Text: Oleg Zlobin

A meeting on tourism development was held in the village of Donskoye, situated in the very heart of Russia, which brought together the heads of the districts of the region with professionals from the tourism industry, alongside those who just care about their “Lipetsk Land”.

A new registered tourism brand has appeared in the region this year with just that title, “Lipetsk Land”. According to experts, it is easier to develop the many new, as well as long-established tourism routes in the history-rich Chernozem territory under such an umbrella banner.

Oleg Korolyov addressed the audience: “I deeply understand the meaning of what you are doing. It so happened in my life that, when I was still a young leader of a kolkhoz [collective farm], I got to travel a lot. A great deal. And, as a young man, I couldn’t hold back tears at what I saw…

In any village, any regional centre or city, I saw great historic treasure troves in a state of destruction: churches, the manors of the nobility, country estates, family tombs that had been robbed… I wept from incomprehension: How was it possible to win wars against the Tatars, Napoleon and Hitler, and yet not be able to withstand such barbarism from within, such a blatant, egregious lack of culture?! How was it possible to despoil and demolish such great and essential historical values of Russia?”

“Tourism is not just some trend,” Korolyov says. “It is a very great deed, a category that is both cultural and moral.” He believes the development of the tourism industry will allow the region and the country as a whole to solve its most essential tasks.

“The first such goal,” the head of the Lipetsk region went on, “is the opportunity to serve your country and your community, and to restore what has been destroyed. Tourism is profoundly important; it encourages respect for the Motherland and commits us to putting our effort and energy into the restoration of historic relics. Tourism helps each of us remember that we are the sons and daughters of the Motherland, something that provides inspiration to do something, to rebuild something in our homeland.”

Korolyov considers the most important aspect of the tourism industry to be its contribution to increasing the general cultural level of the Russian people.

“Tourism is a powerful mechanism for developing culture in the wider sense. By creating conditions for attracting tourists, we have to actively strive to correct many existing faults that we may never have noticed before.”

Finally, in addition to such cultural and moral categories, the economic aspect is also very important. Tourism must become a profitable business, and taking a negative attitude toward tourism is unacceptable. Korolyov has decided that issues regarding the development of tourism clusters and infrastructure in the Lipetsk Region, where both the industrial and agricultural sectors are developing successfully, will be a top priority for discussions at all levels.

Such an attitude from the administration toward one of the most forward-looking directions for the social and economic development of the region has already yielded tangible results.

In recent years, the Lipetsk Region’s place on the national ranking for attraction to tourists has increased from 59 to 20. The “locals-to-tourists” ratio is 100 Lipetsk residents to 17 tourists. According to official data, more than 200,000 travellers visited the region last year, but local authorities believe the actual number was actually higher. According to Vadim Volkov, head of the Culture and Tourism Department, this official data does not include pilgrims or the participants and guests of the numerous festivals that take place on the “Lipetsk Land”.

Tourists are attracted by the powerful gravitational pull of special events such as the Rusborg historical reenactment festival, as well as sites such as the Kudykina Gora Safari Park, the Skorynyakovo-Arkhangelskoye estate that has now been restored from ruins, Maslovka village in the Dankovsky district, and the churches of Balovnevo and Beryozovka. As for the ancient city of Yelets, it has already become a popular tourist destination for Muscovites.

Understanding all the aspects of a problem ensures an intelligent solution. The region’s leaders believe that such solutions include the integrated development of the Lipetsk tourism industry, as well as the creation of turn-key business locations for investors, and the digital transformation of tourist routes. In the future, the administration intends to support all promising projects aimed at attracting tourists to the region.

Tourism by numbers

1,000,000: Guests who took part in 300 events in the Lipetsk Region over the last two years.

477: Directional signs for tourists installed on regional highways.

148: Free audio-guides for mobile devices created in the Lipetsk Region, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

1.7 billion rubles: Investments in the “Zadonshchina” auto-tourism cluster along the M4 highway.

1.9 billion rubles: Projected investment in the new Yelets tourism/recreation cluster.

48 percent: Growth in tourism to the Lipetsk Region since 2014.

