Intensive Iturup. A trip to another planet

Early in the morning we board high-speed motorboats and go on an exciting boat trip. We will look at the Yankito Plateau from the sea and see several underwater grottoes there, go around the Chirip Peninsula, look at the abandoned lighthouse and see the old Japanese torii gate. 

We will take pictures of the antur seals — boaters already know some of the mature males by sight, and then we will walk on the back of a real stone dragon. The stones in this place resemble multicolored scales.

After we return to the shore, we will go to the Crying Rocks, where we will admire the picturesque wall of waterfalls and will be able to drink the purest spring water.

After that, we go to the shore of the Gulf of Prostor to have lunch. While the team prepares for us a real Kuril fish soup from seasonal fish (chum salmon, pink salmon, sima), we will have the opportunity to swim and relax before the next impressions. 

After lunch, we go on a jeep tour through very difficult terrain, replete with obstacles. Let's look at the skill of our drivers.

The White Cliffs are one of the most famous sights of Iturup, but apart from the White Cliffs themselves, there is a lot more to see in the surrounding area. If the weather does not mind, we will try to show the maximum. 

The peculiarity of this place is that travel is possible only in relatively good weather, since we will have to ford two rivers in jeeps.

The white rocks consist of soft white pumice stone — the consequences of the eruption of the Baransky volcano. The soft pumice stone is gradually washed out and mixed with the black volcanic sand of the coast, forming bizarre patterns on the sand. The top of the white rocks is topped with green grass caps. The white cliffs stretch for 28 km along the shore of the Prostor Bay. 

On the way to the rocks, we will stop at the Black Rocks, a small rocky massif on the seashore of columnar formations of hexagonal shape.

In the evening, we will take you to the Hot Waters thermal complex, where you can relax after a busy day. Tickets to the thermal complex are included in the price of the trip.

Today we will spend the whole day on the most famous volcano of Iturup — Baransky volcano. On the way to the volcano, we will make a stop at the beautiful Goryachevodsky pass with picturesque views of the surrounding area.

A geothermal power plant has been built at the foot of the volcano. Off the road, among the bamboo thickets, there are two beautiful miniature turquoise lakes with very hot, scalding water. They are called Blue Eyes, Blue Eye or Emerald Eye. A Boiling river flows out of these lakes, the water in which cools down only after a few kilometers.

In one of the boiling lakes, boil eggs and taste them with red caviar, washed down with champagne.

In the area of the volcano, we will see small mud geysers and fumaroles. There are several swimming pools in the vicinity: both luxurious equipped multi-level terraces with places to relax and change clothes (bathing on request), and wild baths in streams. Tickets to the thermal complex are included in the price of the trip.

If desired, it is possible to climb to the top of the volcano. Climbing to the top is difficult and requires good physical shape. We will be accompanied by guides with special equipment. 

We will walk along a barely visible narrow path with steep ledges and crumbling slopes. The trail is unequipped and very rarely used. From the top of the volcano there are magnificent views of Iturup.

In the morning we leave for the other side of the island, to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, to the Bay of Kasatka. It was from here in 1941 that the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet headed for the Hawaiian Islands to attack Pearl Harbor.

It is no coincidence that the Japanese chose this place to form a squadron, because this bay is well hidden from prying eyes. The Japanese called this bay Hitokappu. 

The Japanese stay here is reminiscent of a complex of underground tunnels cut in one of the most mysterious places on the Kuril Islands — Mount Chertovka. The rock is riddled with many galleries, many of which are still not fully explored. According to one version, one of the 
The secret Japanese laboratories of Unit 731, notorious for its atrocities.

There are two roads leading here: a broken military road through the surrounding hills, and the second one right across the black volcanic sand of the bay. That's where we're going. Due to the thin layer of water remaining on the sand at low tide, the sky is perfectly reflected here, and therefore this place is called the Mirror Beach. 

On the beach, we will drive past a local landmark — a tugboat, half covered with sand.

Lunch and rest by the ocean.

In the evening, swimming in the thermal baths in Kurilsk, return to the hotel. Tickets to the thermal complex are included in the price of the trip.

We will fly to Sakhalin in the morning. If the departure time allows, we will stop at a souvenir shop and the most delicious red caviar in the Kuril Islands.

If you wish, you can stay on Sakhalin and participate in one of our additional programs on Sakhalin and other Kuril Islands.