Talnakh lies well above the Arctic Circle, a city of about fifty-nine thousand people built at the foot of the Kharaelakh Mountains on the Taimyr Peninsula, and it exists because of what is underneath it. The ground here holds some of the richest nickel and copper deposits in the world, and the mines and smelters of Norilsk, sixteen kilometres to the southwest, dominate the economy. The city grew from the 1960s onwards as a company town, with blocks of flats raised on piles because the permafrost would otherwise melt and swallow them.
It is an extraordinary place to visit, and an unusual one to include on a ride. Norilsk and Talnakh are not connected to the main Russian road network, so reaching them means flying in or arriving by ship on the Yenisei in summer, and a motorcycle must come the same way. Foreign visitors also need special permission, since Norilsk has long been a restricted area, so check the rules well in advance. Once there, the local roads are short and mostly asphalt, with fuel stations, shops and cafes in both cities, and you can ride in the tundra around the town.
The climate is fierce. Winter lasts around eight months, with temperatures of minus thirty or lower and a polar night that lasts for weeks around the solstice, when the sun does not rise above the horizon. In summer the opposite happens, with a midnight sun that shines through the night and a short, intense burst of green. Snow can fall in any month, and the best time for a visit is July and August, when the tundra flowers and the light is long and low.
The air carries a story as well. The smelters have long released sulphur dioxide, which has damaged the vegetation for many kilometres around, and the legacy of industry here is visible and sobering. Beyond it lies the Putorana Plateau, a vast area of flat-topped mountains, deep lakes and waterfalls recognised as a World Heritage Site, which is reached by boat or helicopter rather than by road. Talnakh gives you a view of humans working at the edge of what is possible, and it deserves respect and a warm coat.