Pearl placer of the Kuril Islands: Kunashir — Iturup

09:00 approach to Yuzhno-Kurilsk (Kunashir Island). Disembarkation. 

Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation at the hotel.

10:30 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

11:00 departure for an excursion to the fumarole field of the Mendeleev volcano. 

An active volcano in the southern part of Kunashir Island. It was named after the outstanding Russian chemist D. I. Mendeleev in 1946. The status of a state monument of nature was awarded to it in 1983.

11:30 Arrival at the beginning of the trail. Exit to the fumarole field on foot. 

Despite the difficulty of climbing the field, the path leading to it is very interesting. 

12:30 Arrival at the fumarole field. Visual inspection. A walk through the field. PHOTOSESSION.

13:30 Bathing in the thermal stream of the Mendeleev volcano.

15:00 Camping snack (tea brewed in nature, sliced vegetables, meat, fish, bread, biscuits, apple).

16:00 Departure on the way back to the parking lot.

17:30 Departure to Yuzhno-Kurilsk.

18:00 Walk along the coast, sightseeing of the coast, "Devil's Finger" and "Devil's Gate" sightseeing tours.

19:00 Return to the hotel. 

Dinner at the hotel cafe.

Attention! In the area of the fumarole field, precautions must be taken, be sure to follow the instructions of the attendant – you can fall into the fumarole, get chemical burns.

Important information: The route is of medium difficulty: 17 km by road from Yuzhno-Kurilsk, 3 km one-way from the road to the fumarole field over rough terrain. The duration of the tour is 6-7 hours.

Recommendations: on this route, it is advisable to have comfortable sneakers or trekking shoes, mosquito repellent, bathing accessories, towel, cotton gloves, in case of adverse weather conditions, do not forget to take a raincoat and rubber boots.

09:00 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

09:30 Departure for the tour of the Golovnin volcano Caldera, Boiling lake, Hot lake.

Golovnin caldera (a caldera is a cauldron—shaped depression with steep slopes and a flat bottom, formed as a result of the collapse of the volcano's peak). 

The diameter of the caldera along the ridge is more than four kilometers. One can imagine the force of the explosion that occurred here during a volcanic eruption. 

Inside the caldera, at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level, there are two lakes: Boiling and Hot.

Jets of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide gases — solfatars, hot water emissions, thick steam and the constantly changing color of the water create an impressive picture!

Another guided tour for hiking enthusiasts (don't forget to bring trekking poles)! 

There are many emotions waiting for you: admiration for the views, surprise at new knowledge, pleasure from swimming in the warm mud of a boiling lake, cheerfulness from the coolness of a hot lake!

10:00 Stop at the observation deck overlooking Golovninsky cliff.

10:30 Arrival at the beginning of the trail. 

Exit to the caldera on foot.

During the crossing, stop at an observation deck with a view of the caldera and the Japanese coast across the strait! 

Don't forget to turn off the mobile transmission on your smartphone — you may receive a substantial bill for using the mobile Internet in Japan.

13:00 Arrival at the reserve cordon. 

Camping snack (tea from a thermos, vegetable, meat, fish, bread, biscuits, apple). 

14:00 Departure to the lakes in the caldera.

Visual inspection. Climb to the observation deck. 

Passage along the "hot" trail of Boiling Lake.

15:00 Mud baths in the Boiling lake. 

Swimming in the Hot lake.

16:00 Departure on the way back to the parking lot. 

18:00 Departure to Yuzhno-Kurilsk.

19:00 Return to the hotel.

Dinner at the hotel cafe.

Attention! In the area of the fumarole zone on the lake. When boiling, it is necessary to take precautions, be sure to step in the wake of the attendant — you can fall into the hot mud, get chemical burns. You can only swim and take mud baths in certain places. 

Important information: we travel by car from Yuzhno-Kurilsk to the reserve, then we walk to the Golovnin volcano caldera. The total walking time is ~16 km (round trip).

Recommendations: on this route, it is advisable to have comfortable sneakers or trekking shoes, mosquito repellent, bathing accessories, and a towel. In case of adverse weather conditions, do not forget to take a raincoat and raincoats for shoes.

09:00 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

10:00 Departure for an excursion: a boat trip to Rogachev Island. Boarding the cars, moving to the Pacific coast of the island, in the area of Cape Devil's Finger.

10:20 Boarding a boat, crossing the Pacific Ocean to Rogachev Island (approximately 30 km). 

