Rybachy Peninsula, Murmansk region. Attractions

The amazing nature of the tundra, the lack of civilization and habitual comfort, including highways, make the Rybachy Peninsula, located in the Murmansk region, an interesting place for fans of unusual travel and extreme sports. There is also a place on the peninsula where the northernmost point in the European part of continental Russia is located – Cape German.

General characteristics

The peninsula, called Rybachy, occupies about 60 thousand hectares in the northwestern part of the Russian Federation on the Kola Peninsula. The length of the Rybachy Peninsula is 55 km, the width varies from 6 to 23 km.

Rybachy is formed by limestones, sandstones and shales, the average altitude above sea level is 5-30 m. The highest point is considered to be Mount Ein, its height is 299 m.

The plateau of the peninsula breaks off to the sea with steep or gentle slopes. The coast is indented by numerous bays, the waters of which are home to a variety of fish.

Administratively, the peninsula is included in the Pechenegsky district, from the village. Pechenega is 80 km away. The distance to the regional center of Murmansk is 150 km. The border with Norway runs 40 km from the peninsula.

Localities

About 100-120 people live permanently on the Rybachy Peninsula in the settlements of Tsypnavolok and Vida Guba. The village of Zubovka on the coast of Zubovskaya Bay was abolished in 2009 due to the lack of residents.

In the village of Tsypnavolok, which has existed since 1867 on the shore of Lausch Bay, there is a weather station, a lighthouse, and the main population consists of military personnel of the missile unit.

The village of Vayda Guba is located on the shore of Vayda Bay, next to the settlement on Cape German there is a lighthouse, which is the northernmost in the country. About 90 people live in the village, they are engaged in fishing and reindeer husbandry.

Protected area

Since 2014, most of the Rybachy Peninsula and the Sredny Peninsula have been included in the nature reserve, which occupies 83 thousand hectares. The park was created to preserve the ecology of tundra natural complexes, geological and historical monuments.

The places where rare plants grow and bird nesting bazaars are located are the most valuable objects of the park.

The reserve is open to tourists who can visit the Rybachy Peninsula:

• on foot;
• by car;
• on bicycles;
• skiing;
• ATVs;
• snowmobiles.

However, it is possible to move around the territory only along the laid routes. Admission to the territory is carried out after obtaining a permit, which is issued on the website of the Ministry of Ecology of the Murmansk region.

The application must specify:

• personal data of visitors;
• exact dates of arrival and departure;
• route and points visited;
• the number and make of the car.

The permit is sent to the email address of the tourist who submitted the application. For travelers who arrive on the Rybachy Peninsula as part of an excursion group, guides issue a pass to the reserve.

In 2023, a fee was introduced for visiting the protected area. The cost of a stay for 1 day is 300 rubles for citizens of the Russian Federation and 600 rubles. for foreigners.

The following people can visit the reserve for free:

• preschoolers;
• pupils;
• students;
• pensioners;
• large families.

Payment is made using a Q-code.

Location, how to get there

The Rybachy Peninsula is located on the Kola Peninsula, coordinates 69°44’00” s. w., 32°30’00” v. d.

The peninsula is located in the Barents Sea and is surrounded by water on almost all sides. It is connected to the mainland by the Sredny Peninsula, which is located on the south side.

It is assumed that in ancient times Rybachy could have been an island, now there is an isthmus 2 km wide between Rybachy and Sredny, bounded by Bolshaya Volokovaya Bay and Ozerko Bay. On the south side, the Rybachy Peninsula is washed by the waters of the Motovsky Bay, in the north by the Zubovskaya Bay.

The journey to the Rybachy Peninsula begins from Murmansk, where trains and planes arrive from St. Petersburg and Moscow. By car along the R-21 highway from Moscow it is necessary to drive about 2000 km, from St. Petersburg – 1400 km.

It is most convenient to visit the northernmost Russian location with the help of local travel companies that organize trips for a period of 1 to 6 days. You can only drive to Rybachy by car, there are no public transport routes.

A car with good cross-country ability and high clearance is required, prepared for difficult road conditions. Only dirt roads are laid on the territory of the peninsula, while in the area you mostly have to move off-road, riverbeds and rocks.

The approximate route:

• They leave Murmansk for the E-105 highway, travel about 100 km (1.5 hours).;
• at the border crossing, located near the Titovka river, turn right;
• they move along the primer for about 20 km along the Titovka river;
• they drive along the eastern coast of the peninsula, the average is about 18 km;
• They drive across the isthmus to the Rybachy Peninsula.

On Rybachy you can start a trip along the east coast along the Motovsky Bay or turn to the western tip and drive towards the German Cape. It is impossible to make such a trip off-road for 1 day, so tourists need to prepare tents and sleeping bags.