1st: Ranking of the Chaplyginsk district of the Lipetsk Region as the most developed tourism infrastructure in the Central Federal District.

12: Number of years that the regional Law on Special Economic Zones, which offer investors tax benefits and preferences, has been in effect in the Lipetsk Region.

1 ruble: Price per square meter for leasing cultural heritage sites under a programme proposed by the regional authorities, which is designed to draw investment directed at the preservation and restoration of old manor houses.

Photos and text: Anton Agarkov

It is said that once upon a time, among the ordinary birds, the spirits of nature flew here in the form of swans. Once here, they removed their wings and turned into beautiful maidens. At the time, the people knew nothing of the lake, or of the swans. Then one day a hunter came to the lake and by chance saw the spirits in human form. When he saw them, he fell in love. Then, to keep the beautiful spirit with him, the hunter stole and hid the maiden’s wings. Everything went according to plan—despairing of finding her wings and returning to bird form, the maiden stayed with the hunter. And that was how the Kumandin race—the swan people—were born.

Censuses in the Soviet era varied between classifying the Kumandins as a separate ethnic group or combining them with the Altai people. Linguists were also at odds as to whether the Kumandin language could be classified as a separate tongue. There were also those who thought the Kumandins were simply a group of Altaians who claimed unique ethnic status just to gain privileges of some sort. The Kumandins themselves, however, always considered their people to be separate. Once there were many more of them, with their own rituals, customs, and traditions. Guests were greeted with a pipe-smoking ceremony, while they bid farewell to the dead by carrying the coffin three times around the home and smoking dry juniper in order to close the gates to the underworld behind the departed. They had their own religion and their own shamanic healers, called kamy, who traveled in the underworld and the higher realm to talk with the spirits. Even in the Soviet era, when Party officials and collective farm managers were fatally sick, they called not only for doctors, but also for one of the kamy. And it some cases, it even helped.

Today, the Kumandin number just over 3 000. Once nomads, hunters, and fishermen, at the beginning of the 21st century the Kumandins swapped hunting for homesteading, and their fishing opportunities are now restricted by quotas. If you ask them where to go to see Kumandin culture in all its glory, the swan-people will tell you: “Go back in time 70 years.”

THE KUMANDIN ALWAYS CONSIDERED themselves a separate people. Once there were many more of them, with their own rit!als, customs, and traditions. Guests were g”eeted with a pipesmoking ceremony. They had their own religion and their own shamans– kamy, who travelled to the underworld and the higher realm.

It is difficult to say why this group was unable to maintain its ethnic identity. On the one hand, the Soviet system fought against their beliefs, as it did against any religion. And, while no one was forbidden from speaking their native language, young Kumandins nevertheless preferred Russian. Further damage was done by ethnographic expeditions, which pillaged from Kumandian villages- costumes, shamanic ritual relics, and traditional household artifacts. Now, in order to see their own traditional costumes, Kumandins have, with great difficulty, to get into the archives of
the State Hermitage Museum.

Historians will dig deeper still. The Kumandins were never an aggressive people. When Russian settlers came to the foothills of Altai, the locals met them as friends, teaching them how to survive in the taiga and how to get through the harsh winters. In return, they were dispossessed and slaughtered. Rather than answering violence with violence, the swan people just retreated further into the forest.

However, deprived of almost everything and pushed back to the very brink—the point of no return—the Kumandins desperately cling on to their way of life and their future. They have begun to revive their native language. Activists from ethnic societies make expeditions deep into the countryside to find older generations and record their words and legends. Then, at Sunday schools, they teach their children the Kumandin language. The children are happy to attend the lessons, and show off to their peers that they belong to the ancient people of Altai. After all, these days it is fashionable to have a unique identity. In the evenings, in small village houses, it is increasingly common to find gatherings of dignified old ladies who make special Kumandin dumplings with minced potato, drink tea with tolkan (roasted wheat ground between stones), talk about life, and burst into song. What they sing is always heartfelt, and always in the Kumandin language.

TEXT: ANTON SEMENOV

-Aleksey, how did the exhibition go?

