the middle of nowhere. That's why a lot of mining settlements are empty now. I like the photo of a five-story apartment block – with one-half abandoned with broken windows and snowy walls, but there was a glimmer of life in its other still occupied half. The total surrealism!
Surely, the Arctic is not the easiest place for living but people have lived here for centuries despite the severe northern climate. For generations now it has become not only their birthplace and home, but from birth to death it is recognized and loved as their country and they have learned to survive and work here. Many years ago, they hunted for furs; now it’s for oil and gas.
The tundra wilderness was always only sparsely populated. It's not easy to enjoy the snow and the cold for 9 months in a raw and biting winter. The Arctic summer doesn’t sound too much like a summer; it’s much closer to European spring. Even the magical views of the Northern lights can't help you much to live better in the Russian North. It can be perplexing when you think about it. I can understand shift teams that earn fast money and go away. But why do local people still live there? In the end, you can buy a ticket to Moscow for a maximum price that is equal to the cost of two local apartments ;)
Some photos were made by: A. Tulupov and A. Ermachkov
This corner of the planet is so wild that even winter roads become feral due to the lack of quality construction and proper maintenance, of course! A lot of emergency vehicles are on duty day and night. They rescue local optimists during severe weather and help trucks to go up the hills. Taking care of trucks is a big deal here because local people want to eat, get dressed, and shower, too. Everything is delivered by truck… food, clothing and yes, even water. And, as you can guess, movements of goods are less costly and much easier by land than by air and water.
Long and frozen winter roads can feel lonely like a “snow desert” (no towns, no people, no asphalt…) But actually, they are the only remnant of civilization here. Winter roads are thin but important lines of life; they connect small isolated villages and towns with each other. And if you step off of the road in any direction you will meet a primitive and harsh nature for many hundred kilometers.
Ironically, the Russian Arctic is much more accessible in the winter because even with our complaints of poor maintenance the winter has the best roads. That's why our 4x4 Arctic adventure tour starts in March. What about summer? The snow and ice roads melt every year because they are made of snow and ice! There are many ice hotels and animal figures made of snow in Scandinavia but very few people know that this is the most popular material for roads in the Russian North! Locals especially love to build them by the rivers – what can be better than driving on a curvy and slick ice highway without trees and speed limit signs
Winter roads can be unpredictable. A thaw or snowstorm can easily destroy the path (and your adventure, too)! Sudden freezing after a thaw allows you to drive hundreds of kilometers in any direction. Crossing rivers is also an easy task in a winter. What about summer? You will rarely find any bridge closer than many kilometers from you. It’s possible that a VERY OLD ferry will come to the rescue, but usually not. What about the spring and the autumn? Just wait, it's Russian North!
Some photos were made by: A. Tulupov and A. Ermachkov
What about our plans?
An Experience of a Lifetime!
Our Lovely, Somewhat Beautiful, and Dependable Jeeps
Want to visit Arctic, but...
Our schedule
Overland the real Russia in our 4x4 Expedition to the Arctic Circle!
You may also like other Real Russia Tours:
•Moscow and Golden Ring «must-see» sites
• Real life of Russian provinces
• Evening activities: Russian bathhouse («banya»), Russian Cuisine cooking master class (bortsch cooking), Russian «zastolie» master class (learn how Russians drink vodka), Sleeping train experience, and Moscow lights tour
During first days we will visit all must-see place in Moscow. Whether you're looking to visit medieval monasteries, historic houses, stunning cathedrals, soviet monumental skyscrapers, wonderful parks and more, there are plenty of landmark destinations to visit when you're in Moscow.
The next 2-3 days we will see life in the typical Russian provinces visiting small towns of the famous Golden ring of Russia. It is a ring of ancient towns, which also played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church. They still preserve the memory of the most important and significant events in Russian history.
The towns are one of the best places to visit in Russia! They have been called "open-air museums" and feature unique monuments of Russian architecture of the 12th–18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches. You will also see a lot of rural Russia with its old wooden houses and traditional villages.
•Road-tripping from Moscow to St. Petersburg
•Ecotour along the Volga River with visiting limestone quarries
•Real Russian countryside
•One day in a traditional Russian village
There is a great difference between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and all other Russia... The concept of this tour is to show you the real Russia with numerous small towns, pristine nature, abandoned churches and the life of people.
This tour does not include Golden Ring towns! Instead, you will see Staritsa town and Novgorod the Great, beautiful places to visit in Russia!
We will also visit an elderly couple living in a traditional Russia village. We will help them with their daily work - plowing the land (not by tractors, but by horses), caring for the livestock and cooking food in a traditional Russian oven… And surely we will taste some real fresh milk and eggs while they will be telling us about their common life, their habits, and the households.
The itinerary is perfect for those who are going to St. Petersburg. It takes only 4 hours to get there from Novgorod by a cheap local train.
Next dates: 23-27 April, 14 - 18 May 2018