The Aniva Lighthouse is an amazingly picturesque abandoned lighthouse located on Cape Aniva in the very south of Sakhalin Island in the Far East of Russia. The height of the building is 31 meters, the height of light – 40 meters above sea level.

This mysterious place is an important tourist attraction of Sakhalin. Tourists usually come here on private boats. The lighthouse is gradually destroyed by water and wind. In the coming years, it is quite possible that repairs will be carried out to preserve this unique building. The Aniva Lighthouse on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

beautiful remote place

Tags: Abandoned · Sakhalin oblast

Putorana is a mountain range (plateau), located in the heart of Siberia, in the northern part of Krasnoyarsk Krai.

The maximum height of the plateau is 1,701 m. Its area is about 250,000 square km, which is about the same as the area of the UK (242,495 square km). The Putorana Plateau on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

stunning nature reserve

Tags: Krasnoyarsk krai

Khunzakh is a very picturesque village with a population of 4 thousand people located in the southern mountainous part of the Republic of Dagestan, 140 km southwest of the city of Makhachkala, at an altitude of about 1,700 meters above sea level.

The houses here are built on the very edge of the Khunzakh plateau, where the height of sheer cliffs reaches 100 meters. Khunzakh on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

very picturesque mountain village

Tags: Dagestan Republic · Makhachkala city

Gremyachiy Klyuch is a natural spring located on the right bank of the Vondiga River, about 80 km northeast of Moscow, in the Sergiev Posad district of Moscow Oblast. The temperature of the water in the spring is constant all year round (6 degrees Celsius) and is considered curative.

According to legend, the spring appeared thanks to the prayer of Sergius of Radonezh (1314-1392), one of the most highly venerated saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. Today, the approaches to it have been landscaped, a church, a chapel, a refectory, a church shop with souvenirs, and baths have been built.

very picturesque tourist destination

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

The Lipetsk Reserve stretches along the left bank of the Voronezh River to the south of the city of Lipetsk. The territory of the reserve is about 13 thousand hectares. It protects the natural landscape of the area, including relic plants, rare insects inhabiting limestone rocks, birds, and wild animals.

Hunting is strictly prohibited here, fishing – only with permission. In 2004, the Lipetsk Reserve became part of the National Park, where, in addition to the protected area, it is planned to create a recreation area for people with a hotel, a nature museum, a zoo, and stables. Lipetsk Nature Reserve on Google Maps. Photos by: Fedor Lashkov.

beautiful sunny day near Lipetsk

Tags: Lipetsk city

The federal highway R256 “Chuya Trakt” (The Chuya Highway) is a federal highway Novosibirsk – Novoaltaysk (access road to Barnaul) – Biysk – Maima (access road to Gorno-Altaisk) – the state border with Mongolia.

The length of this highway passing through the territory of Novosibirsk Oblast, Altai Krai and the Altai Republic is about 968 kilometers. The Chuysky Trakt on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

probably the most picturesque highway in Russia

Tags: Altai krai · Altay Republic

Vasilyevsky Castle (also known as Shcherbatovsky Castle) is located in the village of the sanatorium named after Alexander Herzen in Moscow Oblast, about 65 west of the center of Moscow.

It was built by the architect Peter Boitsov by order of Prince Alexander Shcherbatov in the right-bank part of his estate in 1881. Vasilyevsky (Shcherbatovsky) Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful brick castle-estate

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast · Russian Empire

Katu-Yaryk Pass, one of the most difficult and dangerous passes in the Altai Mountains, is located on the territory of the Ulagan district of the Altai Republic.

Until 1989, there was no road descending from the Ulagan Plateau into the valley of the Chulyshman River. Residents of the surrounding villages used a steep horse trail or a waterway through Lake Teletskoye. Katu-Yaryk Pass on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

very picturesque pass

Tags: Altay Republic

Volodarsk is a small town with a population of about 10 thousand people located in Nizhegorodskaya Oblast, about 60 km west of Nizhny Novgorod. In most cases, the main tourist attraction of small Russian towns is the local museum of local lore and Volodarsk is no exception.

However, the museum in Volodarsk occupies a unique wooden building known as “Nikolai Bugrov’s Summer Dacha” – one of the few surviving houses of similar architecture in the European part of Russia. Photos by: Anna Sukhareva and Yaroslav Gunin.

amazing wooden house

Tags: Nizhegorodskaya oblast · Nizhny Novgorod city · Russian Empire

Lake Teletskoye is a picturesque natural body of water located in the north-east of the Altai Mountains on the territory of the Altai Republic, about 120 km in a straight line from the regional capital Gorno-Altaysk.

One of the most popular natural attractions of Altai, it is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List as part of the complex “The Golden Mountains of Altai”. Lake Teletskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful lake

Tags: Altay Republic · Gorno-Altaisk city