L’Austral, Northeast Passage ex Tromso to Nome – 30 Aug 2021

24 Night cruise departing from Tromso to Nome onboard L’Austral.

With PONANT, sail from Norway to Alaska via the Northeast Passage, the legendary maritime route that is covered by ice for much of the year. Aboard L’Austral, you will navigate the Arctic seas, meandering between the Siberian archipelagos: a voyage in search of little-known lands, rich in countless natural wonders.

Murmansk, one of the world’s northernmost cities, will be the first port of call on this all-new 25-day expedition cruise. You will then reach Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, magnificent natural sanctuaries that are part of the Russian Arctic National Park.

A little further east, the immense polar desert of the Northern Land Archipelago, as well as the exceptional biodiversity of the New Siberian Islands, will offer you pure moments of wonder.

You will finally reach Chukotka, one of the most isolated region in the world. Covered with immense brightly coloured tundra, the region is home to various villages: an opportunity for you to share a few moments of the inhabitants’ life.

Before arriving in your disembarkation port of Nome, you will discover Wrangel Island’s biodiversity: it is unique in the world, like a real record of the earth’s last ice age.

We are privileged guests in these extreme lands where we are at the mercy of weather and ice conditions. The itinerary, landings on certain sites and the observation of certain wildlife cannot be guaranteed. They vary from day to day, making each PONANT cruise a unique experience. The Captain and the Expedition Leader will make every effort to ensure that your experience is as rich as possible, while complying with the safety rules and instructions imposed by the AECO.

Visits to Wrangel Island are subject to permission being granted by the Russian authorities. This port of calls can only be confirmed once this authorisation has been received, six months before the cruise departure date.

Highlights of this cruise:

Tromso
In the north of the Arctic circle you’ll discover Tromsø, a secluded town located in the county of Troms. Norwegians call it the “Paris of the north”. You’ll soon see why when you discover its extensive neoclassical architectural heritage. A stunning example is the Arctic cathedral, a major monument whose stylistic purity echoes the outline of the mountains surrounding the town.

Murmansk
Along the coastline of Kola Bay, in the Barents Sea, discover Murmansk, the world’s largest city located above the Arctic Circle. Time seems to stand still in these parts, which are subjected to extreme cold and plunged into darkness for several weeks. Between its former warehouses, the vestiges of the port’s significant commercial and military activity during the past century, and its Stalinist architecture, the city presents an austere silhouette at first sight: this characteristic is in total contrast with the majestic beauty of the surrounding landscapes made up of the hills overlooking the Murmansk fjord.

Franz Josef Land
Lost in the heart of the Russian Arctic, Franz Josef Land rises up, imposing and majestic, out of the icy waters of the Barents Sea. The volcanic archipelago was named in honour of the Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and offers up sumptuous landscapes sculpted by glacial erosion. Particularly difficult to reach because of the ice floe and still completely unknown until 150 years ago, this group of islands remains relatively unexplored today. Home to extremely rich wild life, it was declared a natural sanctuary and is today part of the Russian Arctic National Park.

Novaya Zemlya
North of Siberia, discover Novaya Zemlya, whose name means “new land” in Russian. Bordered by the Barents and Kara Seas, this mountainous archipelago, an extension of the Urals, is home to very rich polar fauna despite its particularly harsh climatic conditions. Moreover, the far north of the region is part of the Russian Arctic National Park, a veritable Arctic sanctuary with many polar bears and walruses. In these parts, you’ll also be able to admire majestic glaciers, including the impressive Severny Island ice cap, which covers almost 40% of this spit of land.

Northern Land Archipelago
Identified and mapped only at the beginning of the 20th century, Severnaya Zemlya (Northern Land) is the last archipelago to be discovered in the world, at this time. Located near the northern coast of Russia, but protected by a thick ice floe, the site is particularly difficult to reach and relatively unexplored. An immense polar desert made up of many glaciers and huge rocky expanses, this group of islands offers exceptional landscapes and possesses the largest glacial expanse in the country. As you approach the coastline, admire the silent ballet of the icebergs.

Wrangel Island Reserve
Imagine a natural island that is mostly mountainous and, for the rest of its landscapes, alternates between vast tundra plains and areas of great lakes, lagoons and cliffs. Welcome to Wrangel, the most important hotspot of Arctic biodiversity. Situated between the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea, the island was named after the Russian explorer Ferdinand von Wrangel. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the island is a rare, precious and very ancient ecosystem with unique vegetation, as well as an exceptional fauna: it is home to the majestic polar bear and the vast majority of the Russian Arctic’s walrus population. The island also holds traces of the last mammoths and is home to several endemic species.

Chukotka
Located between the glacial Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, on the eastern point of Russia, Chukotka is one of the world’s most isolated regions. Made up of vast plains of tundra, which take on magnificent colours in summer, the region is the kingdom of the Chukchi, a nomad people that has now settled. Present on these lands for millennia, they are one of Eastern Siberia’s oldest communities and still live from hunting and fishing today.

Nome, Alaska
Located along the Bering Strait at the westernmost point of Alaska, Nome offers the rustic charm of a former gold-mining town, set in the middle of magnificent wilderness. As you weave in and out of the brightly coloured houses, you will discover the pioneering legacy that still marks local traditions. Fishing, reindeer rearing, sledge-racing… People here live from their manual labour. The surrounding plains provide stunning vantage points for observing Arctic fauna.