Spirit of the Altai Nomads Tour
A comprehensive tour of the Altai Mountains in Siberia, Russia. The Altai Nomads Tour offers a combination of incredible sightseeing, undemanding adventure activities and culturally immersive experiences. You’ll be one of a few privileged outsiders to visit some of the most spiritually powerful places in Altai, according to the legends of the indigenous Altayan people.
You’ll visit traditional villages inhabited by ethnic Altayan tribes as well as remote settlements that are still home to some of the last of the Russian Old Believers. You’ll also follow the part of the route traversed by Nicholas Roerich’s 1920s expedition in search of the mysterious Shambhala. A great trip for those seeking a vivid cultural experience, this itinerary also mixes in light hiking, whitewater rafting and horse riding (or an optional helicopter flight) in the beautiful Belukha Mountain region.
SPIRIT OF THE ALTAI NOMADS TOUR – HIGHLIGHTS:
- Explore the mystical Karakol Valley, where for centuries the nomadic Altayans performed shamanic rituals. Search for evidence of these ancient practices within the protected Uch-Enmek Nature Park
- Experience whitewater rafting on the mighty Katun River. Things start off calmly, exploring a wide, gentle section of the river before working our way up to the Katun’s world-famous rapids
Kamchatka's Forgotten Coast - Expedition Cruise
On this Kamchatka cruise, venture into the forgotten landscape of the Kamchatka and Chukotka coasts, the sublime natural beauty of untouched landscapes and abundant wildlife! As the Kamchatka coastline has been largely uninfluenced by human interaction for years, natural habitats and colonies of birds, seals, foxes, bears, and marine life have been able to flourish in the region.
It is also home to many indigenous peoples such as the Itelmen, Even, Chukchi, and Koryak, whose cultures you can experience on this Kamchatka cruise.
Kamchatka’s Forgotten Coast Cruise Highlights:
- Take a unique journey to the Commander Islands, rich with bird and marine life like the Red-faced cormorant, horned puffin, Pigeon Guillemot, Crested and Whiskered Auklets, and Sea Otters. Cruising the surrounds, you’ll also have the opportunity to observe the humpback, northern minke, sperm, orca, and Baird’s Beaked whales.
- Multiple landings across the Koryak and Chukotka coast will provide an excellent opportunity for sightings and photography of the natural world. As this Kamchatka cruise expedition takes you from the forested fiords to lagoons and bays, you’ll be in awe of wildlife like the brown bear, Kamchatka marmot, red fox, Tundra Bean Goose, Asian Rosy Finch and Siberian Accentor.
Moscow & St Petersburg Winter Escapade
Arriving in Moscow and St Petersburg during winter has been likened to stepping into a novel – a land of exotic fur hats and snow-dusted cathedral domes. This tour will take place between December 29 and 5 January to include an unforgettable New Year’s Eve in Moscow, one of the most exciting cities in the world to celebrate with the locals and “party like a Russian!” Or you can choose any other dates.
While in Moscow you’ll discover some of the city’s most iconic attractions and lesser-known gems, including a guided tour of the Kremlin and a day excursion to the opulent royal estate of Kolomenskoye.
Next, we’ll travel by high-speed train to St Petersburg to experience the romance of one of the world’s most beautiful cities in dazzling white winter dress. Delve into the treasures of the Hermitage Museum (without the summer crowds!) and enjoy a traditional troika sleigh ride in Pavlovsk Park.
Moscow and St Petersburg in Style
Russia’s story is evolving at a rapid pace, and nowhere is this intermingling of the ancient and the avant-garde more apparent than in its two largest metropolises, Moscow and St Petersburg. This carefully crafted Moscow and St Petersburg Tour itinerary tells the tale of two cities – Moscow, the source of Eastern political, economic and spiritual influence, and St Petersburg – Russia’s cultural epicentre and window to Western Europe.
During this fabulous 9 day Moscow and St Petersburg tour, you’ll stay in some of the country’s most stylish, centrally located urban hotels. Discover Moscow and St Petersburg plus a portion of the historical Golden Ring route by plush private transport. Travel business class on the high speed Sapsan train between Moscow and St Petersburg and spoil yourself even more with a choice of optional activities including a sublime night out at the opera or ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre, a luxurious Moscow dinner cruise and an evening of classical music at one of St Petersburg’s beautiful palaces turned concert halls.
