You may have traveled a lot around the world, but if you have not boated on any trips to former Soviet territory you missed more than 1/6 part of the world and even bigger part of outdoor world, because the vast majority of these lands are unpopulated wilderness.

Here, on this page, you will find a lot of information about rivers and mountains, the most attractive areas

for whitewater expeditions and trips, and some tips for foreigners in outdoor Russia. Hope it will help you to plan your trips over there, make it more pleasant and enjoyable, and, finally, to share our love to that beautiful country, its people and culture.

Karelia - Kola Peninsula - Ural Mountains area - Carpathian mountains - Caucasus:

Altai Mountains - Sayan Mountains - Baikal Lake Region - Northern Siberia - Far East:

Tien Shan Mountains - Pamir Mountains

Tables contain the list of rivers of the certain area which are interest for whitewater run and some parameters that allow to estimate what to expect from the river. Some of the mentioned routs are combined with other river or request hiking to the river (sometimes for several days) unless you will get a helicopter.

The book contains complete info about regions and detail description of routs.

*These two factors - VOLUME and GRADIENT - are very important. As a rule the river having higher volume more dangerous than the river having less volume at the same gradient. For experienced boater these two factors may say a lot.

Karelia is the NorthWestern part of Russia bordering with Finland to the South from the Polar circle. This area has the earth surface substantially indented and relative average altitudes about 350 m. The repeated icing had specified the features of the Karelian relief, namely: big polished boulders called here "ram's foreheads", rolling sand plains, high pebble and sand embankments.

Karelian summers – the only rafting season -is short and cool. The weather is unstable. For instance, the sudden temperature falling is quite possible at summer together with strong winds and long pouring rains. The summer begins in the late June and lasts for 2.5-3 months. The average July temperatures are about 14-16 degrees above 0 Celsius. Clouds of the blood-sucking insects make great irritation in summer, especially in July.

Karelia is situated pretty close to the Polar Circle, that is why you will be happy to eyewitness the fascination of the "White Nights" when the day is 24 hours long in June and more than 22 in July.

More than 11,000 rivers flow through Karelia, and the rivers of its Northern part are more interesting for rafting, namely the Okhta, Kem', Von'ga, Pon'goma rivers. Almost all of them go through the chain of lakes (some of them pretty big). Therefore best boat for Karelia trip is kayak. There are a lot of picturesque islands in these lakes.

Average gradient is very low. All rivers have the same type: pool - rapid - pool.

Karels, Russians, Finns and Weps (total about 1,000,000 people) populate Karelia. Southern Karelia is densely populated, and the main occupation of the population is timber cutting, paper production, and mechanical engineering. The central city is Petrozavodsk. All rivers are accessible by train, bus, or truck. The main transport line that stretches through both Karelia and the Kola Peninsula is the St.Petersburg - Murmansk railway. The automobile roads connect it with the rivers you are interested in. The roads are not perfect (majority of them are dirt roads), but passable.

The Kola Peninsula lies to the North from Karelia in the Polar region. It can be divided into the Western and Eastern parts according to the relief peculiarities. The Western part has the complicated relief cut with numerous river valleys and lakes into the separate mountain masses called here "tundras". These mountains are flat, as a rule, with vertical slopes hundreds of meters high. The Eastern Kola Peninsula is jagged with rivers in the North and steeply falls to the Barentsevo Sea. The marsh valleys prevail in the center of the peninsula. The tundra occupies the main part of the peninsula. Moss, dwarf birches and pines grow here together with lichens and berry patches. The salmon lives in the rivers but it is illegal to catch it.

This area has pretty cool summer: snaps are possible, and the average temperature is about 12-13 degrees above 0 Celsius in July. The sun does not set here during 2.5 summer months.

About 18,000 rivers and 11,000 lakes are here. The best rivers for rafting are the Umba and the Yokan'ga. Like in Karelia, rivers usually pass the chain of lakes on their way, running down the waterfalls and rapids formed by the rocks in the riverbed. The pools between rapids or even long slow sections are very typical for Kola Peninsula rivers.

The population lives mainly in the cities. Murmansk is the biggest port on the north of Russia, Monchegorsk is the copper and nickel production center, and Kirovsk is famous for its apatite industry. The settlements of deer breeders (Nentsys, Saams) are situated in the tundra.

