Siberia and the Russian Far East occupy very vast sparsely populated territories. There are beautiful mountain areas in these districts: the Altai and the Sayan Mountains. There are over 30 active and about 300 extinct volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Lake Baikal is unique in its composition and amount of fresh water.
Lake Baikal has a depth of 1600 meters. Irkutsk is located closest to Baikal. A road leads from the city to Listvyanka. However, the most interesting sights of Baikal are on the island of Olkhon. It is there that you can see the harsh Siberian nature, massive stones covered with red moss, caves and rocks.
You can see a beautiful corner of the Siberian taiga in the city of Krasnoyarsk, on the Yenisei River. The entrance to the Stolby Nature Reserve is within the limits of the city. One day will be enough to visit the reserve and admire the beauty of the Siberian nature and very picturesque rocks. Near Krasnoyarsk there are two powerful hydroelectric power stations – Krasnoyarsk and Sayano-Shushenskaya.
The Sayan Ergaki National Park is 500 kilometers south of Krasnoyarsk. This is a beautiful mountain range with bizarre cliffs. There you can see a miracle of nature – the Hanging Stone. The stone weighing about 600 tons is set in an inclined position only slightly touching the rock.
The nature of the Altai is at least as beautiful. The rapids of the Katun River are the most famous place for rafting in Russia. Lake Teletskoye is in the foothills of the Altai Mountains. And you will have to go inland along the Chuysky tract to get to Belukha Mountain.
Kamchatka Peninsula is a country of volcanoes. The main sights of Kamchatka are in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. They are the Valley of Geysers, Uzon Caldera, Kronotskaya Sopka. The distances are so large there that you will have to move around on a helicopter.