Khibiny Mountain Loop

A compact Arctic mountain route around the Khibiny massif and Lake Imandra.

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Why this ride

A compact Arctic mountain route around the Khibiny massif and Lake Imandra. The road: R21 and Khibiny roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Apatity start

   Apatity takes its name from apatite, the pale green mineral rich in phosphate that was found in the Khibiny Mountains in the late 1920s. The find, led by the geologist Alexander Fersman and his team, started a mining boom that created towns in the tundra, and Apatity, which became a city in 1966, grew as the base for the processing works. It sits on the edge of Lake Imandra, with the dark, flat-topped Khibiny rising to the north, and has the plain, practical look of a Soviet town, with big apartment blocks and long straight streets.

   The Khibiny are the real draw. These old mountains, rounded and cut by glaciers, rise to about twelve hundred metres, with deep valleys, boulder fields and lakes in hollows, and they hold one of the richest collections of rare minerals in the world. Kirovsk, twelve kilometres away, is the little mining town at their foot, with a ski resort on the slopes of Mount Aikuaivenchorr and a polar-alpine botanical garden that is the northernmost in Europe. The Sami called the mountains Umptek, and legends of their sacred places remain.

   On the road, expect a quiet, open landscape of low birch, tundra and lakes. The main highway between Apatity and Kirovsk is decent, but the side roads and tracks that climb toward the mountains are gravel, rutted and often wet. The season is short, from June to September, and weather can swing from warm sun to sleet within an hour. In late summer, the first frosts turn the tundra red, and in winter the aurora shows over town on clear nights. Midnight sun in June is a bonus, though the mosquitoes can be tough.

   Apatity has about sixty thousand people, so fuel, food and repairs are easy to find, and Kirovsk offers more. Before heading into the hills, fill up and carry water. Local food runs to fish, reindeer and cloudberry jam, and a pot of tea in a cafe is welcome after the cold. Foreign riders should check what is currently allowed before planning a trip here.

2. Kirovsk stop

   Kirovsk lies at the foot of the Khibiny Mountains, in the middle of the Kola Peninsula, and it is a mining town with a ski resort on its back doorstep. The Khibiny are a rounded, high plateau of pale rock that rises to about 1,200 metres, with deep glacial valleys, and they are one of the largest mountain ranges in northern Europe. The rocks are rich in apatite, a mineral used to make fertiliser, found in the 1920s, and that find led to the founding of the town in the early 1930s. It is named for Sergey Kirov, a Communist leader, and the nearby city of Apatity takes its name from the mineral.

   The mountains around Kirovsk are bare above the treeline, covered in lichen, boulders and snowfields that last well into summer. Lake Imandra, one of the largest lakes in the region, lies to the south, and the Botanical Garden of Kirovsk, the northernmost in Europe, grows hardy plants in the Arctic climate. Skiing is the main winter activity, with the season lasting from November until May, and the northern lights are common on clear nights in winter. In the middle of summer, the sun barely drops below the horizon, and the days are cool and bright.

   The ride is atmospheric rather than technical. Roads run through birch forest and open tundra, past lakes and mining sites, with the mountain edge always to one side. The main road from Murmansk and Apatity is generally decent, though the surface can be broken by frost, and trucks carrying ore and chemicals are common. Weather changes quickly, with fog, rain and even snow in July, and in the mountains there is a risk of icy patches in early autumn. The mountain road to the ski area climbs in a few bends to a high pass.

   Kirovsk has a petrol station or two and a handful of shops, and Apatity, about twelve kilometres away, is bigger and has more services, so fill the tank there if in doubt. Expect plain Russian food, soup, dumplings and fish, and tea is always on offer. Mosquitoes are bad in July in the lowlands.

   Spend a moment looking at the mountains in the evening light, when the pale rock turns pink and the snow fields glow. The place has a certain austere beauty that grows on you.

3. Monchegorsk stop

   Monchegorsk exists because of a rock. Geologists found copper and nickel in the hills of the Kola Peninsula in the 1930s, and a smelter and a town went up in the tundra beside Lake Imandra, well north of the Arctic Circle. The plant, now run by Nornickel, is still the heart of the place, and its smoke over many decades did terrible damage to the surrounding forest. West of town you can see pale, bare slopes where trees once stood, an odd reminder of how industry left its mark on the Arctic.

   The landscape around is open and strong. The low, bald ridges of the Monche tundra rise just to the west, Lake Monchegorsk lies at the city's edge, and the huge lake Imandra stretches to the south and east, with the Khibiny Mountains rising on its far shore. In summer the sun does not set for weeks, and the tundra turns green, red and gold with berries and dwarf birch. In winter the polar night closes in for weeks, snow lies deep, and the aurora flickers over the town on clear nights. Reindeer herders and the Sami people have lived here for thousands of years, and some villages keep their traditions.

   Riding in the region is sparse and long. The road system is thin, with a few main roads linking the mining towns, and the tarmac can be patched, with frost heaves that appear without warning. Traffic is light apart from lorries from the mines. The riding season is short, from June to early September, and the weather can turn cold and wet at any time. Mosquitoes in July are fierce.

   Monchegorsk has about fifty thousand people, so fuel, shops, cafes and hotels are easy, and Olenegorsk, about twenty-eight kilometres away, and the small town of Vysokiy offer some more. Beyond these, services thin out quickly, so fill the tank and carry water. A drive to the viewpoint over the tundra at midnight in June, with the sky glowing orange, is the best reason to be here. Foreign riders should check the current rules for travel before planning.

4. Back to Apatity finish

Where this sits

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