The Pacific coast of Kunashir Island attracts with the opportunity to take a closer look at the very island that is familiar to everyone who has seen pictures of the Tyat volcano.

The north of the island is rarely visited by tourists due to the lack of a highway, but it is there, in the northern part of the island, that the Good Key tract and the Chaika hot spring are located.

Moving by boat along the coast, you will see the rugged shores of the island, alternating dark coniferous and light green deciduous forests, and many waterfalls.

There is a high probability of seeing bears coming out into the open spaces of the coast in search of food, and marine life in the sea — dolphins, porpoises, killer whales, and seals. 

Along the route, you will meet many interesting birds: ten species of seagulls, three species of cormorants, an axe (sea parrot), a puffin rhinoceros, a petrel, an albatross, etc.

13:00 On the way back, swimming in the Chaika hot springs. 

14:00 Seafood lunch on the coast.

15:00 Departure on the way back.

16:00 Transfer to ground transportation. Transfer to the hotel.

18:00 Dinner at the hotel cafe.

Recommendations: on this route, it is advisable to have bathing suits, slippers, a small backpack for carrying bathing accessories, sunscreen (UV filter), repellent, motion sickness pills, waterproof clothing and shoes.

09:00 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

10:00 Departure to the ecological trail and the Stolbovskiye mud healing thermal springs.

10:30 Arrival at the beginning of the trail. Exit to the trail.

The flora of the island is rich and includes species distributed from the subtropics to the northern latitudes. Along the forest path, there are thick hedges of white and stone birches, gray trunks of velvet trees, mountain ash, Sakhalin fir with whitish trunks. 

Along the trail we descend to a tangle of streams of different temperatures. The water from the streams is mixed in a depression in the ground, where you can take a warm sodium chloride mineral bath. 

Nearby, a larger depression is filled with hot mineral mud. 

The place is called "Stolbovsky thermal springs". It is necessary to soak up the thermal mud lake and rinse with the mineral water of the stream! It will take away all the fatigue of the past few days. 

11:00 Approach to the thermal springs. Bathing. 

12:00 Departure to Cape Columnar along the seashore. 

Cape Columnar is a unique place where the natural paving stones of the "Red Square" are replaced by views of stone pencils weighing 40 tons and deep-sea fjords.

The bizarre cliffs where you can hear the sound of organ music are true thousand-year-old monuments.… After all, they were the first pieces of land that emerged from the depths of the ocean, and they have been preserved almost in their original form to our era. 

13:00 Approach to the clamp. The passage of the clamp on the rock. 

Cape Columnar tour: "Organ", "Turtle", "Paving stone". PHOTOSESSION.

15:00 Departure along the beach to the lunch place. 

16:00 Lunch of fresh Kuril delicacies by the sea. Relaxing by the sea. Those who wish can swim. 

17:30 Boarding of vehicles. Transfer to Yuzhno-Kurilsk. 

18:00 Return to the hotel. 

19:00 Dinner at the hotel cafe.

Important information: take vehicles to the exit point of the route, then walk 3 km along the trail downhill. Next, going ashore, 30 minutes along the coastline, then crossing the cliff or crossing the cliff along the path, first up the cliff, then down to Cape Columnar. From Cape Columnar, walk along the seashore for about 40 minutes to a place of rest and lunch. Return by road to Yuzhno-Kurilsk.

Recommendations: on this route, it is advisable to have comfortable sneakers or trekking shoes, rubber slippers for walking on a rocky bottom in water, mosquito repellent, bathing accessories, a towel, in case of adverse weather conditions, do not forget to take a raincoat and rubber boots.

Breakfast in the hotel cafe.

10:45 Transfer to the port.

11:00 Boarding the ship.

13:00 Departure to Iturup Island (Igor Farkhutdinov train station).

Travel time is ~20 hours. 

Important information:

• Meals on the ship are paid additionally. 
• Stock up on drinking water and snacks for the trip. Drinks can be purchased on the ship, but they are much more expensive. 
• Card payment on the ship is accepted, but the connection may be suspended. 

09:00 Arrival at the island. Iturup. Disembarkation.

Transfer to the cafe for breakfast. 

10:00 Breakfast at the cafe.

11:00 Departure for an excursion along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk to the beach with White cliffs. The length of the cliffs is about 28 km.

They consist of porous volcanic glass and pumice, frozen as a result of a colossal eruption of a red-hot gas cloud. The beach sand consists of white quartz and black titanium-magnetite sand. Due to the mixture of these two sands, an extremely beautiful gray-graphite sandy beach is formed.

