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Kola Peninsula

The Kola Peninsula is a 100,000-sq-km knob of tundra, bogs and low mountains between the White and Barents Seas. Lying almost entirely north of the Arctic Circle, its mesmerising expanses of wilderness are fabulous places to be dazzled by the aurora borealis or midnight sun.

Mineral strata beneath the Khibiny and Lovozero mountains contain a treasure trove of exotic minerals that get the world’s geologists and rock collectors salivating. Apatity has secret museums, Lovozero is the heart of Russia’s Sami community and Kirovsk is the gateway to pristine wilderness and has the region’s best skiing. Wilderness lovers will find Central Kola particularly rewarding, with husky and reindeer sledding on offer. It's also rich hunting ground for Soviet ruin enthusiasts, with abandoned villages scattered through the region, and even a gigantic disused train station in Kirovsk.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Kola Peninsula.

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Ice Bathers' Hut
Home to Murmansk's ‘ walruses ’ – hardy souls who swear by the health benefits of regularly bathing in icy waters – this wooden hut on the edge of Lake Semyonovskoe dates from the Soviet era. Wooden steps lead down into a hole cut into the ice for a genuinely chilled experience. Get off at the Semyonovskoe Ozero bus stop, cross the road, and track back some 250m to a path that leads to the lake. Bring a towel! While the hut is technically only open to club members, the ‘walruses’ are usually happy to explain their icy passion to curious visitors, especially if you call in advance. Ice bathing is oddly exhilarating, but newcomers are advised not to put their heads under the water. Be sure to check out the photos of happy Soviet–era bathers in the changing room. A taxi here from the centre costs around R150.
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Alyosha
One of Murmansk’s most memorable sights is a gigantic concrete soldier nicknamed Alyosha, erected to commemorate the Arctic fighters who perished in the Great Patriotic War (WWII). From his hilltop perch, Alyosha's stony visage stares across the Kola Inlet at the snow-speckled Arctic moors beyond. To the south, the port spreads out in all its magnificent industrial dreariness. The statue is a 20-minute ramble past Semyononvskoye Lake through the hilly park from one of the Ozero bus stops.
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Nuclear Icebreaker Lenin
Murmansk is a centre for nuclear icebreakers that carve their way to the North Pole, but even in port you can give in to your wildest seafaring–Arctic explorer–Cold War spy fantasies aboard the 1957 NS Lenin, the world’s first nuclear-powered icebreaker. You aren't allowed to wander freely, but there are three tours a day that take in the nuclear reactor (powered by uranium 235), the map room, the captain's bridge and the reception hall. Only open for tours. The pride of the Soviet fleet, NS Lenin was fitted out to impress, with a winding oak staircase at its entrance. Visitors to the ship over the years included Yury Gagarin, the first man in space, and a youthful Fidel Castro.
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Regional Studies Museum
Comprehensive exhibits at Murmansk's oldest museum include one on Sami culture and handicrafts, a vast natural-history section with all manner of taxidermied beasts and Wait For Me – an exhibition on the fierce defence of the north during WWII. Delve also into the history of Arctic exploration, contemplate the region's mysterious ancient stone labyrinths, and get nostalgic over prehistoric radios and Zenit cameras in the 'Made in the USSR' section.
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Museum of the Northern Fleet
The mass of exhibits inside this crumbling turquoise anchor-flanked building covers everything from the founding of Russia’s first navy in Arkhangelsk, to 17th- and 18th-century Arctic exploration, to Murmansk convoys of WWII – a joint effort with British servicemen. A vast collection of Soviet naval equipment makes this a must for military history enthusiasts. Alight from bus 10 at the penultimate stop, Nakhimova (Нахимова), walk on for 300m then turn left and it’s 80m up ul Tortseva.
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Fine Arts Museum
The 1927 Fine Arts Museum hosts temporary exhibitions that range from female nude photography and Kanozero petroglyphs to severe Arctic landscape painting.
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Church of the Saviour on the Waters
This gold-domed church, built in 2002 from public donations, is part of a memorial complex dedicated to the memory of Murmansk's seamen who perished in peacetime. Just below is the lighthouse monument, and next to it is part of the ill-fated submarine Kursk, whose entire 118-man crew perished in 2000 during naval exercises in the Barents Sea. When it sank, following an on-board explosion, the Russian government refused foreign assistance in the rescue operation until it was too late.
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British Naval Cemetery
In 1919 the British navy assisted the White Russians against the Reds – Winston Churchill, war secretary at the time, wanted to see if the Bolsheviks could be crushed before they could really get going. A few dozen British sailors found eternal rest in Russian soil, in a small ‘English-style’ graveyard that’s remarkably well tended, even in winter. To find it, walk past the Statoil gas station on your left, and take a sharp right after 100m towards some rusty-looking sheds.
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Monument To Semyon The Cat
This bronze monument to a fat little cat carrying all his worldly possessions in a knapsack was unveiled in 2013 in honour of an act of incredible feline loyalty and endurance. In 1987, after getting lost during a trip to Moscow, Semyon the cat reportedly spent the next six years travelling back to his owners' apartment in Murmansk – a journey of over 1200 miles. It's on the northern bank of Lake Semyonovskoe.