Kunashir — Shikotan

Breakfast on the boat on your own.

10:00 Arrival of the ship at the port.

Check-in at the hotel (upon release and cleaning of rooms).

12:00 Visit to the local history Museum.

After the tour, departure to one of the most picturesque bays of the island – Pervukhina Bay. Many travelers call it a piece of Ireland on Kunashir. Hills covered with lush greenery, crystal clear water and a pebble beach.

There is another attraction in this place – the Dog's Head Mountain. It is a large kekur, covered with perennial grasses, which has not yet separated from the island, and resembles the head of a spaniel in shape.

During the time of Japanese rule, there was a Japanese temple on the mountain. Right now, a trail built by the military leads up the mountain.

Come upstairs. It offers incredible views of the bay surroundings.

Lunch on the shore.

After lunch, visit the Devil's Finger and Devil's Gate Kekura, as well as the old lighthouse on the South Kuril Cape.

Return to the hotel in the evening.

Dinner at the hotel cafe.

08:00 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

09:00 Departure for the route "The Great fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano".

By public transport up to 17 km, then a trekking route of about 3 km in one direction.

The route passes through a protected area. The nature of these places is unique. Centuries-old trees with trunks up to 2 meters in diameter, thickets of Kuril bamboo, the purest mountain streams.

Approach to the fumarole field. Here you can feel the hot "breath" of the earth. Its surface looks more like a Martian landscape.

Small and large smoking fumaroles, cedar elderberry and a view of the Hokkaido Mountains.

Parking is 2 hours.

Lunch (lunch box).

Optional bathing in wild hot springs.

Return to the 17th kilometer. Then drive to the cascade of small waterfalls of the Sour stream.

The stream descends down the slopes of the Mendeleev volcano, forming small cascades. The water in the stream is at a pleasant temperature. If desired, you can swim.

Return to Yuzhno-Kurilsk in the evening.

Dinner at the hotel cafe.

In the south of Kunashir Island is the caldera of Golovnin volcano, the southernmost volcano of the Kuril Ridge. This is an active volcano, the last eruption of which occurred already in historical times — around 1848. After a powerful eruption, the volcano exploded, forming a huge caldera, which eventually filled with water and formed two incredible lakes.

08:00 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

09:00 Departure for the route to the Veslovsky Peninsula.

The first stop is at the observation deck, which offers a fascinating panoramic view.

Then a trip to Golovninsky cliff. Amazing sheer cliffs, black volcanic sand and hundreds of shells.

Departure to the hiking route of medium difficulty "Volcano Golovnina. Boiling and Hot lakes", 2.5–3 hours walk along a dirt road, 7 km in one direction.

The entire journey is accompanied by beautiful fields of cedar elderberry.

The parking time in the caldera is about 2 hours.

Lunch (lunch box).

The volcano is a caldera about 4 km in diameter, surrounded by a ridge (541 m). There are four small domes and two crater lakes at the bottom of the caldera, Boiling and Hot.

The Golovnin volcano caldera is unique in its volcanic activity. A jet of superheated steam and boiling water can suddenly strike from the bottom of a Boiling Lake — an incredible sight! One of the solfatarny fields of Goryachy Lake once spewed out a stream of liquid sulfur, which poured into the lake and froze there with a bizarre tongue.

Bathing in hot springs.

Return to the hotel in the evening.

Dinner at the hotel cafe.

Cape Columnar on Kunashir is one of the most amazing and unique places on earth. It is a unique geological formation that arose as a result of fossilization of basalt lava.

Having poured out of the mouth of the Mendeleev volcano more than 6 million years ago, lava got into the water column and, under the influence of certain temperatures, divided into absolutely regular five-hexagonal columns, and then rose from the ocean to the surface.

Residents of Kunashir say: "Those who have not seen Cape Columnar have not seen Kunashir."

09:00 Breakfast at the cafe.

10:00 Departure for the route.

Exit to the coast.

Inspection of rocks of volcanic origin.

The cape, open on three sides, is located on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Beautiful "aquariums" and lagoons with crystal clear azure water. Majestic "organs" made of solidified lava.

Lunch on the route (lunch box, tea).

Swimming is possible in good weather.

Return to the hotel in the evening.

Dinner at the hotel cafe.

Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

Transfer to the port of Yuzhno-Kurilsk.

Check-in and boarding the ship.

Departure to Shikotan Island at 14:00. The journey takes 4 hours.

At 18:00, the ship approaches the island.

Transfer to the hotel.

Check-in.

Supper.

Free time.

This is the most southeastern place in Russia, which many travelers dream of visiting. This is a different world, unlike either the mainland or the nearby Sakhalin.

Shikotan lies in the Pacific Ocean just a few dozen kilometers from Japan and, interestingly, is located east of it (the sun rises earlier here). And there are no volcanoes, poisonous snakes and bears.

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 10:00 departure to cape "Edge of the world". When you get here, the meaning of the name immediately becomes clear. From above, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean, and you can't help but think that you are really on the edge of the earth! This is the farthest point in Russia from the capital – a distance of 7,400 km in a straight line.

A walk to Cape Crab, where the lighthouse of Shpanberg is located.

Then transfer to Bezymyannaya Bay. According to many eyewitnesses, this bay is the most beautiful natural place on the island due to the scattering of islands located inside the bay.

Lunch – lunch boxes.

Free time to relax.

In warm weather, you can sunbathe and swim in the Pacific Ocean. The water temperature is 13-16 degrees.

Return to the hotel in the evening.

Rest.

Dinner at the cafe.

Breakfast at the hotel.

At 10:00 departure for the route: Tserkovnaya Bay, Notoro and Tomari mountains.

Tserkovnaya Bay impresses with its islands and coves. It is also interesting for its history and nearby sites: the larch forest, the site of a former Japanese settlement, the Notoro and Tomari mountains.

The route is on foot, about 8 km in one direction through the protected area. Along the way, there are thickets of giant burdock, spiraea and creeping junipers, as well as giant trees of bizarre shapes.

Arrival at the bay.

A walk along the beach. Optional swimming in the ocean.

Lunch (lunch box).

Free time, rest.

Return to the hotel in the evening.

Dinner at the cafe.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Room release.

Departure to the route.

Dolphin Bay is located in the southwest of the island, which juts into the shore for almost three kilometers. The bay was named after the ship Dolphin, which was used in 1912 to explore the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Tatar Strait and Nagayev Bay.

Spectacular views open from the height of the flat hills. A real forest-steppe landscape with open bamboo expanses and mounds of conifers and stone birch. Rich wetlands are a stopping place for bird flocks. Whooper swans can be found here in wintering grounds, and Japanese cranes in spring and summer. It is an ideal place for fishing.

The journey to the bay takes about 3 hours.

A walk along the coast.

Rest. Swimming in the ocean (optional).

Lunch (lunch box).

Return to the hotel in the evening.

Supper.

Transfer to Malokurilskoye seaport.

Registration for the ship.

Departure to Sakhalin.

20:00 arrival at the Korsakov seaport.

Transfer to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to the gathering place (133 Komsomolskaya St.).