– Our national exposition RUSSIA OPEN TO THE WORLD provoked great interest among our colleagues in the profession, buyers, organizers of international events, and representatives of the trade press. More than a thousand event industry professionals visited the exposition, and more than 600 meetings and discussions took place at our stand.

– Your association represented our whole country. Isn’t that level of responsibility frightening?

– That was the purpose of establishing the association last November. Our main goal is to develop and promote a positive image of Russia as a country with a favourable business and investment climate, in order to attract international business events.

We are going to promote the infrastructure capabilities of the Russian regions, with the aim of getting major conferencing events hosted there and developing business travel to these areas. This provides a signifi cant economic eff ect both for the state budget and for companies involved in the meetings industry.

– Was there a need to create an organization like this?

– Russia’s share of the international business events market is less than 1%, and the Russian conventions,
conferences, and business meetings sector is valued by experts at about $200-250 million. To put that in context, the worldwide turnover for the industry is $900 billion. Th e industry accounts for only 0.02% of Russia’s GDP, while in Europe’s leading economies that figure reaches 2% or more.

We represent the whole country rather than any particular region, providing a “one-stop service” for international event organizers. We also provide marketing solutions, and develop strategies to promote the country at the international level. Th e Convention Bureau participates in a variety of prominent events and arranges familiarization tours in the Russian regions for foreign buyers.

– Who are the members of your association?

– The association works with regional government departments and with market participants in the meetings industry—regional convention bureaus, event organizing companies, convention and exhibition venues, hotels, and transportation companies.

– What can Russia offer foreign clients?

– We have more than 100 cities that could potentially host major conventions and forums. Moreover, the top ten of them – Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, St.Petersburg, Sochi, Ufa, and Chelyabinsk – are ready to host major high-level events right now.

TEXT: OLGA POPLAVSKAYA

Almost a third of the territory of Adygea is protected as part of UNESCO’s West Caucasus World Natural Heritage Site. The republic’s most striking natural feature is its unusual cave system, which run through the mountains like the holes in Swiss cheese. The pride of Adygea is the Lago-Naki Plateau, remarkable for its limestone karst, comprised of underground streams that have formed interlinked chambers and galleries. If there’s still snow cover when you’re trekking through the mountains in Adygea, heed caution – there could be deep sinkholes underneath the snow!

For travelers on a budget

Andrey Nazarkin, a keen spelunker and cave exploring enthusiast from Volgograd, is not a rich man- nor are his friends. However, with four of them in an SUV loaded to the gills with tents, tinned food, and all sorts of other provisions, their seven-day trip through Adygea cost almost nothing (not counting, of course, the cost of gas and the initial outlay on the trunkful of food). The only expense the travelers incurred in Adygea was the conservation fee for entry into the Caucasus Nature Reserve of around $5 USD per person, per day. It’s also worth noting that there is a fine of around $40 per person for pitching a tent on an unauthorized site.

Moreover, there’s really no need to bring provisions with you to Adygea. On your way to the mountains, you’ll pass through several villages, with stores and small local markets where you can buy fresh Adygei cheese, locally made wine, bread, vegetables, fruits, and meat for grilling.

If you wish to, you can also choose to leave your car parked in the yard of a local’s house (there are residents who offer this service for a reasonable daily rate), and then take a taxi to the entrance of the Lago-Naki Plateau. The staff of the Emergency Situations Ministry on duty there will always ask where you’re headed. This is because if worst comes to worst, they’ll be the ones to come looking for you either in helicopters or on foot with dogs!

“We’ve visited Adygea twice, once to the Lago-Naki Plateau at the end of May, and then in autumn, when the first snow had already fallen, to the Bolshoy Tkhach nature reserve,” Andrey tells me. “What we were really interested in were the caves. For example, the Great Bird cave on Lago-Naki Plateau is so high up that to start with, we had to climb a glacier and get all our ropes and other kit up there before going inside. But the Lago-Naki Plateau itself is stunningly beautiful. It’s a real lost world. Th ere’s one ravine there where I took most of my photos for the trip. Once upon a time during an earthquake, huge stones rained down into the ravine, creating an extraordinary labyrinth. And in the middle of this stone labyrinth mountain flowers bloom luxuriantly. Right on the bare cliff face, there are gorgeous rhododendrons with big white flowers.

