Kamchatka

Kamchatka is a huge peninsula more than 1200 km long, located in the Far East of Russia, 9 hours to the East by plane from Moscow. Kamchatka is a place of breathtaking beauty and unique wildlife, mixing striking scenery of mountains, tundra, forests and rugged coastline to create a wonderland for any adventurous traveller.

Volcanoes are the main attraction of Kamchatka that makes it one of the most impressive regions of the whole world. There are about 300 volcanoes and 29 of them are active. Kamchatka is also known for the amazing diversity and abundance of its wildlife. Sable, ermine, Siberian bighorn (or snow) sheep, the Kamchatka brown bear, crab and, of course, salmon are all found in large quantities.

Hunting and fishing have always been a traditional occupation for the natives of Kamchatka: the Evens, the Chukchis, the Itelmen and the Koryaks. The other traditional business of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka is reindeer breeding.

Kamchatka is attractive for tourists both in summer and in winter. Coastal areas are characterized by temperate climate with mild and warm winter and with cool summer. In the middle and Northern parts of Kamchatka the climate is almost continental with day temperatures up to 340C in summer.

Volcanoes of Kamchatka are included into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Highlights

• Avachinsky volcanic group is situated just near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the center of the Kamchatka region. It consists of two active volcanoes - Avachinsky (2741 m) and Koryaksky (3456 m) - and several smaller mountains. Avachinsky is accessible for ascenders despite on its activity. When the weather is good, it takes only 6-8 hours to get to its crater under the guidance of experienced instructors, even if tourists are untrained, aged or kids.
• Bystraya («Speedy») River, located in the Central Kamchatka, grants a pleasant opportunity to view wild nature from a board of a raft. While rafting tourists can fish, gather mushrooms and berries on shore, enjoy picturesque landscapes.
• Esso is a small settlement in the central part of the peninsula (550 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky), mostly populated with the Evens - one of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka. Esso is famous with its pleasant Ethnography Museum and with Hot Springs. All buildings in the settlement are heated with thermal waters in winter. In an hour of helicopter flight from Esso you can visit field camps of Even fishermen or nomadic reindeer herdsmen to get acquainted with their traditional lifestyle and culture.
• Kluchevskoy volcano (4850 m) is the highest mountain in Kamchatka, located about 600 km to the North from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It is also the highest active volcano in the whole Eurasia. There is a group of 12 other volcanoes nearby Kluchevskoy.
• Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve is located in an hour by helicopter to the North-East from Petropavlovsk. The main attractions of the reserve are the Valley of Geysers, the Uzon Volcano Calderas, the Kronotsky Lake, a grove of Kamchatka fur trees.
• Kurilskoye Lake is situated on the territory of Yuzhno-Kamchatsky Natural Park in the Southern Kamchatka. Whimsical capes and scenic islands make it unforgettable. Kurilskoye Lake is famous for being one of the largest salmon spawning area in Kamchatka. That attracts Kamchatka`s huge brown bears. Nearby the Lake special safe viewing platforms are built for tourists to observe the astonishing scenes of bears fishing in their natural habitat.
• Mutnovsky - Gorely volcanic group is located in 80 km to the South from Petropavlovsk.The Mutnovsky volcano is not high (2323 m), but continuously gathering clouds of sulphur upon it can be seen far away. Tourists may enter the crater via a huge break in its walls and view quite nearby very intensive volcanic activity with fumaroles, boiling mud pools and solfataras. The Gorely volcano (1829 m) is famous with its unique chain of 11 craters across the central peak.
• Nalychevo Natural Park is an untouched corner of Kamchatka nature, which is situated not far from Petropavlovsk. The repository includes picturesque mountain, tundra and marine landscapes. There are a lot of bears in the upper Nalychevo River in summer - at the spawning period of all species of salmon and at the time of berry ripening. Nalychevo is also famous with its thermal springs and cold mineral waters.
• Tolbachik volcano belongs to Kluchevskaya volcanic group. In 1975-76 the New Tolbachik cones had grown before people`s eyes from cracks crawling off along the valley. This place, reminiscence of the Moon, was used for testing the first Soviet lunar roving vehicle 'Lunokhod-1'.
• Uzon Volcano Calderas is a kind of hollow or depression with dimensions of 9x12 km, formed in the place of the destroyed Uzon volcano crater and surrounded by mountain ranges. Hydrothermal activity is manifested by numerous boiling and bubbling craters, countless mud pots, small mud volcanoes, steaming or heated grounds with steam and hot water jets.
• Valley of Geysers is hidden in one of deep canyons in the Kronotsky Reserve. 25 geysers stretch here at a distance of about 5 km along the Geysernaya River stream. A trail on the terrace above the valley floor provides views down onto the Fountain Platform.