Trips at northern latitudes of the Krasnoyarsk region

Trips at northern latitudes of the Krasnoyarsk region

The North has always attracted travelers with its especial romance. Just imagine, you are almost face to face with cold and a little bit wild beauties, with the low northern sky above your head and only boundless spaces and The Arctic Ocean ahead – these are already inexpssible feelings at the mere thought of it, aren’t they? It’s so great that the residents and guests of our region can get plenty of these impssions without leaving the territory of the region. So, we will tell which nature’s sights you can visit already this autumn and discover the North for yourself.  

► Red Stones mountain gorge

This place is situated 40 kilometers from Norilsk in the suburbs of the district of Talnakh. If to be more exact, in the valley of the Ugol’niy brook, in the mountain massif of Kharaelakh, which is considered to be the western spur of Plateau Putorana. That is why the Red Stones are also called the geographical gates to Plateau Putorana.  Here the rocks of the red tint, which contain a big amount of iron and being oxidized, they get their crimson colour, and the two-cascades waterfall and the nine-meters lake with transparent water open up to the travelers. It will be interesting not only to those who want to enjoy the nature, but to the amateurs of paleontology – at the lake’s shore one can find the remains of ancient stoned trees reaching one meter in height.

You can get to the gorge by car straight from Talnakh, on foot (the way will take you about two hours) or even by quad bike or snowmobile (you can take it for rent in Norilsk).

► The most northern village in Russia – Dixon

Arctic tundra, boundless spaces and ruins of rich history of the northern lands conquering – all this is about Dixon. Here you will not meet all the ordinary things – supermarkets, cafes, cinemas and many others. The entertainments here are different, special, the ones you can have only in several places of the planet! Enchanted to watch the spillovers of the northern lights, to try to guess what time it is, when the polar night is outside, to see the arctic poppy blooming, and meet the addicted romantic people who do not want to leave this place and sincerely love this severe land.

By the way, Dixon is the only settlement in Siberia, which took part in the Second World War. You can learn more details about it on our web-site here.

Dixon is a closed village, so you can get here exceptionally with a special pass. As there are no roads here, you’ll need to travel by plane from the airport of Norilsk.  

► Mount Byrranga

After the most northern village let’s move to the other most northern sight in our country – the mountain chain Byrranga on the Taimyr peninsula. The mountains stretch for 1100 kilometers from the Yenisey bay of the Kara Sea to the Laptev Sea. 270 days a year there is snow here. The slopes and tops of these dark mountains are carved with rivers’ valleys and are often covered with glaciers (there are 96 of them) and screes (kurums), which form stone “rivers” and “seas”.  Also, at the foot of the mountains there is the largest lake of Russia’s North – Taimyr (of the same name with the peninsula). Despite the place is deserted, it is worth coming here to make a hiking trip. Of course, it’s better to do it in the company of those people who you enjoy even to be silent with!

You can get here only by helicopter from Norilsk, Khatanga or Dixon.

► Putorana Plateau

The mountains here have no peaks, and the canyons seem to be bottomless. The lakes are stretched for hundreds kilometers, and the rivers rush down from rocks, forming the cascades of waterfalls. For hundreds kilometers there are neither people, nor expensive hotels and there are even such sites, where no man has gone before

Going to a trip to the Putorana Plateau is considered to be a big achievement among the experienced amateurs of investigating the world. By the way, the Putorana Plateau takes the first place in Russia in the number of the investigators!

The highest waterfall  in the country – Tal’nikoviy – is situated here as well. Its mighty waters roughly fall down from the height of 482 meters. This place is also unique with the geographical centre of Russia, situated here – it’s lake Vivi, and to be more exact – its southwest shore.  The lake is little explored, so the scientists still don’t know its maximum depth, but they suppose, it can reach from 80 to 200 meters.

To get to the Putorana Plateau is not so easy, because there are no roads here at all. But everything is possible, so travelers arrive here by catamaran in summer, or by snowmobile in winter, or by helicopter in any season.

Photo: Sergey Tokarev and the authors unknown to us.