A human needs another human. But sometimes this concept stops working, and a human needs nature. So he buys a ticket and flies to places barely inhabited by people, closer to Russia’s pole of inaccessibility, where there are more waterfalls and lakes than one can imagine. The Putorana Plateau, for example. And that human is me.
Far from all worldly things, a person becomes himself, and on the Putorana Plateau this happens even more so. He goes trekking, climbs table mountains, picks berries, photographs otherworldly landscapes, sits by a campfire on the shore of Lake Lama, and fishes with a rod for grayling and muksun. After a steam session in the banya, he sleeps soundly in his cosy cottage with a terrace and panoramic windows, or stays awake if the sky lights up with flashes of the northern lights. That was the plan.
All other things being equal, while I have nothing against nights in tents, I prefer to be alone with nature in comfort. For people like me, Neralah Park Hotel was built in a place even nomadic peoples did not inhabit. Wooden barnhouses were put up right on the shore of Lake Lama. Each cottage has everything needed for peace and rest: comfortable beds, heated floors, a bathroom and a terrace. The fireplace area is in the suites — the first-line houses with an incredible view of the lake.
Photo: Neralah Park Hotel
My friend and I checked into a second-line barnhouse, Standard category. Perhaps a couple in kind, and most importantly close, relations would find it quite cosy in such a house; for friends, I admit, there was not much space. My companion, having inspected the space and the one-person sleeping lair, decided to throw his things under the roof and set himself up in the attic. In fact, over all those days we spent very little time “at home”. In the evenings we sat on the terrace, admiring the sunsets and the northern lights, or in the circle of new friends in the “wardroom” — a large tent bar where we were fed three times a day.
We were fed delicious food. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, several buffet-style dishes were offered, with an emphasis on the “taiga menu”. There is also a bar counter: the choice is not large, but those who do not mind a glass of wine or a shot of whisky will be offered several options.
Photo: Neralah Park Hotel
Our adventure at Neralah Park Hotel lasted only four days. In that time, you come to appreciate the team’s professionalism: the patience of the guides, the smiles of the administrators. You make new friends, possibly because there is no mobile signal at the hotel, and the Wi-Fi in the public area runs as if fuelled by firewood. And you want to share this adventurous happiness with like-minded people.
In four days, you manage to climb to the viewing plateau, ascend Mount Festivalnaya, take a ride on Lake Lama, go fishing, have a steam in the little panoramic banya while drinking herbal tea with a view of the lake, and gather a whole basket of taiga berries and strange pieces of driftwood polished by the lake and glaciers. Neralah Park Hotel offers many water activities. Almost every day, the guides arrange water walks on the lakes. And after lunch you can take a kayak or a SUP board and set off with an instructor for a walk on the lake.
Some need more time — to fly by helicopter to the most famous and unexplored places on the Putorana Plateau, to arrange a rafting trip on Lake Kapchuk. But even in four days, Homo Adventurous feels perfectly happy and ready to return back to the world where the alarm clock rings in the morning, and in the evening, alas, no one will offer you venison in lingonberry sauce.
The hotel has 18 barnhouses: 12 Standards, 5 Comforts and 1 Suite.
Two tent bars, two banyas and bath attendant services, boat and kayak rental.
A satellite phone for emergency communication. A helicopter pad.
Panarctic Star offers two group-tour options: the 6-day “Best of the Plateau” with mountain treks and water walks, and the 8-day “Putorana Hit” tour with a helicopter flight deep into the plateau to Irkindinsky Waterfall. It is also possible to organise an individual programme.
Travel reportage 
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