On one day of our week-long visit to the plateau, my friends went to investigate the Absolyutnaya shaft , but they quickly realized that they’d be risking life and limb going into that cave, and decided not to bother. Even in summer, that particular hole in the cliff s is full of ice and snow. On the other hand, our trek to Psenodakh Lake gave us some wonderful views. There’s a straight path to Psenodakh Lake along the foot of Mount Oshten, so it’s hard to get lost. Th ere are no great changes in gradient, so it’s almost completely safe if you don’t count the risk of slippery patches of snow. The path is about 9km in each direction, and if you want to see the landscape at its best, try to get an early start – there’s not much sun there aft er 1pm. There are marks on the stones showing the path to the lake.” Psenodakh in the Adyghe language means “beautiful well”. Th e lake is about 1938m above sea level and is crescent-shaped. Th ey say it’s a site of mystic energy, so it’s a popular destination with lovers of esoterica.

“The Bolshoy Tkhach nature park has very beautiful forest, where we saw bear prints,” continues Andrey. “Th en we bumped into some hunters who asked if we’d seen any actual bears and warned us to hide all our food at night if we didn’t want bears coming to tear up our tents.”

Mountainous Adygea also boasts the world’s most unusual sea – the “Sea of Stones”, which resembles a 100m stone collar that grips the Lago-Naki Plateau at its eastern end. Th e Sea of Stones is a natural object protected by UNESCO. In reality, it’s the product of frozen lava, which erupted from a volcano at the bottom of the ancient ocean of Tethys. Between the ridges of Oshten and the Sea of Stones, there’s a cliff called the Hedgehog, and nearby on the way to the Guzeriplskiy Pass is a viewing platform off ering spectacular views with the wonderful name “The Hedgehog’s Navel”.

The Lago-Naki Plateau itself is stunningly beautiful. It’s a real lost world. Right on the bare cliff face, there are gorgeous rhododendrons with big white flowers.

For lovers of comfort
Svetlana Djigaros and her daughter Diana traveled to Adygea’s tourist capital, the village of Kamennomostskiy, located only 40 minutes by taxi or scheduled bus from Maykop. Th e village off ers a number of hotels, with room rates starting at around $10 a night per person.

Kamennomostskiy (“Stone Bridge”) got its name from the bridge crossing the Belaya River that leads to the area’s main visitor attraction, the Khadzhokhskaya Gorge. Th ere’s a toll of $5 to cross the bridge, but some locals recommended a way to reach the gorge without using it. Th e Khadzhokhskaya Gorge is a remarkable place. Th e river roared its way through the mountains here, creating a bubbling brook between majestic cliffs.

An hour-and-a-half walk from the gorge is the Rufabgo Waterfall. It’s not an easy destination to reach, and requires travelling through forest and canyons with steep ascents and descents. It’s a beautiful place, but the beauty alone was not enough for the Djigorases – mother and daughter booked a canyoning trip through the waterfall. Th is activity costs $32 per person, and children as young as 10 can have a go. “We wanted something extreme,” recounts Svetlana.

“Canyoning seemed a really interesting idea. We were provided with the necessary climbing equipment and a training session. Th en the instructors led us down on ropes straight through the waterfall, down the cliff s, and along the riverbed. It was so exciting that the following day we decided to go raft ing along one of the most dangerous rivers in the country – the Belaya River. Th e raft ing course travelled not along the standard route, but along a special extended route recommended for athletes (Diana is a well-known judo practitioner). It cost $80 for the two of us and was worth every cent. I’m still over the moon about our holiday to Adygea. They can say what they like about the lack of service, but the attraction of Adygea is its wild beauty, its pristine nature, and of course the adrenalin rush of the activities.”

