Longyearbyen (aka Longyearbyen).
The administrative center of the archipelago and the capital of Svalbard province (the Norwegian name for Svalbard). The northernmost settlement with more than a thousand inhabitants (about 2,000), as well as the northernmost international airport in the world.
Barentsburg.
The Russian "capital" of Svalbard. The settlement was founded in 1921 by the Dutch as a coal mine. Since 1932, it has been owned by the Arktikugol State Trust, which represents Russia's economic interests in Svalbard. Barentsburg today is a modern Arctic settlement, the basis of which is still the northernmost Russian coal mine, but Arctic tourism is also developing in parallel. Barentsburg combines the modern development of the Arctic with the stories and traditions of the past. The population of the village is about 500 people, including about 70 children.
Cape Starostina.
A very interesting, picturesque place with a special atmosphere. The cape is named in honor of the legendary Pomeranian fisherman Ivan Starostin, who spent 39 winters on Svalbard, and for the last fifteen years he has lived in the archipelago constantly, without returning to the mainland. His main camp was located at the mouth of the Russekeila River, near the entrance to the Grenfjord. The guides will show you the reconstruction of Starostin's winter quarters and the Pomeranian memorial cross, and will take you to an existing fishing hut. Cape Starostina and the surrounding area were in nature during the filming of the Norwegian film "Operation Arctic".
Pyramid.
The village, named after the Pyramid Mountain, at the foot of which it was built. It was founded in 1910-11 by Swedish miners, then in 1927 the rights to the mine were acquired by the Severles Trust, which in 1931 in turn transferred the rights to the Arktikugol Trust. In 1946, the planned development of the coal deposit began. In the 70s and 80s, an ideal model of socialism was practically built here. Norwegian King Harald V, who visited the Pyramid in 1995, called it "the pearl of the archipelago." In 1998, the Pyramid was mothballed, but its exemplary infrastructure, created in Soviet times, has survived to the present day. In the village, surrounded by mountains and glaciers, there is no Internet, television and telephone connection. Therefore, every visit to the Pyramid is a time spent alone with the Arctic. The originality of the village is noted by everyone who happened to spend at least a few hours here. Today, the Pyramid attracts not only tourists, but also artists and cultural figures, journalists, and freeriders from all over the world. Pyramid village regularly appears in the top of various world rankings of the most interesting places and trips on the planet.
The Nordenskiold Glacier.
The business card of Svalbard, one of the most beautiful in the archipelago and definitely the most famous. The tongue of the glacier turns into a plateau with an area of about 600 km2, and its wall is amazing for its height and color. The rumble of breaking ice floes can be heard from the village. There is a high probability of encountering whales and a polar bear on the way.