The main transport line that stretches through both Karelia and the Kola Peninsula is the St.Petersburg - Murmansk railway. The automobile roads connect it with some of the rivers (not all of them!) you are interested in. If you want to avoid line boats against the current or hike, you should look for helicopter option.

The ranges of Ural are natural borders between Europe and Asia. These average altitude ranges are ancient mountains that as wide arch lie between Arctic Ocean and border between Russia and Kazakhstan. Such location defines great variety of landscapes, vegetation, weather, and of course rivers. The most popular areas of Ural are Polar Ural and South Ural. The reason of this is good transport to areas. The Polar Ural is connected with Moscow by railroad Moscow-Vorkuta-Labytnangi. This is only way to start you trips over there. Landscapes are very different: from taiga to tundra, where rivers sometimes run in deep narrow canyons.

Polar Ural has the best white water in area, but some rivers are difficult to approach. There are almost no automobile roads over there. Long time the popular way for boaters was to combine some rivers: line boats upstream of one river, then do relatively short (5-20km) hike over the range to second river, and run it normally - downstream. Rivers of Polar Ural are very rich with fish, especially with grayling. Really bad side of Polar Ural is clouds of blood sucking insects. Remember that there is a lot of rain during summer, especially in July. Summer here is pretty cool: July (the warmest) has average 12-14C (56-60F).

South Ural has excellent connection with any big cities in Russia (both railway and air). The biggest cities to start trip are Ekaterinburg (former Sverdlovsk) and Chelyabinsk. The rivers here are pretty, but not difficult: as a rule is not higher than Class 2+.

The best whitewater of Ukraine is located, without doubts, in Carpathians.The Carpathians are the mountain system in the Eastern Europe. Its Eastern part is situated on the territory of the Western Ukraine (the so-called Ukrainian Carpats with the highest point called Goverla of 2061 m height). Low smooth ranges are the most typical for this mountain chain.

The weather during the rafting season as a rule very unstable with a lot of rains and even snow is possible. During our six trips to this region we had sunny warm weather only once.

Plenty of rivers are here, of course, but most of them do not have and are not to be used for rafting. The water level depends very much on the falling rain and snow amounts, therefore the successful rafting can be guaranteed only for April and May when snow melting goes on. The river's gradient is rather big. Maybe, these rivers are more interesting for Europeans rafters and kayakers because of their small length, unstable weather, but good access from West and East Europe.

The area is densely populated. The main population consists of the West-Ukrainian ethnic groups. The Carpathian villages are very picturesque with their little nice houses scattered here and there on the flowering (in the May) slopes and eighteenth century wooden churches that have hardly been preserved anywhere else. Folk trades are in favor here, for instance, ceramics, woodcarving.

The road network is perfectly developed, in complex with the railways. L'vov, Tshernovtsy and Stanislav are the best cities for going to the rafting start points.

This young mountain region with the complicated and various reliefs without any doubts has the best white water in European part of the former USSR. The water of the glaciers feeds the rivers together with melting snow.

The parts of the rivers interesting for rafting are rather short (only 2 to 7days), but are extremely saturated with difficult places and obstacles up to Class 5 and 6, have big gradient and fast current. The best rafting seasons are May and August - October, because in June as a rule the time of the most intensive melting of glaciers and water in the rivers is extremely high and too dangerous for rafting.

The Caucasus is the part of several republics (Russia, Georgia, Azerbaydzhan, & Armenia) and is densely populated by the numerous nationalities: Georgians, Osetins, Cherkesses, Chechens, Avars, Lezgins and many others. Lots of settlements are situated on the riverbanks.

Very often their inhabitants are unbelievably hospitable, especially in Georgia. Unfortunately the conflicts between different ethnic groups are very common here. Therefore, before trip you have to get information about political situation in local region.

The Caucasus is an area of the ancient civilization. The culture monuments (churches, fortresses and cave cloisters) can be found in every corner of this wonderful country.

All of these together with hospitality and perfect Georgian wine will make your impressions unforgettable.

The best start points for travelling by water are Mineralnye Wody(North Caucasus), Tbilisi (Georgia, South) and Makhachkala (East Caucasus) cities. The road network is well developed and you are supposed do not face any problems when getting to the rafting start points.

There are several areas for whitewater rafting in Asian part of the former USSR. Roughly we may divide it onto Siberia and Central Asia. These two parts are very different in many aspects: climate, relief, density and culture of population, and of course, the rivers.

