Murmansk Oblast

Teriberka: trekking above the Arctic Circle

Sights that you can reach on foot in a town above the Arctic Circle

20.07.21 // The town of Teriberka, situated 150 km north of Murmansk, became extremely popular with tourists after the release of Andrey Zvyagintsev's film Leviathan. The first tourists who travelled there wrote rave reviews upon their return, attracting yet more tourists to visit. Now, the flow of visitors never stops.

Slowly but surely, the infrastructure in Teriberka has improved so that now people can visit in all seasons: some come to kick back in nature (despite what many people believe, you can do so here in fairly comfortable conditions), others come to fish or seek the Polar Lights. Gastronomical tours are also on offer. The best seats in the restaurant Teriberka Shore, by the fireplace with a lovely view of the Barents Sea, have to be booked well in advance in high season. Boat tours serve as another popular attraction during which a diver collects baskets of seafood from the bottom of the sea for the tourists. The delicacies are then eaten aboard the ship.

You don't need a vehicle or a paid tour to get to Teriberka. There is a regular bus service between Murmansk and Teriberka except for periods when the road is closed due to bad weather. But when the weather is particularly foul, you won't be able to get here even by car.

Teriberka can be regarded from a broad range of angles, but right now, we would like to talk about the town's popular trekking routes, ones you can complete on your own.

Navigation

There are two main spots in the town from which the trekking routes start: Old Teriberka (the southern part of the town) and New Teriberka (the Lodeynoye field, Teriberka North) Today, most of the town's residents live in Teriberka North. It's got a hospital and school as well as several grocery stores.

The northern and southern parts of the town are divided by the Teriberka River. The distance between them is 3 km. There is a daily bus service between the two parts of the town so keep that in mind, because in addition to completing a trekking route, you might end up having to walk 3 km along the motorway.

If you come without a car, you might want to look for accommodation somewhere between old Teriberka and new Teriberka.

There are plenty of trekking routes in the general Teriberka area. Tour operators offer several trekking journeys that can last for several days. However, we'd like to tell you about simple routes that you can easily cover on your own with minimal fuss.

On to the waterfalls!

The most popular route, one that takes just a few hours, starts at Lodeynoye Field. It will take you to the Battery waterfall and a lake of the same name as well as Stone Beach (also known as Dragon Eggs Beach because it's covered in large egg-shaped stones).

The waterfall and the lake got their name from the old artillery battery located nearby. It is also on this route that most tourists take down to the sea to take in some amazing vistas.

The distance from Lodeynoye Field to the waterfall is some 5 km. Walk 1.5 km further and you'll get to the old battery. The route to the waterfall and back is going to take you 3–4 hours. It's a fairly simple route and even the elderly and families with small children often complete the journey with little trouble. If you've got trekking poles, you'll want to bring them along. They can make climbing uphill a lot easier.

The abandoned military base
A somewhat less popular trekking route than that to Battery Waterfall is the route to the abandoned military base at Dolgaya Inlet. It's about 10 km long. it will take you about 3 hours one way.

The path starts in Old Teriberka. It then takes you west along the former communications line. The landmark from which to set out is the abandoned school. You climb up the first rock in your way, leaving the school behind. You then walk along the old communications line.
Once you reach the shore, the road is paved with concrete slabs. Here, you can check out the lighthouses built in 1976 as well as the ruins of a former secret military encampment.

 

And last but not least, all along the way, you will be taking in beautiful views of Arctic nature.


 


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