More than a thousand-year history of Russia has left a lot of natural, historical and architectural monuments to amaze travels. If you are choosing where to go on vacation, read on! Here are top adventures and places to visit in Russia for all sorts of travelers.

Best places to visit in Russia

1. Kamchatka

Active volcanoes, geysers, therapeutic hot springs, glaciers, waterfalls, grass of human height – all of this can be seen on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the vast territory of the Russian Pacific coast. The area of the peninsula is more than 270 thousand square kilometers, stretching from north to south for 1,200 kilometers.

Tourists are particularly attracted to the Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka. Such natural emissions of steam and hot water to a great height can be found only in the areas of active volcanoes in Iceland, the United States and New Zealand. The Valley of Geysers is included in the “Seven Wonders of Russia”.

Here you can find more of Siberian surprises.

2. Lake Elton

Lake Elton is an endorheic salt lake in Volgograd region, near the border between Russia and Kazakhstan, with an area of ​​about 150 square kilometers. It is sometimes called the “big salty puddle” its average depth in summer is only 10 centimeters, in the spring – 70-80 centimeters. Famous Lake Elton is famour for its “salt paintings” and “salt scenery.” The nature creates a crystalline formation brine on plants and rocks.
Elton lake is a popular spa resort, salt bath and saturated salt air have a healing effect on the human body.

3. Multinskie Lakes

Cascade of seven lakes in the Altai Mountains, located on the northern slope of Katun ridge. Lakes form a single chain connected by canals with picturesque waterfalls. Imagine: astounding views of alpine meadows and mountain peaks, the water in the lakes of greenish milky color, not not found anywhere else on the planet. Multinskiye lakes are a part of Katun Biosphere Reserve.

4. Wrangel Island

By visiting this large island on the border of the Chukchi and East Siberian seas, you can see the Arctic nature in all its pristine beauty. There has never been any indigenous population on Wrangel Island, and the island became a Russian territory in 1911. Polar desert on the island is adjacent to mountains and tundra. In Soviet times there was created the State Nature Reserve.

Numerous fauna of the island – polar bears, walrus, wild reindeer – feel at ease on the island, as any hunting is prohibited here. So make sure you have good sights for your AR.

Wrangel Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

5. Franz Josef Land

Franz Josef Land is one of the most northern regions of Russia, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, belonging to the Arkhangelsk region. Here are 192 islands with a total area of ​​about 16,134 square kilometers, most of which are covered with glaciers. It is home to two local employees of polar stations, as well as polar bears, arctic foxes and several Arctic bird species. Occasionally visited by scientific expeditions and group tours from Arctic cruise liners.

6. Patom Crater

According to studies of Siberian scientists, Patom crater formed at the end of XV or the beginning of the XVI century. However, the reason for its appearance in the Yakut taiga are not very clear. There are versions of meteoritic and volcanic origins of Patom crater. Patom crater is 40 meters deep and up to 80 meters in diameter.

There is a variety of mystical speculation and various esoteric versions of its origin. Local Yakuts call the crater the “nest of fire eagle” and consider it “the bad place”, some sort of natural anomaly.

7. City of the Dead

City of the Dead is a unique historical and architectural monument, located in Alania, the suburban area of North Ossetia. This necropolis is composed of 99 stone two-and four-storey crypts. Crypts are laid very skilfully and in a perfect architectural form. There is a theory that there were buried the victims of the plague that raged in Ossetia in the XVIII century.

8. Jack London Lake

Among the amazing nature of the Russian Far East, Lake Jack London in  Magadan region stands out for its unique beauty and exoticism. The unusual name is most likely a tribute to the literary tastes of its discoverers. Although there is a legend that they found “Martin Eden” by an American writer Jack London on the shore of the lake.

Jack London Lake is narrow, with the length of 10 kilometers, and framed by the mountains at an altitude of 803 meters above sea level. Water is crystal clear and very cold, ice floes float on the surface of the water till the end of July, adding to the mystery of the lake landscape. Jack London Lake has the status of a national park, protected by the state.

9. Curonian Spit (Kurshskaya Kosa)

Unique natural sand bar on the Baltic coast of Russia with the length of 98 kilometers. Half of the length of the Spit is Russian part (49 km), the rest belongs to Lithuania. The main feature of the spit are huge sand dunes, constantly changing their relief. The Curonian Spit is also a kind of “bird’s bridge”for many birds flying from South and Central Europe to the European North. On the territory of the spit is an ornithological station, where birds are ringed to learn the ways of their migration.

Tourists can see here a lot of unusual “Dancing Forest”, the pine forest with intricately curved trees, as well as abundance of birds and other aquatic animals in freshwater Curonian Lagoon, freely roaming wild boars and roe deer, unique vegetation with trees and shrubs from all around the world. And, of course, seemingly endless sandy beach strip and a unique Baltic landscape stretching into the distance.

10. Man-Pupu-Ner Pillars

In the language of Mansi, indigenous people of the Northern Urals, the name of the geological monument “Man-Pupu-Ner” means “small mountain of idols.” The monument is located in Pechyoro Trinity area of ​​the Komi Republic, in a remote, inaccessible place for tourists. Man-Pupu-Ner is stone cliffs of hard rock, left from the once towering mountains here. Wind gave the cliffs a bizarre shape.

There are 7 pillars in Man-Pupu-Ner, the tallest of the pillars is 34 m, the lowest – 7 meters. The Pillars have a bizarre shape of silhouettes of various animals. Silhouettes depend on your point of viewing: from the different places you can see a figure of a standing person, the head of a horse or a sheep silhouette.

As you see, there are no limits in Russia, and Moscow & St Petersburg are just the starters.

Which of these Top 10 are in your bucket list? 

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