Highlights of Kamchatka - Bears and Volcanoes (KK-06)

Arrival in Moscow. Our driver will meet you in the arrival sector with a Go Russia sign board. Transfer to the hotel.

During the tour we will walk around major cultural and historical points in Moscow. We will visit Lubyanka Square - the world-famous KGB centre of the Soviet epoch, and the Teatralnaya Square next to Bolshoi Theatre. We will also visit Tverskaya Street - the main and the busiest street in Moscow - with lots of shops, restaurants and unique combination of old, Stalin and modern architecture. We will then take a stroll along the pedestrian zone near the Red Square. In the evening transfer to the airport for your overnight flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Arrival in Petropavlovsk. Transfer from the airport to the hotel and check-in. Welcome lunch in a restaurant. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

We will go by helicopter to the Ksudach Volcano (1hr). An excursion to the Schtubelya Crater Lake, inside the Ksudach Volcano, is followed by a visit to the beautiful waterfall which starts from the crater. We’ll also see the hot springs which have formed a hot beach on the shore of the lake. Later we take a short flight to Kamchatka's famed Kurilskoye Lake.

The next few days are spent observing Kamchatka’s abundant wildlife: brown bears, Steller sea eagles, spawning salmon and many other species. We’ll travel around the lake by motorboat and on foot. Accompanied by the lake wardens, you’ll visit a bear observation platform (250 meters from the lodge) very close to the Lake Kurilskoye delta. Here you'll have a good chance of taking some great pictures of bears fishing. Lake Kurilskoye is also recognized as the biggest spawning-ground for salmon in Eurasia, and is one of the best places in Kamchatka to observe salmon spawning. Biologists estimate that a sixth to a quarter of the world's Pacific salmon originate in Kamchatka! Migrating salmon travelling from the Pacific pause briefly at the lake and then make their way into the streams to spawn. We’ll also walk to meadows where bears feed on wild berries, and visit other spawning streams further from the lodge. There's a good chance that you'll see bears fishing just a few meters away as you walk along the banks of streams.

Today we continue observing Kamchatka's abundant wildlife.

Take walking excursions with local wardens to a nearby bear view platform (250 meters from the lodge). Evening helicopter MI-8 flight to stop for a bathe in the thermal hot water of the Khodutka River. This is the largest wild hot springs on Kamchatka. The water bubbles out on a section of tundra located just under Khodutka Volcano and forms a small stream. Farther from the source the water slowly cools and you can find the location where the temperature is right for you to take a swim. Helicopter lands near tent camp on Mutnovsky Volcano plateau, where our 4 or 6WD truck and Russian team will wait for you. Accommodation in tent camp.

After breakfast we prepare for our day out at the volcano. You’ll need to take extra warm clothing and a water bottle. We’ll go by 6WD to get closer to the volcano, and then hike up it. Today we’ll reach the crater of the Mutnovsky volcano (2,323 meters). You’ll experience firsthand the thundering power of an active volcano - a cantankerous, belching 7,200 ft behemoth. You’ll feel as if you’re on another planet when you stand on the rim of its colossal, craggy crater. You’ll see a surreal blue crater lake wreathed in an ethereal cloak of mist, hear the deafening roar of the savage volcano all around you, and see sulphur-encrusted fumaroles emitting jets of steam. We complete this unforgettable experience by hiking along the narrow canyon to the crater. You’ll see the steep walls of the deep, vast crater, with its glittering glaciers split by cracks and the torches of fumaroles (A fumarole is an opening in Earth's crust which emit steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and hydrogen sulphide). Snack lunch in the crater. Return to the camp. Overnight in tents.

After breakfast we’ll pack up and get ready for our day’s walk. You’ll need to take extra warm clothing and a water bottle. As on the previous day, we first use a 6WD to get closer to the volcano, and then hike up. Today’s destination - the Gorely volcano, a great geological phenomenon, which attracts professional geologists from all over the world. The Gorely volcano is a chain of 11 craters, side by side, with lakes, fumaroles, and about 40 secondary slag cones with torrents of lava. Here you’ll feel like a scientist studying the volcanic transformation process - the geological history of our planet!

After breakfast, return to Petropavlovsk by coach. On arrival we have a boat tour around Avacha Bay, Petropavlovsk's historic gateway to the world. Try Russians’ favourite leisure activity - fishing, and taste Ukha, the famous Russian fish soup. We will go on to the island of Starichkov to watch sea birds and mammals. This trip is a unique opportunity to see the beautiful countryside around Petropavlovsk from the sea, explore the shores of Avachinskaya Bay, and watch colonies of seabirds in their natural environment. Return to Petropavlovsk for lunch. In the afternoon we visit Petropavlovsk Volcanology Institute, where you’ll have a brief introduction into the volcanic history and development of Kamchatka. You’ll hear about the relatively recent eruption of the Tolbachik volcano in 1975/1976, which made Kamchatka instantly famous. Overnight in a hotel.

We will enjoy a breathtaking helicopter flight, skimming over Kamchatka's spine of towering volcanoes, and finally landing in the UNESCO World Heritage-Listed Valley of Geysers. Here we will see more than twenty active geysers and numerous mud pools, surrounded by beautiful and powerful water-and-steam fountains. Lunch will be provided during the day. Return to the helicopter base and then to Petropavlovsk. (This is an optional excursion).

Check-out from the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight home.