Places that turn a trip into a story

A major karst cave in limestone cliffs above the Beya River valley.

A rural church near Vladimir tied to the “Novgorod” exile story — atmospheric ruins without tourist crowds.

A notable Okhotsk Range summit for experienced groups with taiga and Kolyma valley views.

A former mining landscape with spoil heaps, empty settlements and industrial remains.

Main Buddhist monastery of Aginsky District — temples, stupas and ritual life in steppe Trans-Baikal.

A Palaeolithic site above the Mzymta near Kazachy Brod.

A Late Bronze Age megalithic complex near Akhunovo village.

A mountain lake at the foot of Belukha — a classic stop on routes to Altai's highest peak.

A National Museum branch in a rebuilt estate in Nadezhdino.

Field bases at the head of the Aktru valley — start for short and long mountain routes.

An alpine trail in the Aktru valley to the glacier tongue — a classic North Chuy Range route away from resort bustle.

A town of 1348 from the Nikon Chronicle on both banks of the Oka: Dormition cathedrals of the 17th–19th centuries, a relict pine forest and ancient hillforts.

A relict pine forest along the Oka — a nature monument by Aleksin, where century-old pines stand right on the edge of the high bank.

A women's convent on the Snov at Zolotukhino — a 19th-century domed ensemble in a steppe town.

Chalk outcrops near Alexeyevka — classic landscape of the oblast's east.

Sacred mountain and national park of Buddhist Trans-Baikal — cliffs, stupas and steppe trails near the Buryatia border.

Fifteenth-century brick Gothic church ruins in Porechye.

A forest lake in central Altai — a quiet fishing and day-trip spot.

Spa springs at Khamar-Daban's foot between Gusinoozyorsk and Baikal — thermal baths and drinking water.

Where the Amgu meets the Sea of Japan on the north coast — fishing boats, sand spits, and a long road in.

Wide floodplain of a major Amur tributary — northern river landscape without tourist services.

Basalt bluffs on the Amur's right bank south of Khabarovsk — river panoramas and flood meadows.

Amur cork tree stands on Khingan slopes — rare Russian forest without resort trappings.

Steep shores of south Sakhalin's largest bay — rocky stretches of Tonino-Aniva and Crillon peninsulas.