Putorana Plateau

The Putorana plateau covers about a quarter of a million square kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, formed by the Siberian Traps - one of the largest volcanic events in earth history, around two hundred and fifty-two million years ago, whose eruptions are the leading explanation for the Permian mass extinction. The lava piled up in sheets, and rivers have since cut through them into canyons with stepped walls, hundreds of long deep lakes filling the troughs, and waterfalls everywhere, including Talnikovy, which by some measurements is among the tallest in Asia. UNESCO listed it in 2010. It is uninhabited: no roads, no villages, and access is by helicopter from Norilsk or by boat up the lakes, both expensive and weather-dependent, with reserve permits and border zone paperwork. The Putorana bighorn sheep lives only here, and the plateau lies on one of the largest reindeer migration routes on earth.

What you actually see

• The trap steps - canyon walls in stacked lava sheets from the Siberian Traps.
• The waterfalls - thousands across the plateau, including some of Asia's tallest.
• The trough lakes - long deep lakes filling the cut valleys.
• The isolation - a quarter of a million square kilometres with no roads or settlements.

When to go

July to early September; the season is a few weeks. Ten days to three weeks. Everything must be arranged through operators well in advance.

Honest expectations

Access is helicopter or boat only and is expensive; weather cancels flights for days. Permits and border zone paperwork are compulsory. Norilsk is a closed city for foreigners and requires separate authorisation. No rescue, no signal, and bears and severe weather throughout.

Nearby

Norilsk is the staging point; Lake Lama is the usual boat approach.