Legends of the north of Kamchatka

He will be busy all day driving off-road to Klyuchevsky Park.

It contains the highest, most dangerous and active volcanoes of the peninsula, including the famous Klyuchevskaya Sopka.   

Our goal is the Tolbachik volcano.   

At its foot, among the black ashes and scorched trees, there are cozy glamping tents, in which we will stay for the night.

Climbing Tolbachik is not the easiest: together with the descent it takes 10-12 hours, the climb is 1800 meters.   

But it does not require special skills and climbing experience.   

But as a reward for your efforts at the top of the volcano, you will see a giant basin with a diameter of almost 2,000 meters.   

From the north, you will have a view of the neighboring giants of the Klyuchevskaya group, and from the south – the Martian landscape of the eruption zone. 

On the way, we will make stops for rest and snacks.   

And in the evening, upon returning to glamping, a hearty hot dinner will be waiting for us.

On this day, we will ride around the neighborhood and inspect the consequences of the Northern Breakthrough – the so-called first stage of the catastrophic eruption of Tolbachik in 1975. 

The side cones are seven slag hills, a kind of mini–volcanoes that rise above the black ash desert.   

To get a better look at this amazing landscape, we will climb the Gorshkov cone (330 meters).   

And after the descent, we will rest and have lunch at its foot. 

Lava rivers. During the eruptions of Tolbachik, incandescent streams of liquid lava several kilometers long spread through the valley.   

Now that they are frozen, we can walk on these black waves.

Lava caves. At the foot of the Star cone, we will climb into the voids that remain under a thick crust of solidified lava. 

The dead forest consists of hundreds of bare burnt tree trunks that stick out from a meter–long layer of ash.   

The gloomy landscape is diluted by greenery that has already sprouted and even Alpine flowers.

In the evening we will return to the camp and have dinner.

After breakfast, we leave glamping and drive to the village of Klyuchi.   

The journey will take several hours off-road. 

In the village, we transfer to a motor boat and go on a trip along the Kamchatka River. 

It is the largest river of the peninsula and a spawning place for valuable salmon species. 

We will walk 80 km along it, surrounded by forests and hills, and by evening we will reach the base of scientific staff.   

We stay in cozy guest houses. 

At the end of the day, you can relax in the sauna.

In the morning we go by motor boat to the Azhabach lake.

There are almost no tourists here, but there are a lot of salmon in the waters, a rare Daurian lily grows along the shores, and brown bears come to spawn en masse.   

We will watch their fishing, go fishing ourselves and explore the picturesque corners of the lake.

In the afternoon, we will take a look at the Nizhnekamchatsky wooden church of the XVIII century, the oldest on the peninsula.

We'll be back at the base by dinner.

We continue to explore the wild nature in the depths of Kamchatka.   

This time our goal is to observe the white—shouldered eagles and spotted seals.

We will follow them by motorboat along the Kamchatka River and its tributaries.  

White—shouldered eagles are very large, intelligent and rare birds. They live
only in Far Eastern Russia, but they fly to Japan for the winter. 

You will quickly recognize them by their bright yellow beaks and white spots on their wings. Eagles are not particularly afraid of humans, so their proud profile is easy to catch in the frame.

Seals, on the contrary, are timid but curious animals. We will try to approach their rookeries quietly and carefully so that we can take pictures.

In addition, we may encounter bears, foxes, sables, otters and other animals on this territory — we keep cameras ready. 

And in the evening we will return to the base.

After an early breakfast, we leave the base on the Kamchatka River and return to the village of Klyuchi.

From there, the car route to the Nachiki Hotel will begin.

The journey will take from 10 to 14 hours with stops for snacks and lunch.   

Upon arrival in the village, we will re-settle at the Nachiki base and recuperate in the thermal pool.

After breakfast, tourists go accompanied by a guide to the Vilyuchinsky pass. A well-equipped highway leads to the pass. 

After reaching the pass, the travelers make a stop.

Here, at a high point, there is an observation deck. It is designed so that the towering bulk of the Vilyuchinsky volcano is as accessible as possible for viewing. 

There are benches on the site, there are information stands telling about the fauna of Kamchatka. 

The wooden figures of totems look organically, enlivening the landscape with their presence and reminding how ancient this region is, and that people have lived here for a long time.

Vilyuchinsky reaches a height of almost 2,200 meters, and from the pass it is visible in all its glory. 

The peculiar relief of the slopes is formed by barrancos running down from the top. 

Barrancos are ravines that occur due to rains and melting glaciers, as well as as a result of dry avalanches that can roll down from the crater. 

Not far from Vilyuchinsky there are huge Gorely and Mutnovsky volcanoes. Together they form an impressive group. 

Gorely is an active volcano, it is almost 40 thousand years old. During this time, he has experienced many cataclysms. 

Mutnovsky is also active, and is very active in his fumarole activities. Fumaroles are cracks in different places of the volcano from where gases escape.

We leave the Vilyuchinsky pass and go to the Calm waterfall. The journey by car will take about 40 minutes, and you will have to walk another kilometer.

A calm waterfall does not look like a Dangerous one at all: it is not so high and flows in a wide stream surrounded by greenery.

You can go down to this waterfall to get a better look, and even swim — but the water is cool. 

We will spend the night in glamping on the Vilyuchinsky pass.

Gorely is a volcano with an amazing Martian landscape. 

It has as many as 30 craters, one of which hides an acid lake of turquoise color.

Climbing this volcano is considered easy: a calm ascent along a gentle slope takes 3-5 hours with all the breaks. 

And from the top there are huge hollows, smoking fumaroles and that very Blue Lake. 

We will walk along the edges of the craters, tell you about each of them in more detail and immediately set the table with tea and snacks.

After descending from the Burnt Volcano, we move to an already familiar hotel.

It's time to get acquainted with the marine nature of Kamchatka. 

We are going by yacht from the Petropavlovsk port to Russian Bay. 

This is a picturesque place that is compared to the Norwegian fjords, but the route to it is interesting in itself.

First, we will explore the vast Avacha Bay, on the shore of which stands the capital of Kamchatka, admire the city from the water, see the grottoes and pillar-shaped rocks of the Three Brothers. 

Then we will go out through the sea gate into the Pacific Ocean and stop at the uninhabited island of the Old Men to watch thousands of colorful seabirds from the side. 

And already at the entrance to the Russian Bay, on the Kekur Cape, you will see a rookery of sea lions — large seals with brown color. 

In addition, flocks of killer whales and even whales often appear in this area. 

On the way, we will arrange a sea fishing trip and have lunch.

After exploring the beauties of Russian Bay, we turn back and proceed to the Petropavlovsk port. 

There we transfer to the car and return to the hotel.

We left the urban and educational part of the tour for last.

On this day, you will get to know the capital of the region better, immerse yourself in the history of Kamchatka, and see our sights: 

• the central square;
• the embankment;
• the first street of the city; 
• places of fierce battles with the Anglo-French fleet in 1854;
• monuments to navigators and defenders of Petropavlovsk.  

At the end of the city tour, we will climb to the observation deck, which offers a panorama of the city.

In the afternoon, you will learn all about volcanoes in the interactive Vulcanarium Museum.

You will be told about their structure and types, volcanic processes will be demonstrated on models, and frozen lava and volcanic rocks will be examined under a microscope.

Overnight at the hotel.

In the morning, after breakfast and departure from the hotel, we will escort you to the airport.

On the way, we will stop at the monument "Here begins Russia" for a souvenir photo.   

Let's hope for a new meeting in Kamchatka!