Moscow and St Petersburg in Style Tour Highlights:
- Enjoy a very special evening at White Rabbit, heralded as one of Restaurant Magazine’s top restaurants in the world. White Rabbit combines a whimsical Alice in Wonderland theme with elegant service, creative takes on Russian cuisine and a domed glass roof providing breathtaking views of the city
- Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of one of the world’s biggest metropolises on a guided walking tour of Moscow, including the Red Square, the Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral
Moscow, St Petersburg and Golden Ring Rendezvous
Embark on an endlessly enthralling exploration of the places that shaped Russia’s history on this 11-day tour of Moscow, St Petersburg and the Golden Ring. From the reign of the Tsars to the iron grip of the USSR to the people and projects ushering in a new era of cultural expression and innovation, you’ll gain a deeper insight into Russia’s ancient heritage and a fascinating glimpse into its future.
Moscow, St Petersburg and Golden Ring tour highlights:
- Moscow City Walking Tour: Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of one of the world’s biggest metropolises on a guided tour of Moscow on foot, taking in the Red Square, the Kremlin, the fantastical St Basil’s Cathedral and more
- Moscow Metro Tour: go deep underground on a subway tour of the famous metro system, a Soviet innovation renowned for its palatial, lavishly decorated stations
Top of the World - North Pole Cruise
Get on board for the ultimate North Pole adventure. Nothing compares to experiencing the untamed grandeur of the Arctic quite like seeing its majestic landscapes unfold from the deck of a state-of-the-art nuclear icebreaker. Imagine an endless expanse of ice under the polar midnight sun. Pristine waters teeming with marine life. Prowling polar bears in the tundra. This is Mother Nature at her breathtaking best.
From Murmansk, Russia, you’ll embark the icebreaker 50 Years of Victory for a roundtrip voyage to the earth’s geographic North Pole. Our mighty vessel will plough its way through the frozen Arctic Ocean on a cruise that literally circumnavigates the globe in a matter of days. In addition to the exhilaration of cruising to the very apex of the earth, passengers will have the extraordinary privilege to land, via helicopter, on the scarcely visited Russian Arctic archipelago of Franz Josef Land, a remote wilderness home to an incredible abundance of wildlife.
North Pole Cruise Highlights:
- After 7 days of cruising from Murmansk, we’ll arrive at the geographic North Pole, the place where all meridians meet and the only direction is south. To celebrate our successful mission to the top of the world, we’ll ceremoniously drop anchor and disembark on a sturdy stretch of ice for the ‘International Round Dance’ – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to literally walk around the world!
- Franz Josef Land: Weather permitting, we’ll spend two days exploring this uninhabited archipelago, one most pristine Arctic habitats on earth. It is comprised of 192 islands where glaciers cover 85% of the land, carving out a spectacular terrain of steep valleys, caves and pinnacles
Golden Ring at a Glance
The Golden Ring is the name given to a popular tourist route that connects a network of ancient towns north-east of Moscow. This 2-day Golden Ring tour will take you on a quest for unique architectural constructions dating from the 12th to the 17th centuries. During this short detour from Moscow, you will discover the age-old allure of Mother Russia from generations past.
Travel from the capital to the countryside, where golden spires and the onion-shaped domes of colourful monasteries dot the horizon. Explore enchanting towns and fairy tale villages, set against the picturesque backdrop of rural Russia as you learn about the war and peacetime history, religion, and culture of a part of Russia that still holds fast to time-honoured traditions and a leisurely, provincial way of life.
Golden Ring 2-day tour highlights:
- Suzdal appears like a scene from a Russian storybook and has inspired artists and writers for centuries. Wander wide-eyed through quiet laneways and cobblestone plazas, passing horse-drawn buggies and medieval churches
- Vladimir is a former medieval Russian capital whose main historic monuments are UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, including the Cathedral of the Assumption, which features murals by 15th-century Russian masters, and the Golden Gate, part of the city’s 12th-century defenses against the invading Mongol armies
Karelia & Kizhi Island in 3 Days
This short detour from either Moscow or St Petersburg gives you the chance to explore some of the most remarkable historical and natural landmarks of Karelia. Known as Russia’s ‘Land of Lakes’, Karelia is a republic with its own unique culture, bordering Finland and the White Sea. Your tour begins in Petrozavodsk, the largest city in Karelia and the gateway to Kizhi Island, the most visually spectacular cultural site in Karelia. We’ll reach Kizhi by rapid hydrofoil boat, giving us plenty of time to explore the World Heritage Listed Kizhi Pogost, a collection of 17th and 18th-century churches, elaborately and fantastically crafted entirely out of wood.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
- The Kizhi Open Air Museum is a World Heritage site and one of the most unmissable greatest cultural attractions in Russia. The island contains some 83 relocated buildings from the 17th to the 19th centuries, each one elaborately crafted out of wood
- The crown jewel of Khizi is the Transfiguration Church, an architectural masterpiece featuring a chorus of wooden domes, gables and ingenious decorations designed to keep water off the walls. Built without using a single nail, it has withstood the elements for over 150 years
Reindeer Herders Festival in Yamal 2023
The Reindeer Herder’s Festival is a one-day holiday, celebrated annually in the main cities and villages in the Yamalo-Nenets region in the Russian Arctic. For the nomadic Nenets people, a festival day is a major event, which offers a chance to meet with friends and compete in contests of physical skill and a variety of other competitions.
