Tag Archives: kamchatka

Forty kilometers to the south of Kronotsky there are two “cult” Kamchatkan volcanisms: (i) the Uzon volcanic caldera… ->

…and the famous Valley of Geysers ->

This year, instead of choppering in, looking about for a bit, then choppering off again, we decided to do a multi-day trek along the old Soviet Route No. 264…

The original route from back in the day is about ~190 kilometers (!), so we settled for doing around half that – to trek as far as the Valley of Geysers, and then have the helicopter pick us up. All righty – let’s be off!…

First – a nice spot of Kamchatkan beach-walking; later – forest and hills and assorted obstacles ->

Some nights we were in tents…

…Others in cabins:

We were able to trek free of heavy backpacks since the helicopter took all our kit onward for us: a most welcome logistical bonus – which complemented the oh-my-gorgeous views all around throughout our whole trek perfectly:

Fumaroles of Burlyashy volcano:

Alas – as it’s wont to do – the Kamchatkan weather turned bad, so for a full two days we couldn’t see much above the feet of volcanoes:

But by the time we arrived at Uzon and the Valley of Geysers it had cleared up. Accordingly, up goes the drone! ->

Everyone loving it – both newbies and old-hands ->

The Valley of Geysers – truly unique:

Sure – there are other great geysers in the world, but none so extensive and in a mountain setting. Access to the Valley is tightly restricted – you need to walk there from Uzon with an inspector. No tour groups allowed, and the blessing of the national-park management is needed.

Bubbling mud baths ->

“Devil’s Gateway”. But I think “Devil’s Eyes” would be a better name:

Around 5km to the northeast of the Valley of Geysers at the foot of Kikhpinych volcano there’s another valley with a similarly descriptive – albeit spooky – name: the Valley of Death! ->

All very beautiful and natural – but…

Turns out the emissions around here are poisonous – killing unlucky wild animals that stray into the area. Poor things (and stinky things after their demise; oof). Apparently there’s a toxic layer that reaches just a meter up from the ground so humans should be ok (if they’re not squatting or bending down).

These days only 85 visitors are allowed to trek Route 264 per year – be they scientists researching the area or tourists. Yes – we were lucky :).

That’s all for today folks. More, of course, coming up!…

The rest of the photos from Kamchatka-2024 are here.

Next up, one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the world, and probably the most refined of the peninsula – Kronotsky ->

Read on…

It was farewell to what is possibly the world’s remotest hotel complex, and off we choppered south to our next Kamchatkan volcanic wonder – Kizimen (pronounced KizEEmen). And here she is – the view from the south:

And from the north ->

What differentiates this particular volcano of Kamchatka from others are the two lakes at its foot set among wonderfully “designer” landscapes. There’s also the amazing view of nearby Kronotsky volcano – here on the horizon to the right, upon which you can meditate for an eternity.

Read on…

At the foot of Kizimen volcano in Kamchatka – literally in the middle of nowhere, with no roads or settlements for 70 kilometers – today there happens to be… a five-star tourism base (here)! ->

What? The lap of luxury – out here?! Pretty much. For there’s hot springs, a marvelous view of Kizimen, digital detox (at least – partially; more on this below), delicious food, hunting & fishing, mosquitos, bears and assorted other pamperings to please office plankton. They’ve even done something to prevent insects from coming near the complex!

Read on: Kamchatka-2024 – Part 4: Could this be the world’s remotest hotel?

Hi folks,

After the brief Chinese interlude (the three intro-posts to our China-2024 trip), it’s time to move (figuratively) directly northeast back to… Kamchatka!

Without a doubt, one of the jewels in the crown of the Klyuchevsky group of volcanoes is Tolbachik. We’d already marveled at the northern volcanic trio (Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Kamen and Bezymianny) of the group, and also the canyon of the Studyonaya river. Now it was time for the mentioned jewel; actually – jewels. For Tolbachik is actually two volcanoes – the long-dormant Ostry (sharp) Tolbachik, and the rather active Plosky (flat) Tolbachik…

The view from the north:

And here’s the view of practically the whole Klyuchevsky group from up in a helicopter. The pointed-cone volcano in the foreground is Ostry (remember – sharp) Tolbachik; the flat-topped on next to it – you guessed it: Plosky (flat) Tolbachik ->

Read on…

Having been duly impressed by the monumentality of the Klyuchevsky volcano group – it was time to head further south. And there’s so much more jaw-dropping awesomeness ahead that you’d better… tie your jaws together now! :)…

Actually, we didn’t have far to walk fly – just around 10km southwest of the Klyuchevsky group (from here, to be precise) is the picturesque canyon of the Studyonaya River, from the mouth of which there’s a contemplative view of Tolbachik:

Down the millennia the river’s cut some interesting chasms/crevasses/canyons out of the lava fields here – with vertical walls some 10-20 meters high. There are a few of these corridors (well – at least two), and though not very long (100-200 meters each), they’re still very striking:

Read on…

Sorry for taking so long to post about my Kamchatka 2024 trip! My business travel schedule has been crazy lately. Almost immediately after Kamchatka (I didn’t even have time to catch my breath!) I set off for a business tour of Colombia, followed by Chile and China, and now I’m at Kazan Digital Week. Sometimes my travels can really throw me around like a rag doll.

But I haven’t forgotten about Kamchatka 2024! I’ve sorted and processed my photos, and had my fellow travelers do the same :). Now I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to share how it went.

Let’s start in the north with the Klyuchevsky group of volcanos. It comprises 14 volcanoes, but the big three are Bezymianny, Kamen, and Klyuchevskaya Sopka. Here they are all together; Bezymianny is the smoking one. A little further back is the sharp cone of Kamen, and flanking it is Klyuchevskaya Sopka.

Read on…

Hi folks!

It all started in… Magadan…

­­

It’s getting to be a tradition feasting here at the airport before the long-haul east…

Read on

After checking out the very orange Koshelev volcano, next up simply has to be milky-white waterfalls – a truly unique phenomenon.

I mean, the water in these falls isn’t just seemingly white, much like waves coming in off the ocean (all the bubbles/froth). This water is actually really white – like milk! How so? Well, due to the local volcanism there’s an unusually high concentration of aluminum (and other similar natural elements) in the water here, not only making the water milky, but also leaving deposits of whiteness on the bedrock underneath and along the waterways. The milky water also seals up the walls of underground natural streams, forming tubes – along which water flows. Pressure builds, and eventually it is shot out of the ground like a fountain:

Read on…

One fine (shock, horror!) August morning in Southern Kamchatka last year, we awoke at the foot of the wonderful Koshelev volcano (shocking awesomeness). Then we heard the nearby – aluminum laden – streams a-trickling (shocking, but true). Yes, there was so much shock to our collective systems we did all nearly faint, but we pulled through, fully conscious – just…).

Read on…