Come along on a 10-day tour!

Day 1 - Entering the Komi Republic
Leave St. Petersburg or Moscow by plane and arrive at Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi Republic in the Russian Federation.

The land of Komi is an old northern remote district of Russia. The area is 416 800-sq. km. - like Sweden or Finland - but the population only 1.2 million. Originally dominated by people of the Finno-Ugrian language group, the area is now settled by many nationalities from different parts of the former Soviet Union.

The Republic of Komi is dominated by taiga forests and with tundra in the far north. Over the past 100 years hunting, fishing and agriculture along the rivers and reindeer breeding on the tundra was replaced by large-scale extraction of natural resources such as timber, coal, oil and gas. The eastern border coincides with the Ural Mountains, the highest top of which is mountain Narodnaya (1894 m). The 1814-km Pechora is the largest unregulated river in Europe. Read more about Komi

Day 2 - City and cultural landscape
A day in Syktyvkar is a good start. There are several hotels as well as low-budget alternatives. Like many old cities Syktyvkar is located where of two large rivers meet. In this case where Sysola merges with Vychegda. The first written record of a settlement dates back to 1586. In 1780 the settlement was transformed into the city Ust Sysolsk - meaning "the mouth of the river Sysola". In 1936 Ust Sysolsk was renamed Syktyvkar, now the capital of the Republic of Komi. Today the city has about 250 000 inhabitants and is a major centre for administration and business in the north-east of the European part of Russia. Read more about Syktyvkar (in Russian)

Ideally the first day should divided between the city and the surrounding cultural landscape along the large river Vychegda. For the professional traveller meetings with natural resource managers of the Komi Republic and with scientists at the Syktyvkar State University, the Russian Academy of Sciences can easily be arranged. This can be combined with an 80 km excursion to one of the two old villages Ib or Ust Vym. Ib is located at the left high bank of the Sysola river. From the old church the view over and the meandering river and the surrounding vast forests is stunning. Ust Vym is located at the mouth of the Vym river north of Syktyvkar. The village is a religious centre that dates back to the Mediaeval time. Adding another day allows visits to both these fascinating places. En route there are ample opportunities to visit different managed forest types and to understand the land use history of the region.

In the late evening we embark the train to the Troitsko-Pechorsk county in the south-eastern corner of the Komi Republic. The sleeping cars have room for 4 berths and each car has an attendant from whom you can can buy steaming hot tea. Be sure to bring along food and drink for the 17-hour train ride.

Map of the Troitsko-Pechorsk region in the south-
easternmost corner of the Komi Republic in Russia.

Day 3 - Welcome to the Pechora-Ilych Zapovednik!!
We will wake up in the taiga proper. During the morning there will be ample time to enjoy the vast taiga forest. Running gently and slowly the train ride provides you with the insight that the reason that the vast Pechora-Ilych Zapovednik is there, is the remote location. It should take time to get there.

The train arrives to Troitsko-Pechorsk at lunch time. Be sure to visit the small museum close to the police station and enjoy the view over the Pechora river from the bank near the administrative building of the Troitsko-Pechorsk region. After lunch we continue by bus. After 2-3 hours, depending on the condition of the road, and more than than 100 km we arrive at Yaksha, the centre of the Pechora-Ilych Zapovednik, in the evening.

Day 4 - The dry pine forest
In the morning a seminar introduces you to the work in the Zapovednik and the region. After lunch we start our journey by boat and stay in tents during the following days.

The first forest type to be studied is the typical forest of this sandy plain - the dry pine forest. During a 7-8 km walk we look at the structure and dynamics of this dry pine forests that burn often. The terrain is flat and the walk is easy. The most prominent mammals are forest reindeer, moose and brown bear. The flora of lichens on the ground is very rich. Capercaillie, spotted flycatcher and swifts, breeding in old woodpecker nests, are characteristic birds.

The route from Yaksha via Kurya and Ust Unya to Komsomolsk.

Day 5 - The "tropical" wet spruce forest
The camp will be set at the river on the peninsula "Staritsa" - meaning oxbow lake. On the lush meadows hay is still being harvested by the local people. Just a short walk away from the camp there is a magnificent wet spruce forest. The land has been created by the deposits of the river during the spring floods over many centuries. The area is still flooded annually and this forest type burns almost never. Here the vascular plant, invertebrate and cryptogamous flora is very rich.

The rest of the day is a 120-km long journey by boat about. This allows us to see the variation in forest types and a good chance for bird-watching. We make a stop at the old village Kurya. In the evening we stop and set up our camp on one of the islands in the river where the meandering and silty water of Unya flows into the crystal-clear mountain water of the upper Pechora.

Day 6 - The old aspen forest
Just across the river from our camp there is one of the best examples of a late succession after a stand-replacing fire. On the top of the river there is a magnificent stand with huge aspen and birch trees under which spruce trees are entering the canopy. We will spend most of the day walking in this area. In the evening we will travel further up the Pechora or Unya rivers (depending on the water level) to see windblown forest.

Day 7 - Living in the wilderness
The village is the core of Russia. Ust Unya - the village overlooking the confluence of the Unya and Pechora rivers is the last village. Further up the river there are only small settlements and park rangers. Meeting with the local people and getting a glimpse of the Russian rural life will give an everlasting memory of life at the frontier of civilisation. A frontier which is retreating with the current economic situation in Russia.

Day 8 - Heading back
Using the eastern-most road in Europe, we return by truck and bus to Troitsko-Pechorsk. We travel through the part of the Zapovednik which was lost to logging during the local timber boom from the the 1960's to the late 1980's. In Komsomolsk we change from the six-wheel truck to bus.

Day 9 - Another day on the train
In Troitsko-Pechorsk atr lunch-time we embark on the train to Syktyvkar. In the evening the train stops in Sosnogorsk where we enter the track from the coal mines on the north-eastern corner of Komi to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Day 10 - The end
We arrive at Syktyvkar early the morning and travel back home via Moscow or St. Petersburg. If you have the time, make sure that you take the opportunity to take a look at these very interesting cities.