The next day, Svetlana and Diana visited the dolmens around Kamennomostskiy. Close to the village there’s a concentration of 14 dolmens. The most magnifi cent of these is Chygyudzh, which has survived completely intact to this day. Th e next morning, mother and daughter headed for Azishskaya Cave. This is the largest cave equipped for visitors on the Lago-Naki Plateau, with a wealth of stalactites and stalagmites. Inside the caves, the temperature is a constant 4ºC year-round, and there are coats available for hire at the entrance. Group and individual guided tours are off ered. Entry prices are as follows: adults $6.50 and children $3 for group tours, adults $8 and children $5 for individual excursions.

“On day five, we went to the Mishoko Ravine. It’s a diffi cult two-hour trek through some picturesque scenery and a prehistoric cave, so we were very appreciative of the hot lunch that was provided to us upon arrival at our destination. Inside the ravine it’s unbelievably beautiful, with a great feeling of space and a light breeze carrying the scent of meadow flowers, the chatter of birds, and the buzzing of bees. Thrill-seekers can fl y over Mishoko Ravine on a zip line, the cost of which is $25. You sweep over the abyss from one cliff to another, and it’s not for the faint-hearted.”

On their sixth day, Svetlana and Diana visited some thermal springs, of which there are many in Adygea. You can reach them easily enough by taxi, and the entry fees start at $4.00, depending on the spring you choose to visit. On their seventh day, Svetlana and Diana Djigaros simply went strolling around the area, dressing up in traditional local costumes for photographs, just breathing in the mountain air. If they had wanted to, however, they could have found more to do. For example, taking a ride on the cable car to the Devil’s Finger cliff on Una-Koz Ridge, which costs $10 per person.

If you’re planning to eat out all the time, bear in mind that the local cafés are oriented to tourists, with prices to match – a single cheburek meat pie can cost $1.30. Svetlana Djigaros calculated that the entire cost of the week-long trip for her and her daughter in Adygea was a little over $650.

Getting THERE

How to get there
There is no airport in Maykop. Visitors usually take the train to Krasnodar or Armavir, and a bus from the bus stations in either city to Maykop. From the capital of Adygea, you can reach Kamennomostskiy or
the other tourist centers and leisure camps of the republic by taxi or minibus.

What to see
One has to travel by car to reach the Lago-Naki Plateau by taking the Maykop-Kamennomostskiy (also called Khadzhokh) road and turning right shortly before reaching the settlement of Dakhovskaya. The route is well signposted. There are no scheduled buses, so the only alternative is to hire a taxi.

What to wear
The weather in Adygea can abruptly change in a single day, and there are also several climatic zones in the mountains. It’s worth bearing this in mind and packing your rucksack with several layers that you can quickly put on or take off. It’s also a good idea to take something waterproof with you.

What’s most impressive about Ergaki is its landscapes – the expressive, inimitable lines of the mountain tops, with their ridges, separate peaks, and rocky outcrops. Add to that the real taiga, with cedars, firs, and spruces, and a plethora of mountain lakes with exceptionally clean water.

In summertime, the area is filled with tourists, and at times it can be difficult to find a spot for your tent. This applies in particular to the areas within a day’s walk of the leisure camps that line the highway. It’s thanks to the highway, in fact, that Ergaki has been able to become a relatively accessible site. It was built not so long ago, and with it came a great influx of visitors. In one day it’s quite possible to reach Svetloye, Karovoye or Raduzhnoye Lakes, to climb to the Hanging Stone, and to get back to your comfortable camp by the highway.

The most beautiful places, however, are not so easy to reach. To get to them, you need to go through some quite challenging passes, some of which require mountaineering equipment. There are less challenging passes, but even these require a certain amount of fitness, stamina, and courage. Plus, you’ll need to carry a tent, sleeping bag, food, and other essentials with you. On the other hand, on the other side of those passes is the real Ergaki. That’s where you find the Lake of Artists, the Lake of Mountain Spirits, the famous Parabola, a double granite peak with a very distinctive shape, and much more. But even in these hard-to-reach areas, in summertime you’ll find the parking lots crowded with tents. Go further still, and there are some places far from the beaten track where it really is possible not to see another human being in a day’s walk.

These hard-to-access areas have become popular thanks to professional photographers, huge numbers of whom have visited here in the last two decades. However, this newfound popularity has a darker side – the anthropogenic impact on the environment has reached critical levels. Th ere are even some confl icts with the animal kingdom. For example, dangerous encounters with bears have been known to occur. Bears are, aft er all, the masters of the Taiga. Th ere are several signs dotted around with instructions for how to behave in the park, including what to do should you run into a bear.

