Encountering the magical—and so elusive—Aurora Borealis is a must on many travelers' bucket lists. Foreigners come for it, including to Russia, because we have enough places where aurora borealis is especially beautiful. Top locations are those in the very north of the country. The classics are Yakutia and Chukotka, the Putorana Plateau and the Taimyr Peninsula in the Krasnoyarsk Territory are considered more original, but little known. The most successful hunt for the northern lights is given away from big cities, where night sky illumination and high-rise buildings do not interfere. The season is the same everywhere – from the end of September to the end of March, but there are exceptions. The banks of the Northern Dvina River are considered the best point for observing the northern lights in the Arkhangelsk region. The main thing is to move along it towards the north, not south. An equally good point is the vicinity of Severodvinsk, this is the coast of the White Sea. There is a chance to catch the northern lights on the Solovetsky archipelago and in the Pinezhsky reserve. And if it doesn’t work out, then at least look at the legendary monastery and the magnificent northern nature. /4n/dc/4ndcgth01mkgs04gswkwwwck4.jpg It is believed that in the Leningrad region, the northern lights are most often seen above the horizon, and not in the sky above. So you need to follow him to where this line is clearly visible. Ideal points are the shores of local reservoirs: Vysokinsky and Ladoga lakes, the Gulf of Finland and the Sestroretsky spill. Guests of the Leningrad region are not limited to hunting for the northern lights only: there is so much more to see here! The treasury city of St. Petersburg, Peterhof, Gatchina, Pushkin with stunning palaces and parks, the fortress city of Kronstadt and the ancient Vyborg, the Tuutari Park ski resort – you can’t list everything. Northern Lights over Ladoga /02/i7/02i7os3lqmps00ockcoo08sw0.jpg < /ul>
1. Arkhangelsk Region
2. Leningrad Region
3. Murmansk Region
The legendary Teriberka is perhaps the main brand of the Russian North and the supplier of the coolest photographs with the northern lights. For him, they go on tours here for several days, at the same time to see the places where the film “Leviathan” was filmed. But you can not succumb to the mainstream and rush, for example, to a camp site in the Kirovsk region or the city of Apatity, or even to the Khibiny mountains. In addition to the Northern Lights, the polar-alpine botanical garden, the Snow Village, the Museum of Venechka Erofeev, the unforgettable author of the poem “Moscow – Petushki”, are waiting for the curious. Upon returning to Murmansk, it is worth taking a look at the longest house in Russia and at the world's only nuclear-powered icebreaker-museum “Lenin”.
An old ship near Murmansk admires the aurora /93/h1/93h1fi66lhk44c404oo8008sc.jpg
4. Republic of Karelia
In beautiful Karelia, it is worth catching the northern lights, as in the Leningrad region, near water bodies. Moreover, you don’t have to travel far for beauty: it’s enough to go to the Varkaus embankment in Petrozavodsk, when a special forecast promises a bright aurora. True, green flashes sway in the sky of Petrozavodsk not every winter night. Aurora hunting will be successful in the village of Nilmoguba near the Yakova Bay, in the Paanajärvi National Park and, of course, on the shores of Lake Onega. Karelia is famous for its Ruskeala marble canyon, the ancient city of Sortavala, the Kizhi Museum of Wooden Architecture, the Valaam Monastery and very interesting cuisine. All this should also be included in the excursion route around the republic (here, by the way, there is a large selection of excursions).
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6. Republic of Komi
Residents of the Komi Republic are more fortunate than others: they can see the northern lights already in August, and near the big cities – Syktyvkar and Vorkuta, so you don’t have to go far from civilization. In Syktyvkar and Vorkuta, when you are free from hunting for lights, you should look into the museum and exhibition centers, where they tell about the life of the peoples of the north and the era of repression. Other must-see places are the ghost village of Rudnik, where one of the branches of the Gulag was located, the Khalmer-Yu waterfall, the Manpupuner plateau with remnant pillars and the Finno-Ugric ethnocultural park of the village of Yb, also known for its healing springs.
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7. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
This district, like Komi, boasts that the northern lights are perfectly visible here even at the end of summer and right in the capital – Salekhard. Other well-known places where it is easy to catch aurora are the village of Kharp and the city of Labytnangi. It will be interesting to combine hunting for the northern lights with a visit to the ethnographic parks Yasavey, Zhivun and others. There they tell and show how the peoples of the North lived and live, ride on sleds, treat them with local delicacies from venison, fish, and berries. In Salekhard itself, the Fakel bridge, the mammoth sculpture, the wooden Obdorsky prison and the Museum of I.S.
Aurora borealis over Yamal /8z/b8 /8zb8n3b5y5gkk84s4oskokw08.jpg