Ride The Trans Siberian Railway

The adventure

The longest railway line in the world turns travel into a slow, steady rhythm. Days blur into one another as the train rolls east past endless birch and pine forest, wooden villages with painted shutters and rivers wider than most lakes. Your cabin becomes a home, the carriage attendant keeps the samovar hot, and at longer station stops locals sell dumplings, smoked fish and pastries from the platform.

Somewhere past Irkutsk the track runs along the shore of Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake on Earth, glittering for hours outside the window. Take the Trans-Mongolian branch and the forest gives way to open steppe, gers and herds of horses, then the Gobi Desert, then the hills of northern China on the way into Beijing.

Why it’s epic

• Moscow to Vladivostok is 9,289 kilometres and takes about a week without stopping.
• The route spans eight time zones, so your watch keeps changing while the train runs on its own schedule.
• Lake Baikal holds roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh surface water and is over 1,600 metres deep.
• The Trans-Mongolian branch crosses the Mongolian steppe and the Gobi Desert to Beijing.

What it is

The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world's longest railway line, at over 9,000 kilometres.

How to do it

The route runs from Moscow to Vladivostok, or via Mongolia to Beijing.

Top tip

Check UK Foreign Office advice on travel to Russia before planning a trip.

Need to know

• The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Russia, which also affects insurance, so check the latest advice before planning.
• Most travellers break the journey with stops such as Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar or Yekaterinburg rather than riding straight through.
• Visas are needed for Russia and China, and the Mongolian rules depend on your passport, so start the paperwork early.

Why it’s on my list

Not done yet. If you’ve done it and have tips, tell me about it.