Yugyd Va 2019

Solo hike in Yugyd Va National Park near Inta, Komi Republic. Europes largest national park.

I took the train from Frankfurt to Moscow, then Moscow to Inta, about 4500 km by train. Stayed the night in Guesthouse Izbushka. I picked up and paid for my permit at the Inta offices of the National Park. Transport by трзкол to Baza Zhelannaya (База Желанная), to which I had organised transport in advance (see http://turizm-komi.ru/providers/29/ or http://zhelannoe.com/).

The hike was partly on trails, partly on rarely used trails, partly on quad tracks, and partly cross-country. My hike was 3-16 September 2019, and I strongly recommend this time of year for its autumn colours and lack of mosquitoes. The terrain is mostly fine and there are only a few rivers to ford. The route over the Kar-Kar pass underneath Gora Naroda is a bit tricky with a big backpack, and the shortcut from this pass to the mountain is rather difficult. The Manaraga valley is very beautiful and quite easy to walk through. The Manaraga mountain is tricky, with the trail up to the Student Pass it's easy but after that it's quite scrambly, and the way I took down is much easier (but no trail). After fording the Kosyu one reaches the Manaraga hut, which is staffed but where one can stay for free. Otherwise it's camping along the way (there are also a few primitive shelters).

The park is huge and wild but there is still some evidence visible of past industrial use, in particular close to Zhelannaya.

The Siberian side has similarly beautiful vegetation and is even less visited. On this side I saw some evidence of past use, but all deserted by now.

Full album with photos from the hike at https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJ2Uf2e