12:30 Stop at the beach with White cliffs. A walk through the canyon.

13:30 Departure to the Black Stones.

14:00 Arrival at the Black Stones. Walk. Vacation on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Those who wish can swim.

15:00 Lunch on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk (Iturup fish soup, tea, fish preserves, sliced vegetables, tea with bagels or the like).

16:00 Boarding the transport. Departure to the thermal springs.

17:00 Rest in the Hot Waters thermal springs (1 hour).

18:00 Boarding the transport. Return to Kurilsk, to the hotel.

19:00 Dinner at a cafe in the city.

Recommendations: clothes for the weather, bathing accessories for swimming in the sea and springs, bed sheets (can be taken at the hotel reception).

If it is impossible to cook lunch in nature due to weather conditions, lunch will be provided in a cafe.

09:00 Breakfast in a cafe in the city.

10:00 Departure towards the Pacific Ocean.

11:30 Kasatka Bay. The first stop is at the "mirrored" beach, which looks like an endless sea mirror. A stranded fishing vessel is the most popular photo object among the island's guests.

12:00 p.m. We will definitely drive to the Chertovka rock. 

At one time, the Japanese pierced tunnels in it for through passage for military purposes, which have survived to this day. You will walk (somewhere you will crawl) through the battlefields, you will see the site of the former "hospital", the so-called laboratory where the Japanese worked on the development of bacteriological weapons.

In good weather, those who wish to swim in the Pacific Ocean. 

14:00 Lunch on the shore of the Pacific Ocean (fried fish, boiled potatoes, canned fish, sliced vegetables, tea). Relaxing on the shore.

15:30 Departure on the way back. Transfer to the thermal springs.

17:00 Visit to the thermal springs "Baths" (Rybaki village), 1 hour.

18:30 Transfer to the hotel. Dinner on your own.

Recommendations: to visit the thermal springs, take bathing accessories, rubber slippers, and a sheet (you can take it at the hotel reception). In case of adverse weather conditions, do not forget to bring a raincoat and rubber boots. 

If it is impossible to cook lunch in nature due to weather conditions, lunch will be provided in a cafe.

09:00 Breakfast in a cafe in the city.

10:00 Departure to Baransky volcano by car (duration 5 hours). 

Baransky volcano (1132 meters high) is one of the most accessible active volcanoes on the island of Iturup with hot lakes of unusual turquoise color, fumaroles, mineral streams and healing springs.

We will enjoy the beauty and relaxation in the thermal baths, taste eggs with caviar boiled directly in volcanic water.

10:30 Visit to the observation deck.

11:00 Visit to the mud cauldron field. Excursion. We cook eggs in a thermal stream.

12:30 p.m. Tasting of boiled eggs with red caviar and champagne. Camping snack (tea or coffee, fish preserves, vegetable and cheese cuts).

13:30 Departure to the complex with thermal springs.

14:30 Arrival at the thermal complex. Walk along the ecological trail to the turquoise lakes. PHOTOSESSION.

15:00 Return to the thermal complex. Bathing in thermal springs. Rest.

17:00 Transfer to Kurilsk.

18:00 Arrival in Kurilsk. Dinner on your own.

Attention! In the area of fumarole fields, precautions must be taken – you can fall into hot mud, and in the area of mineral springs you can get chemical burns. You can only swim in springs with a certain water temperature.

Recommendations: on this route, it is advisable to have bathing accessories, rubber slippers, and a sheet (you can take it at the hotel reception). The tour takes place by car.

09:00 Breakfast in a cafe in the city.

12:00 Check-in of rooms. 

Departure from the hotel for an excursion to the foot of the Bogdan Khmelnitsky volcano in Yankito, which is a plateau of frozen lava flows of bizarre shape. Beautiful landscapes that open from any viewpoint. 

Bright, spectacular photos, unique impressions! 

Dear ladies, feel like a fashion model, take your favorite dress with you and have an amazing photo shoot among the frozen lava flows!

Stop at the observation deck in the village. The whale. 

Free time. 

Transfer to the airport. Check-in for the flight. 

Evening flight to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. 

Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The end of the program.

Important! The exact time of departure to Iturup is unknown at the time of the program's publication. In case of significant differences in the timing of the program with the actual flight schedule, the program may be changed, while the volume and content of excursions will remain unchanged.