There is practically no tourist infrastructure on the Rybachy Peninsula, there are no gas stations, shops, hospitals.

You can stay on vacation only at camp sites that are located near the isthmus connecting Rybachy with the Sredny Peninsula:

Trips to the Rybachy Peninsula are organized by travel agencies that provide travelers with transport, meals, tent accommodation and guide services. The cost of the trip starts from 18,000 rubles for 3 days, 49,000 rubles for 6 days. Departure takes place from Murmansk.

Climatic conditions

The Rybachy Peninsula is located in the subarctic climate zone, which is characterized by cold weather in summer and mild conditions in winter. The water area of the Rybachy Peninsula does not freeze due to the influence of the North Cape current, the average annual water temperature is +1.5 ° C.

The climatic summer begins in July and lasts about 2 months, at which time the air warms up to +10-18 ° C, the snow cover finally melts by mid-June. But even in summer, it can get cold to -2-4 ° C, snow may fall. Sometimes there are warm days with indicators up to +30 ° C.

In summer, 48-53 mm of precipitation falls monthly, and most rains occur in August. The tourist season usually begins at the end of June and lasts until October, at which time travelers can admire nature, pick mushrooms and berries.

Since September, autumn comes to the peninsula, the air cools quickly from +7 ° C to November -3 ° C. This period is characterized by bright colors of tundra vegetation. Frosts begin in September, rains often fall in October, storms occur, and snow cover gradually forms.

Winter lasts from November to April, the air temperature during this period varies from -3 ° C to -8 °C. Severe frosts are rare on the peninsula, but it often snows. Dense cover up to 0.7-0.9 m high develops by February.

The snow begins to melt in April, but snowdrifts persist in places until June. Since April, the air has been warming up to stable positive indicators. In May, the air temperature is +4-7 °C.

The weather on the peninsula changes rapidly during the day. Travelers are advised to bring waterproof shoes and a raincoat, a warm jacket and trousers, and thermal underwear. A hat is required.

Historical data

People began to explore the Rybachy Peninsula 8-9 thousand years ago. In the era of the Arctic Paleolithic, people came to the peninsula from the Volga-Oka territory, modern Karelia, Norway and Finland. Slavs and Finns came to the Far North in the sixth century.

The Norwegian sagas have preserved the mention of the expedition of the leader of the Otars, who in 870 went to the shores of the Kola Peninsula. The locals he met were engaged in hunting and fishing.

In the XIII century, the northern lands, including the peninsula, which was called Motka at that time, belonged to the Novgorod princes. Like other lands of Veliky Novgorod, it entered the Moscow state in 1478.

The peninsula was inhabited mainly by Pomors who fished and bred deer. The name Rybachy was fixed for the territory by the XVI century. By the 17th century, there were over 15 fishing camps on the peninsula, and active trade with Europe was conducted.

When the border between Norway and the Russian Empire was established in 1826, the Rybachy Peninsula was incorporated into Russia. Norwegian and Finnish colonists who received Russian citizenship were invited to develop the land. By the end of the century, there were more than 1,000 fishing artels on the shores of the Rybachy Peninsula.

100 years later, in 1920 Soviet Russia ceded the Rybachy Peninsula to Finland. During the Great Patriotic War, serious battles took place on the peninsula, which made it possible to defend Murmansk. After the war, military garrisons protecting the western border of the USSR were marked on the peninsula. Now almost all military units have been disbanded, and the peninsula has become open to tourists.

Attractions

People travel around the northern peninsula not only by car, but also on ATVs, jeeps, and bicycles. Most of the unpaved roads are located in the western part of the peninsula, there are practically no roads on the eastern side.

Cape German

The western tip of the Rybachy Peninsula is a sloping small cape German, formerly called Kegor. Back in the XVI century. there was an active trade between Russian and European merchants. There is a sign on the cape indicating that the territory of Russia begins from this location. The cape is composed of pillar-shaped cliffs of black color.

There is a village on the German Cape. Vida Bay, near which a lighthouse was installed in 1896. The fire was located at a height of 12.7 m above the water, which allowed fishing ships to safely dock to shore. A weather station operated at the lighthouse. The lighthouse was open from February to April and from July to December.

After the Great Patriotic War, the destroyed Vaidagub lighthouse was rebuilt. Now it is a 29-meter-high stone tower with a flashing green light visible for up to 20 miles.

Cape Kekursky

South of the German Cape, separated by the Vida Bay, is Cape Kekursky. The name came from the Finnish language and means a sharp rock near the coast.

The cape is composed of large layered ledges up to 100 m high. The rocks were formed 800-900 million years ago, so the cape is a geological monument. Near the cape, you can see monuments of the Great Patriotic War – bunkers, pillboxes, abandoned guns. The cape is also known as a place where Sami temples and parking lots have been preserved.

