Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Is backcountry hiking in northwestern Russia safe?

+0
−0

Is it safe to go backcountry hiking in the Tundra's of northwestern Russia, e.g. the Kola peninsula, such as the Khibin mountains? There is some heavy industry around there; can one safely go around, camp, drink from the rivers etc. as one would do in Scandinavia or the Alps, or should this rather be avoided? What about other risks that one doesn't need to worry (much) about in western or northern Europe?

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/1780. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

1 answer

+0
−0

The Khibin mountains and the neighboring area are very popular places to visit in Russia, especially for hiking. There is one relatively big town there - Kirovsk, and you can start your trip from there.

It has some industry, but I haven't heard of it having any bad influence on the ecology. I have drunk water from Umbozero lake and Umba river and I'm still alive :)

You can go around and camp there with no restrictions, but I would not recommend camping near any settlement in Russia. If you still want to camp anywhere near a settlement, I recommend that you keep someone from your team watching the camp while others sleep.

I think the main risk there as in many places in Russia is the absence of good infrastructure for any self-traveler. Especially a foreigner. I repeat - this region is very popular for hiking in Russia, but I don't think there is a lot of information available in English about these places.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/4777. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »