The 'maternity ward' of polar bears, huge bird colonies, walrus rookeries and whales: these are the protected islands of Wrangel and Herald, which it took polar explorers centuries to reach

The easternmost point of Russia and all of Eurasia bears the name of the Siberian pioneer, who for the first time, passed this cape along the Bering Strait.

A mysterious structure made of huge whalebones on the coast of Yttygran Island forms a sanctuary for ancient seaborne hunters

The most inaccessible of the large lakes in Russia is located in the Arctic, in the permafrost zone; in winter it freezes almost right to the bottom, and in summer it is free from ice for only a couple of months

The largest reserve in Eurasia, protecting the typical Arctic ecosystems of the Taymyr Peninsula and in the adjacent marine area

For many centuries, Vaygach Island was a sacred land forbidden to enter, where sacrifices were made to the main gods of the Nenets pantheon

In Momsky Park, you can try to climb the Pobeda stratovolcano, raft down a river through the world's largest ice field, or simply admire a mountain of multi-coloured marble

The furthest islands in the ocean which the Pomors dared to reach, the real edge of the world on the Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land archipelagos

The remains of the Solnechnoye jade deposit in the valley of the Nyrdvomen-Shor stream

The first cryovolcano discovered on Earth, which became a lake in the middle of the polar tundra

An oasis with a microclimate in the middle of the Arctic tundra: wooded basalt crags and gems on the banks of the Belaya River

A huge basalt plateau covered with a layer of lava from an ancient volcano, tectonic lakes, waterfalls and the geographical centre of Russia

A granite city of gigantic natural sculptures in the remote polar region of the Indigirka basin

Rocky outcrops in the form of petrified giants amidst ancient, deserted mountains at a pass through the Kisilyakh range

A monastery fortress, a polar botanical garden, the memory of the camps, spiritual feats and tragedies: the islands of the Solovetsky archipelago embody all the severity and power of the North

In the 20th century, the wayward, mysterious Khibiny Mountains became the cradle of skiing in Russia

Thanks to the film Leviathan, a dying village on the shores of the Barents Sea, long known to Russia's chefs as a source of rare seafood, has become a popular tourist destination

'Small mountain of idols': according to Mansi legends, ancient giants that have turned to stone stand on the Manpupuner Pass

A huge protected area in the Polar Urals, where the living memory of the Earth is preserved—the oldest primordial boreal forests on the continent

Rock paintings of people, animals, deities and everyday scenes from the Neolithic era are preserved on the islands of the Vyg River in the Belomorsky district of Karelia

The pristine nature that inspired the author of the Kalevala: picturesque cliffs and waterfalls, lakes that resemble fjords, 'hanging lakes' and Sámi seitas (sacred sites)