Tag Archives: kamchatka-2024

Hi folks!

You’ve had volcanoes and geysers and out-of-this-world scenery; now for the more practical side to life in Kamchatka – where to bed down of a night!…

First, let me state the obvious: Kamchatka’s no resort. It has long beaches, but the ocean’s always cold; and Kamchatka’s also hard – and expensive – to get to given it’s so remote. Accordingly, there aren’t the corresponding hundreds of large chain hotels dotting its coastline. But, obviously, there have to be places to stay – and there are; they’re just more modest than your Marriott’s and Hiltons, etc. Nevertheless, the places to stay and the level of service at them is decent, and getting better by the year – as we keep finding out ourselves…

Our first overnight is practically always in or near the village of Paratunka, not far from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – here. Why? Because it’s built upon magical hot springs: hot, pure mineral water on tap and in the pools of all the guesthouses in the village – which range from the bare basics to rather the luxurious…

This year we spent the night in the village next door to Paratunka called Termalny (Thermal). And here’s the guesthouse we stayed in:

And here’s its naturally-heated pool. Yes – new. Yes – very nice! And just look at the view!…

Read on…

Onward – southward, from Bakening in the direction of Lake Tolmachova – where we were to stay overnight next…

The scenery – once again – magical:

Read on…

Hi folks!

Kamchatka – the remote peninsula that just keeps on giving (you more and more OMG-astonishing-bewildering-meditationing-mindblowing impressions and sensations). But you know that already if you’re not new to this here blog of mine. If you are new – read on: you’ll get the drift in a single post – this one!…

And so, onward we choppered – along the Sreddiny Range after our brief landing on Khangar. Next up – as you’ve already guessed from the title: the volcano called Bakening. No – not Báke-ening, but Bakéning, so you can banish images of either baking a cake, or frying streaky bacon with your full English right now – before you work up an untimely appetite!…

[Returning from the kitchen…] Now where was I? Ah yes – Bakéning volcano…

Read on…

Hi folks!

The Kamchatkan peninsula is where the North American and Pacific tectonic plates meet and constantly rub against each other – warping, destroying, and rebuilding the territory. This process leads to all sorts of natural wonders – both underground and on the surface…

Now, the volcanoes we’d already checked out on our Kamchatka-2024 trip (the Klyuchevsky group, Kizimen, Tolbachik, the Uzon caldera, the Valley of Geysers) happen to be rather new creations of nature. The Valley of Geysers is only several thousand years old (judging by the geyserite, apparently), and the mentioned volcanoes and others nearby are also mere wee nippers: merely tens of thousands of years old – not millions, and certainly not tens of millions like, for example, the Himalayas.

Thus, the east coast of Kamchatka and all the volcanisms along it I’ve already shown you are all relative new kids on the block peninsula. But down the middle of Kamchatka is the so-called Sredinny Range (sredinny = middle) – where there was volcanic activity hundreds of thousands of years ago – if not millions…

And it’s beautiful – incredibly so. And that’s where we were headed next…

Read on…

Fifteen kilometers southwest of Maly Semyachik is one of the two largest active volcanoes in Kamchatka (the other is Shiveluch) – Karymsky. Being so big and active, it’s a must-see – but only in fine weather. Alas, this year we simply flew past it a since – as the title of this post states – the weather wasn’t great, plus Karymsky’s peak was shrouded in cloud…

I’d long dreamed of one day sitting on the bank of Karymsky Lake, located next to Karymsky volcano, on a sunny day to be able to take a photo of the volcano’s reflection on the lake’s surface – but this year it wasn’t to be. Next time. Still, even on this overcast day the views weren’t so bad – albeit without the reflection off the lake…

No – that’s not Karymsky smoking; it’s cloud cover ->

But Karymsky is a known – inveterate! – smoker. Shouldn’t he have given up already? Here he is a few years ago – caught behind the bike sheds ->

The shape of the cone up top keeps changing as a result of the frequent eruptions…

Here it is in 2006:

Here in 2012:

April 2013 (note how one side of the upper cone is warmer than the other) ->

2021 (the cone covered in its own ash) ->

Also 2021:

PS: To give you the full picture – between Karymsky and Maly Semyachik winds the Karymsky River (whose source is Karymsky Lake). Yes – names tend to repeat each other round here…

The river’s cut out a canyon and dozens of waterfalls; here are two of them:

And that’s all for today, folks. But I’ll be back soon with more tales from the Kamchatka-2024 side…

All the photos from our trip are here.

Route 264 and the Valley of Geysers and Uzon caldera – done.

Next up on our Kamchatka-2024 summer vacation – Maly (Little) Semyachik – one of the three Semyachik-family volcanoes (the other two being Bolshoi (Big) Semyachik and Tsentralny (Central) Semyachik. So – why Maly, if it’s the little one? Actually, little or no – Maly is still an oh-my-grandiose-and-gorgeous volcano. See for yourself! ->

Inside its oval-shaped crater there sits that there beautiful lake, which measures around 800×1000 meters. I’d have described the lake just now as bright-turquoise colored – if it stayed bright turquoise all the time, but it doesn’t. Depending on (i) the particular acidity of its water fluid at a particular point in time, and (ii) how much light there is (in turn dependent on the time of day, the season of the year, and the weather) at that same particular point in time, it changes color: a chameleon lake! ->

Read on…

You’ve had my report on our six-day Uzon trek, but I hardly told you anything about where we ended up on the last day of the trek – the Valley of Geysers. Now, with a bit more time on my hands, I can collect up my thoughts and impressions thereupon, and share them with you at a gentler, more meditative tempo…

First – a few photos. Bubbling, hissing, spurting, steaming, pouring – all present and correct, sir:

Read on…

Onward – along Route 264. Ahead lie difficulties and hardships, raptures and amazements, volcanisms and bubbling-springisms. In short, what we were here for – what we love!…

And it all started here:

This is the estuary of the Semyachik river – a few kilometers from the tiny settlement of Zhupanovo (so tiny it’s not even on the Google map: somewhere here; oh – it is on Yandex Maps though) on the Pacific coast:

Read on…

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…

Read on…

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

Read on…