Svalbard (also known as Spitsbergen) is one of the last genuine wildernesses in Europe, where polar bears, walruses and wild reindeers live side by side with a small population of less than 3000 inhabitants. The isolated group of islands is located above the polar circle, as close as you can get to the North Pole without paying a fortune for transport. Sixty percent of the land is covered by ice, and winter lasts for seven months, with a long period of darkness, when the sun does not rise above the horizon. Svalbard belongs to Norway, but for many years the Russians have had coal mining rights, thus explaining the Russian mining village, Barentsburg, with Russian and Ukrainian inhabitants. The photos here are from a 2-week trek in the autumn, starting in Longyearbyen (Svalbard’s provincial capital), further along Ice Fiord to Barentsburg and returning through Rein Valley.