Wrangel Island

Wrangel escaped glaciation during the last ice age, which is why it holds an unusually rich Arctic flora - over four hundred plant species, roughly twice any comparable Arctic island - and why it was listed by UNESCO in 2004. It has the highest density of polar bear dens anywhere, with several hundred females coming ashore to give birth each winter; the largest Pacific walrus haul-outs, in tens of thousands; the only Russian breeding colony of snow geese; and a substantial muskox and reindeer population. Its most remarkable fact is palaeontological: a dwarfed mammoth population survived on Wrangel until around 1700 BC, thousands of years after mainland extinction and centuries after the Egyptian pyramids were built, the last mammoths anywhere. There is no settlement, access is by expedition ship in a window of a few weeks, and every landing is governed by bear protocols and armed rangers.

What you actually see

• The bear denning - the highest density of polar bear dens on earth.
• The walrus haul-outs - Pacific walrus in tens of thousands on the beaches.
• The mammoth record - a dwarfed population surviving here until around 1700 BC.
• The unglaciated flora - over four hundred plant species, twice the Arctic norm.

When to go

August to early September, the only navigable window. Two weeks aboard an expedition ship. Landings depend entirely on ice, fog and swell.

Honest expectations

Expedition cruise only, expensive, and booked a year or more ahead. Ice conditions cancel landings and sometimes whole voyages. Polar bear protocols govern every step ashore and rangers are armed. Permits and border paperwork are handled by operators and are not negotiable.

Nearby

Chukotka's mainland coast is south; Pevek is the nearest port.