Yugyd Va National Park

Yugyd Va - the name is Komi for clear water - covers about eighteen and a half thousand square kilometres on the western slope of the Subpolar and Northern Urals, making it the largest national park in Europe, and part of the Virgin Komi Forests World Heritage site. It contains the highest ground in the whole Ural chain: Narodnaya at 1,895 metres, Manaraga at 1,662 with its notched crest that gives it the name bear's paw, and a set of glaciated valleys, corries, small glaciers and lakes. The rivers - Kosyu, Bolshaya Synya, Shchugor - are clear, cold and rafted, and the Shchugor cuts through limestone gates on its way to the Pechora. There is no road network inside; access is by rail to Inta and then off-road vehicle to a trailhead, and everything after that is walking or boating. Permits are required and gold mining pressure on the boundaries is a live issue.

History

The Russian government created the park on 23 April 1994 to protect the taiga forests of the Northern Urals and open them to recreation, and in 1995 the forests of Yugyd Va and the neighbouring Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve were inscribed together as the Virgin Komi Forests World Heritage Site. It is the largest national park in Europe, ahead of Vatnajökull in Iceland, and it was the largest in Russia until Beringia National Park was created in 2013 (Wikipedia, Yugyd Va National Park).

What you'll find

• Narodnaya and Manaraga - the highest peaks in the entire Ural chain.
• The scale - eighteen and a half thousand square kilometres, the largest national park in Europe.
• The rivers - Kosyu, Synya and Shchugor, clear and rafted, cutting limestone gates.
• The glacial ground - corries, small glaciers and lakes in the Subpolar Urals.

When to go

July to September for trekking and rafting; the season is short. A week to two weeks. Permits must be arranged in advance with the park.

Practical notes

Genuinely expedition country - no roads, no shelters on most routes and no rescue. Permits are compulsory. Weather in the Subpolar Urals is severe even in July, with snow possible any month. Mosquitoes and blackfly are extreme. Bears are present.

Nearby

The Pechoro-Ilychsky reserve and Manpupuner are south; Inta is the rail access.

Key facts