Tag Archives: kamchatka

Kamchatka-2024 – pt. 5: Kizimen… now and then.

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…

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

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?

Kamchatka-2024 – Part 3: Getting volcanic kicks – viewing both the Tolbachiks!

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…

Kamchatka-2024 – Part 2: Studyonaya River Canyon – where you keep your ears to the ground.

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…

Kamchatka-2024 – Part 1: The big-three volcanoes of the Klyuchevsky group.

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 BezymiannyKamen, 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…

The colors of Kamchatka: after orange landscapes, milky-white waterfalls and fountains.

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…

Koshelev volcano – we made the peak, but ridge-walking – no.

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…