Of course, for real adventure-seekers, that type of risk is unlikely to be much of a deterrent. And just think how many other extraordinary places there are in Russia that nobody yet knows about, but that in time will become as popular as Ergaki.

Getting THERE

How to get there
From Krasnoyarsk or Abakan, it’s easiest to reach the park with your own car, but there are also daily scheduled buses that pass through the park on the Krasnoyarsk-Kyzyl and Abakan-Kyzyl routes, tickets for which can be bought at the bus stations in either city. The territory of the park is split from north to south by the M54 Yenisey Federal Highway. All the leisure camps are located along the highway between the 605km and 640km markers. Most of the tourist walking routes start from the highway, too.

Where to stay
There are several holiday camps within the park, offering tourists accommodation, food, guided tours, and equipment hire. In the summer period there are also commercial campsites at Uyutnoye and  vetloye Lakes.

Visitor Center
The park’s Visitor Center is open year-round, and you are encouraged to drop in to register your visit and receive a short introductory drill. You can also order guided environmental tours, and buy  souvenirs,  guidebooks, and walking maps.

I had excellent company. The group of over 60 people consisted of managers and staff from the major tour operator TUI Russia, other travel agents, and officials from government tourism agencies. Our visit had been carefully prepared, with the support and active involvement of the regional government and Kamchatka’s tour operators, who together had organized this business tour with the title “Kamchatka – Winter Adventures”.

We stayed in Bel-Kam-Tour Hotel, in the resort and spa district of the village of Paratunka, 40 minutes’ drive from the regional capital. For guests from Central Russia, the most unusual feature of the hotel were the four outdoor pools with thermal waters at a temperature of 36-37ºC. The water flows into the pools from the hotel’s own 1600m borehole. When it’s -5ºC outside, with snow lying all around, you can float in the pools and gaze at the starry sky above you – it’s fantastic! Rooms at the hotel start from $110 for double occupancy per night, and there are also separate bungalows. Rates are roughly the same at the Avacha Hotel in the center of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where we spent the two final nights of the trip.

Another peculiarity of a trip to Kamchatka is the jet lag. Due to the change in time zones, we were all waking up regular as clockwork at 4am. For me, this continued to be the case when I got back to Moscow. For about a week afterwards, I woke up at the same time and couldn’t get back to sleep again.

On the next day, we were taken to the Avachinsky Volcano, which is situated just 30km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and is the most popular of the peninsula’s volcanoes with tourists. The roads to the volcano aren’t passable by car, so we were transported in snowcats – big trucks on caterpillar tracks. Most of the group then transferred to snowmobiles pulling narty (long sleds). This was where the need for warm clothing became apparent – on the open slopes the wind whips straight through your coat, and we had to cover our faces with ski masks and goggles.

Frequent changes in weather on the peninsula make exact planning impossible, as was proved that day when a storm blew up that stopped us from reaching the peak of the volcano. We did, however, manage to get to the base owned by Alpika and Kamchatintour, where there was a delicious hot lunch awaiting us.

Water flows into the pools from a 1600m borehole. With snow lying all around, you can float in the pools and gaze at the starry sky above you.

The guest houses where travelers sleep summer and winter are very basic – rooms for 4-6 people with bunk beds and toilets in the yard. The electricity comes from a generator, and there are no roads. Tour managers are confident that if the government can get utilities out there, the conditions for tourists will be a little less spartan. Businesses are eager to develop the site.On that note, Kamchatka really has a lot of snow. The depth of snow cover in the mountains reaches as much as 20 meters, and it stays till July, so there’s a lot to offer downhill skiers.

On the following day, we had a helicopter tour. Take-off was delayed by an hour due to the weather. At the heliport we found ourselves alongside travelers waiting since morning for flights to the north of the peninsula, which can’t be reached any other way. The company Vityaz-Aero, the only operator in the area, boasts a fleet of 30 Mi-8 helicopters with experienced pilots, and built the heliport and terminal itself. Helicopter tours are organized by Vityaz-Travel, and an hour-long flight around the volcanoes costs roughly $320.