ALTAI

The Altai, situated in southwestern Siberia near the Mongolian and Chinese border, is the highest mountain range in Siberia. Within this range, the tallest group of mountains -known as the Katunskiy Range - is located in the central section, and includes the region's highest peak, Belukha, which stands at 4406 meters.

More importantly for rafters, it is a region rich in glaciers. Nearly 1500 of them cover an area of more than 300 square kilometers (about 110 sq.mi). Thus, the numerous rivers of the Altai are assured a healthy and steady supply of water throughout the spring and summer, as the melting snow followed by melting glaciers and summer rain.

In July, the average daytime temperatures are around 19 to 22 degrees centigrade (72-76F)on the foothills, and slightly cooler in the valleys. As comfortable as the days are in July, however, one should know that in summer, the nighttime temperatures might drop to 6 below zero centigrade. The annual rainfall is around 1,000 to 2,000 millimeters. Most of the precipitation comes in summer and fall. The best season for boating here is July and August.

Of course, there are great rivers in these mountains. The most interesting for rafting are the Katun', Argut, Bashkaus, Chulyshman, and Chuya rivers. Most of them have steep gradients. Typically, the water level in these rivers rises rapidly during a rainstorm and returns to normal soon after. One will also discover that the valleys in the higher regions are wide and, thus, the currents are relatively weak here. But in the middle and lower reaches, the valleys are narrow and deeply cut. Sheer walls, known in Russia as "cheeks" often squeeze the rivers. Many of these rivers then run out of the gorges in the form or waterfalls, the largest of which is the Chulchinskiy.

This is a sparsely settled region with a population of around 200,000 people, mostly Altaians, Kasakhs, and Russians. The main occupation is breeding sheep and cattle, though the area has also attracted significant mining activity, including the extraction of mercury, gold, iron, and various minerals.

Throughout this region, there is only one major pretty good road, the Chuiskiy Trakt, stretching from Biysk through Gorno-Altaysk (these cities are a biggest in Gorno-Altai region and they are located near foot of mountain area) to the Mongolian border. Local airlines connect the various remote areas of Altai with Barnaul (biggest city in region) and Gorno-Altaysk. The best approach of Altai region is airplane to Novosibirsk and Barnaul.

The Sayany region, one of the most popular outdoor tourist areas in Russia, is a great horseshoe of rugged mountains stretching from the Altai region to Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, just north of the Mongolian border. Usually outdoor travelers divide this region onto three areas: Eastern Sayan, Western Sayan and Tuva. At its western end, the Sayany is separated from the Altai by the Shapshalskiy chain of mountains, with peaks towering to 3,614 meters.

The high mountains and deep hollows of this region, dotted with oval blue lakes, were formed during the last glacial period. Ancient ice fields, in fact, can still be found here. They form on plateaus called "sarams." For nearly 11 months of the year the sarams are covered with snow.

Summer here last for 60 days, at best. In July, the average temperature ranges from 16 to 6 degrees Celsius (64-44F), depending on altitude. The best time for whitewater trips over there is second half of July and August.

The Eastern Sayany includes more than 100 glaciers, none more than 30 square kilometers. This eastern section does not get a lot of rain and snow, but the mountains in Western Sayany average 800 to 1,200 mm of snow and rain every year. Tuva is very special area located in the very center of Asian continent. It has unique landscapes, and some peculiarities that make it very different from any other region of the USSR.

More importantly for whitewater enthusiasts, the Sayany mountains are laced with numerous rivers. In particular, a large number of rivers are found in the valley of Yenisey -- one of the biggest rivers of world, which carries its water from Sayany - center of Asian continent - into Arctic ocean. Almost all of them very picturesque, have beautiful clean transparent water, and numerous rapids. Most of these rivers are surrounded by woodland rich in cedar, larch, and birch trees. One can also find wonderful wild berries and mushrooms along most rivers here.

These clean rivers support a healthy fish population, including graylings and taimens, a kind of salmon.

There are almost no mosquitoes or midges along the rivers in summer, so you can enjoy the trip without the maddening distraction of insects. To add to the pleasure of this area, there are numerous hot and cold mineral springs found near the rivers.

The region contains few villages and roads. A little bit better situation one can fin in Tuva.

The main outposts are Krasnoyarsk, Kyzyl, Nizhneudinsk, and Irkutsk. From these cities, you can get to certain rivers either by truck or helicopter, though in many cases you'll need to hike a good distance through the taiga.

CENTRAL ASIAN REGION

TIEN SHAN