Bolshoy Skorbeevsky Cape

It is easy to get to Skorbeevskaya Bay and the cape of the same name by car. In 1940, a border detachment was located here, and later a coastal missile regiment armed with Redoubt complexes.

The military unit was disbanded in 1996, and a memorial sign has been preserved on its territory, installed above the burial place of the dead Soviet pilots.

Zubovsky Bay

The largest bay of the peninsula stretches for 20 km, its width reaches 8 km. The bay is bounded by Capes Lazarus and Mainavolok, its depth is 36 m. Several rivers flow into the bay – Zapadnaya Maika, Pyaive, Zubovka, as well as streams, 3 islets are located in the water area.

Stone Age graves, Viking graves and an altar of lapps have been discovered on the shore of Zubovskaya Bay. 1.5 km from the coast on the banks of the Pyaive river, the rocks are decorated with drawings created 6-7 thousand years BC.

The finger–drawn images – figures of people and deer, geometric patterns — are made of red ochre mixed with fat. Another place where petroglyphs were discovered is in a cave near the river Maiki, 1.5 km from the bay.

In the 19th century, Norwegians lived on the shore of the bay, the remains of residential and commercial buildings are still preserved. In 1940, a border post was established on Zubovskaya Bay, and an airfield operated during the war. In the post-war period, a missile system was placed on the slopes of Trekhozernaya Mountain, which was mothballed in 1993.

Cape Tsypnavolok

On the eastern tip of the peninsula at Cape Lausch, the first lighthouse was built in 1896, and in 1975 the dilapidated structure was replaced by a 32-meter reinforced concrete tower. A flashing white-red light-optical beacon was placed in it. The lighthouse provides safe navigation near the shores of the Kola Peninsula.

The eastern part of the Rybachy Peninsula has long been inhabited by people.

Near the confluence of the Anikeev River into the Barents Sea is the island of Bolshoy Anikeev, which has preserved a unique historical monument: the names of navigators who visited the island since 1510 are carved on a stone slab. Sailors from Holland, Germany, Scandinavia, Arkhangelsk, Kemi, Onega left more than 150 autographs.

The island was the main landmark when approaching the shore, on which settlements were found, starting from the Paleolithic period. In the 19th century, the Norwegian colony of Stangenes existed at Cape Tsypnavolok. In 2000, a monument to the Norwegians of the Kola Peninsula was unveiled on the territory of the former settlement.

Gorodetsky bird bazaars

The largest bird colonies in the Barents Sea are located on the southeastern coast of the Rybachy Peninsula.

There are up to 800 thousand birds on the steep cliffs, nesting here:

• loons;
• Gaga;
• eagles;
• winter houses;
• tour groups;
• cleaners;
• gyrfalcons;
• plovers;
• neckties;
• floaters;
• the Pomeranians;
• Fifi.

During the nesting period (in May and June), the area between Cape Bargoutny and Cape Sharapova is closed to the public.

Small Ship’s Lip

40 Stone Age graves and large rings and troughs carved into the stones, which were used in the processing of whale carcasses, were discovered on the coast.

Also, a stone slab has been preserved near the shore, on which the merchant of the sunken ship left an inscription.

The Middle Peninsula

Among the attractions of the Sredny Peninsula are:

• Located in the western part of the Coast of red stones, the remnants on the coast are composed of red sandstones 700 million years old.
• On Cape Zemlyanoi there are rocks called the Two Brothers. According to Sami legend, the wizards Ukka and Akka were petrified after the supreme gods punished them for the evil done to people.
• There are carbonate layered formations near the Vykat River, which were formed 800 million years ago after the fossilization of blue-green ancient algae.
• Not far from the isthmus connecting the Rybachy and the Middle Peninsula, there is a memorial sign to the sailors of the North Sea, on which the lines of a poem by N. Bukin are carved. Bukin served during the war as an artilleryman at Rybachy. In 1943, composer E. Zharkovsky composed music for Bukin’s poems, and the popular song became the unofficial anthem of the Russian North.
• A museum dedicated to the soldiers who died on the Rybachy Peninsula during the war was created by local local history enthusiasts in a summer camp on the shore of Motovsky Bay.

The Mustanunturi granite ridge with a height of 93 to 262 m and a length of 9 km separates the Sredny Peninsula from the mainland.

The northern nature, unusual landscapes, the proximity of the cold Barents Sea and ancient artifacts attract more and more tourists to the Rybachy Peninsula. Traveling through it cannot be called easy, but vivid impressions atone for all the difficulties.

Video about the peninsula

A trip to the edge of the earth — the Rybachy Peninsula:

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