During the day, we got a bird’s-eye view of the Avachinsky, Koryaksky, and Zhupanovsky volcanoes, as well as the famous Three Brothers cliffs – a landmark of Avach Bay, where we made a landing on the beautiful shores of the Pacific Ocean and got the chance to take loads of stunning photos.

Perched on the ridges of ice were endangered sea eagles, while right on the deck we were serenaded by Vasya the sea lion, who jumped out of the water.

Yet another adventure came with our boat trip on the Almaz motor vessel. Due to ice swept into Avacha Bay by the wind, the boat couldn’t get out to sea on its own. A tug had to be found to clear a path and guide the Almaz out of the bay. Even so, we were still unable to reach our final destination, but we did get the chance to have an excellent meal – the menu included caviar, fresh seafood, and an exceptional ‘ukha’ fish soup. Heading out onto deck, we were able to enjoy extraordinary views of the ocean shackled in ice and a dimming sun setting through the clouds. Perched on the ridges of ice were endangered sea eagles, while right on the deck we were serenaded by a Stellar sea lion we christened Vasya. He jumped straight out of the water with a fearsome roar to beg us for fish. Eagles and sea lions can only be seen this close on winter sea cruises. In summer, the sea lions move hundreds of kilometers from human habitation, while the eagles perch on their nestswhich they rarely leave, and can therefore only be seen with powerful binoculars. Interestingly, when we fl ew out, the bay was clear again without a single piece of ice. Th at goes to show you how quickly weather can change in Kamchatka.

Our third day proved no less interesting. We visited the Kaynyran ethno-village (in the Koryak language, the name means “bear corner”), where there’s a kennel for sled dogs. Here they keep more than a hundred dogs, both huskies and the local Kamchatkan sled dogs. We went sledding with dog teams and were fed shurpa with hot tea made from Kamchatkan herbs in a traditional yaranga – a reindeer-hide tent. A Koryak ensemble performed a vibrant mix of songs and dances for us. In their tradition, they represent diff erent animals and birds in their dancing, while the favored musical instrument is a shamanic drum.

Two other groups from our party were introduced to the traditions and lifestyle of the indigenous peoples of the peninsula at the Children of the North community project, before visiting the Snow Dogs and Kamchadal sled-dog kennels.

At the Kaynyran ethno-village, we were taken dog-sledding and fed shurpa with herbal tea.

One more place that can be thoroughly recommended for travelers is the Volcanarium interactive museum of volcanoes in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatscky. Th ere you’ll learn just how interesting volcanoes can be, with explanations of what you’d see if you found yourself inside a real crater, you’ll take a tour through a lava cave and witness live experiments with fi re and crystals. As a souvenir, you can take home a little piece of volcanic lava.

Getting THERE

How to get there

The only way to reach Kamchatka is by air to the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Yelisovo Airport is situated 30km from the city.

What to see

The main attractions of Kamchatka are its volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and wonderful nature reserves. The Paratunka thermal springs are situated an hour’s drive from the regional capital. The Valley of Geysers is one of the biggest geyser fi elds in the world, located within the Kronotsky Nature
Reserve, which is only accessible by helicopter. If you want to see bears in their natural habitat, head for the South-Kamchatka Wildlife Sanctuary around Kurilskoye and Dvukhyurtochnoye Lakes.

What to eat

Among the culinary highlights are: Kamchatkan ukha (fi sh soup) made with fresh-caught fi sh; fi shcakes stuffed with mashed potatoes, onion and spices; reindeer meat; and the yukola snack (dry-cured fish). The cuisine of the indigenous peoples can be
quite unusual for European tastes.

What to buy

A local market is an essential stop for all visitors, to buy fresh red caviar from Atlantic or Chinook salmon, and mouthwatering smoked fish – sockeye, chum, Coho, and Chinook salmon. A kilogram of Chinook salmon caviar costs $58, while the fi shitself goes for around $17. Another popular local delicacy is Kamchatka king crab.