It has also become an event in which the Nenets are able to share with the world a fascinating slice of their unique culture, which has remained relatively unchanged throughout the centuries. On this tour not only will you witness the Reindeer Herders’ Festival in Yamal but you will also stay with a Nenet family far from the city, giving you an amazing opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the nomadic way of life and if you are lucky enough, to witness Northern Lights.
Reindeer herders festival trip highlights:
- Salekhard (population 43,000) is the only city in the world located right at the Polar Circle. Despite its remoteness, it harbours a great deal of wealth as the city at the centre of one of the world’s richest oil and gas regions.
- From Salekhard, we’ll travel to a nomad camp to spend two days living with the Nenets and sleeping in their chums (tepee-style reindeer skin tents). The Nenets are one of the last surviving grounds of reindeer-herding nomads, making this experience an extraordinary privilege. Take part in day-to-day activities around the camp, herding and lassoing reindeer, sledding into the forest to cut firewood and assisting in the erecting of new chums, with plenty of time in between to relax, socialise and just take in the atmosphere.
Reindeer Migration with the Nenets in Yamal
As the world gets smaller, we desire to travel further – and there are few places as enchantingly far away as Yamal. This cultural immersion transports you deep into Russia’s isolated Arctic region. ‘Yamal’ means ‘edge of the world’ in the language of the indigenous Nenets. The Nenets of Yamal carves out a unique way of life, seemingly at the limits of human tolerance.
Each spring, the Nenets migrate from winter pastures on the Russian mainland to the summer pastures in the Arctic Circle, a one-way journey of up to 1,000km. This is your chance to experience a small part of this epic journey alongside these extraordinarily resilient people. This is a remarkable extraordinary opportunity to get to know one of the world’s last true nomadic reindeer herders through their eyes.
Yamal Reindeer Migration with Nenets – expedition highlights:
- Salekhard is the only city in the world located right at the Polar Circle. Among the highlights on our tour of the city is the Shemanovskiy Yamal-Nenets District Museum, which includes an exhibition on mammoth remains found in the region
- Travel to the Polar Ural Mountains to an encampment of nomadic Nenets reindeer herders
Arctic Rail Explorer - Quest for Northern Lights
Experience a train journey unlike any other. An adventure on rails to the top of the world, the lands above the Arctic Circle where the mythical Aurora Borealis performs her breathtaking celestial dance in the velvet black Polar night sky. This compelling 12-day Northern Lights Train Tour showcases the unique contrast between two of Russia’s most majestic cities and the isolated yet charming communities deep within the Russian and Norwegian Arctic Circle. Commencing in St. Petersburg or Moscow, we visit some of the city’s most prominent historical and cultural sites, before embarking on this remarkable Arctic railway adventure in search of the elusive Aurora Borealis.
Northern Lights – Arctic Rail Explorer Tour Highlights:
- Admire the architectural splendour of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities on a guided two-day tour of St Petersburg that includes St Isaac’s Cathedral and the Hermitage, as well as a trip to Pushkin to visit the extravagant Catherine Palace
- In the extreme north of Norway, above the Arctic Circle lies Kirkenes, a tiny frontier town near the Russian border. Ride a snowmobile across the frozen fjords outside town and try your hand at fishing for the Arctic’s most prized seafood, the king crab
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About 56th Parallel
56th Parallel is a travel company specialising in providing packaged tours and travel services in Russia.
Our goal is to redefine travel to Russia, focusing on creating the most rewarding experiences, which help travellers unfolds the soul of this exciting destination.
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