Life is a journey

The largest country in the world, Russia offers a broad array of travel experiences, from treks up the slopes of glacier-capped mountains to strolls along the shoreline of Earth’s oldest lake. Historical sites and cultural activities in the country’s great cities abound as well. Whether you’re exploring the grounds of Moscow’s Kremlin or wandering through the steppes of Mongolia, a visit to Russia is an adventure not soon forgotten. These top tourists attractions in Russia can inspire a great Russian itinerary for a memorable trip. Part of the longest railway system in the world, the classic Trans-Siberian railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, a city near Russia’s borders with China and North Korea. Begun in 1891 by Tsar Alexander III and completed by his son, Tsar Nicholas II, in 1916, the line is known as the route of the tsars. Most travelers use the train as overnight accommodation from one destination to the next. The train features first-, second- and third-class sleep...

Exploring Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula Kamchatka, Russia On the remote Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, indigenous Even people watch over large herds of reindeer as their ancestors have for centuries. We caught up with them after traveling by snowmobile. Blowing winter snow stung my face like 1000 tiny frozen needles. Riding snowmobiles through a whiteout in 60 mph winds, with a wind chill temperature of -39F, we were attempting to escape the top of a featureless alpine plateau. The weather just keeps getting worse. I was seriously starting to worry if we’d make it out of here… It’s March, and we’re deep in the heart of Kamchatka, a 900-mile long Russian peninsula attached to Siberia that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. Most people only know it from the game of RISK. It’s about the size of California, with only 400,000 residents. Kamchatka is a wilderness lover’s playground, composed of thick boreal forests, geothermically active vo...