DESTINATIONS:

Only marvels of nature, which can be found nowhere but in Russian wilderness. Ascent on Elbrus - the top of Europe, horse back trek in Altay mountains - the geographical center of Eurasia, Kamchatka volcanoes and landscape gazers - still active and the highest on the continent, kayaking and camping on the lake Baikal - the deepest in the world. And on the top of that - our environmental knowledge, professional skills and peerless leadership - every step on the way.

Who are your guides and trip leaders?

All the guides involved in our tours have at least 10 years experience in their specializations. They are not only highly professional, but also very much client service oriented, attentive and have absolutely great personalities. They know how to bring your dreams into reality.

How long have you been in business
and how many clients travel with you each year?

We have been in adventure travel business since 1992. We started from small expeditions to Tien-Shan mountains in Central Asia and had about 30 individual clients during the first year. Today about 60 people travel with us in a year. According to our philosophy we try to run quite uncommon adventures for a few but challenging and exploring minded persons and any of our adventures are never similar to each others.

What is the main season for the active operations of Wild Russia?

The main season of our operations starts on the beginning of June, when most our remote destination become accessible to reach and finishes at the end of October. Of course, due to so various geographical locations the best season is specific for each destination. In fact for the Elbrus trip it is from July to September, for the Altay horse back trekking - August-October, for Kamchatka safaris - from May to June. For every program we run it's well described in its itineraries.

Which tools for land transportation Wild Russia uses?

Usually it is the Soviet military track ZIL-130 ( 4x4 extremely powerful engine) with a specially designed passenger's cabin. It allows us to travel mostly off-road, cross the mountain rivers and high passes. On the horse-back trek most of the luggage is carried by horses. Where available we use Russian helicopters MI-8 and MI-8T, which are broadly used now in Nepal and India due to its reliability. In the "civilized" world we use comfortable "Mercedes" coaches, which are usually supplied by air conditioners.

How's the food?

On all our programs we make special arrangements to provide the best food for our cutomers regardless of the location.

Is it dangerous?

Yes. Any travel in remote terrain and up the hills, especially on ascent, horse back or river rafting or kayaking on large bodies of water has it's inherent physical dangers. Horses are never totally predictable in their behavior and bad weather and rough terrain can compound safety concerns. Some of the riding is over very rough, steep ground and paddling conditions can change drastically with the weather. At times we are several days from roads and even farther from hospitals. All wilderness travel is dangerous to some degree and each individual must decide if the rewards of experiencing new lands and cultures are worth the risk. Your trip leaders and local guides take a conservative approach to climbing, riding, rafting and paddling with safety foremost in their minds but cannot guarantee that accidents won't happen. Please discuss your concerns about safety with our office before you join a trip.

Is there an age limit?

We have had participants from 24 to 87. All applications are taken on a case by case basis.

Most accommodations, meals, internal travel (air and land) horses, and group camping gear are included. Visas, international and some regular domestic flights are not included. Please see specific trip itineraries for complete details.