Kamchatka is known as the magic land of volcanoes and geysers. There are just few areas in the world where geysers can be found and it is generally. accepted that Kamchatka is the most beautiful one. Located closer to Los Angeles rather than to Moscow, Kamchatka peninsula can be reached by air only. Simply said, it is more convenient for Americans than for Moscovites to travel there. Kamchatka was closed for tourists for military reasons, since Russians explored it in the 17th century. Half of the territory of the peninsula is still controlled by the Army. However nowadays most the main tourist sights: volcanoes, hot springs, Valley of geysers are open for the foreign tourists. Right now you have the unique possibility to explore Kamchatka – don’t miss the chance.
View when driving from Yelisovo airport to
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
This land is a true phenomenon. Firstly, it is really aged country. One can feel the timeless power of the nature there, staying in the sight of the thousands years old volcanoes. At the same time Kamchatka is a runaway youngster. The land is still full of the energy, which is running out to the annual earthquakes and frequent convulsions. The breath of Kamchatka can be felt in the pulsating hot springs. Kamchatka breathes like a marathon runner. I hope it won’t stop running soon. The number of reasons to explore Kamchatka is equal to the number of people visiting it. The fishermen are going there to catch the salmons, the hunters – to fight with the bears. The scientists are coming to produce unique experiments. The alpinists are trying to pass the routes, which have never been passed before. The tourists are coming to see all these famous volcanoes and geysers. These visitors are so different, but they are similar in a way. Any person who has ever been at Kamchatka wants to come back to this Earth best destination. I guess, Kamchatka is an Edam for a Man – the rough and uncomfortable cool land.
The best time to go to Kamchatka is a period from July to September. There is no whole Kamchatka weather forecast. It can be cold in Heysers, Kamchatka in Russia. Heysers, Kamchatka the mountains while you are swimming in the warm shore bays. As most of the sights accessible at Kamchatka are in the area of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city, we provided the average temperatures info in this city. Please note, that nights are cold even in the summer time (I guess, you’ll need up to –10 C sleeping bag if you plan to sleep in the tent). The weather is very changeable. You have to be prepared to any weather conditions. Speaking about July-September period - one should has equipment to feel comfortable if it is +18 or –7. If you are going to Kamchatka be prepared for the rains. My friends and I spent two weeks at Kamchatka (end of July, 2001) and it was raining 5 days out of 14. Besides morning dew in the mountains is like a small rain itself.
Kamchatka is a peninsula at the north-east of Russia. It is washed by Bering sea and Sea of Okhotsk of Pacific ocean. There are 28 active volcanoes and about 160 extinct ones. There are about 200 mineral water springs and 160 of it are the hot water springs. Most of the volcanoes, hot water springs and geysers are located at the eastern part of the peninsula. There are more than 14000 rivers while only two rivers are considerably large – river Kamchatka and river Penjina. Most of the rivers remain open during the wintertime. There are about 4 hundreds glaciers at Kamchatka. Most of them are located in the mountains and accessible by the helicopters only. The fauna of Kamchatka is typical for this type of climate. The bobcats, sables, minks, wolfs, foxes, brown bears and many other animals can be found at Kamchatka. The sandpipers and seagulls as many other typicall birds of northern territories can me met there. The ocean is full of cods, flounders and different types of crabs. The different types of the salmon dominate in the rivers. The flora is quite usual for northern territories either. However there is a phenomenon of giant plants. In the area of volcanoes and hot springs the usual plants grow to the giant ones. It remains all the same, but the size is multiplied.
Kamchatka has no ground connection with the mainland. No railways or roads lead to Kamchatka from the rest of Eurasia. The Navy and fishermen mainly use the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There are no regular passenger ferries to anywhere from this port. The only possibility to get to Kamchatka or leave it is the air flight. The airport is located in 20 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the village called Elyzovo. So the airport called “Elyzovo” airport. There are daily flights to Moscow, several flights a week to Siberia, Saint Petersburg and Alaska. To book your flight, you can use WayToRussia.Net Airline Tickets reservation service. It is hard to get around Kamchatka by yourself. There are two reasons – permissions required and the lack of public transport. Most of the area of Kamchatka is the closed and secured area. Some of it
Kamchatka peninsula is quite deserted. There are just 440.000 people living over there (360.000 of that number live in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky). Most of the people work for the Army or employed in the fishing industry. Russians came at Kamchatka in the 17th century. They colonized this land quickly and soon become the dominant ethnos. Nowadays natives form only 3.5% of the total population. The native ethnos: Koryaky, Etelmeny, Chukchy, Eveny, Aleuty. Their traditional way of life was influenced much by the industrialization and Russian culture, so most of them lead usual Russian way of life. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the capital and only city at the peninsula. Built like a base for Russian Navy the city has poor infrastructure. However the only airport at Kamchatka is situated near the city, so it is a starting and final point for any tourist visiting Kamchatka.
The locals call the city just Petropavlovsk or even PK. It is very easy to move round the city. There is the main street leading through Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky along the bay all the big shops and sights can be found there. Most of the offices and banks and shops open from 10.00 to 18.00. Meanwhile, there are many daily shops. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky provides few possibilities to promenade with the pleasure. Kamchatka do. However if you up to walk round the city just take the main street and you will see all the main sights. All the main squares in soviet towns were called after Lenin. But for the last 10 years almost all of them were renamed and redecorated. Things seems to be the same in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, there is still Lenin’s square with the monument of Lenin in the center of it. Local skaters occupied a small area just near the square. To get there face the monument and go to the right, pass building of the local administration and the skaters hub will be at your left. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is an ocean port, gaunt along the shore, but there is just single 200 meters long embankment. There are several 24h cafes over there. The only way to get to Kamchatka is the airway and the only airport at Kamchatka is in the village called Elyzovo in 20km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The only public mean of transport in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a bus transport.The green municipal buses operate all over the city. There is always a conductor inside the bus. There are also privately owned buses of different colors and models. They are operating at the same routes as city buses. The most popular mean of transport is the minibus (locals call it “mykreek”) – privately owned minibuses. These minibuses operate at the same routes as city buses. So if you want to stop the passing by minibus wave with your hand and don’t forget to tell to the driver where to stop. There are several hotels in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and no hostels. Hotels are usually full in the high season, so you better reserve the room beforehand. All the hotels accept cash only, rubles. Do not leave valuable things and money in the rooms, stealing is spread over. There are several restaurants and cafes in the city, generally eating out is not popular in the city. All the hotels propose own cafes, where you can eat.
As you see, it’s possible to do and see a lot here on the cheap, especially in winter, and with a bit of time and courage you can get to some extremely remote places that have very rarely been visited by travellers before. However, it is of course true that hiring a helicopter will get you better views and photographs of Kamchatka’s stunning natural beauty, as well as getting you out to some places that are almost impossible to access on your own. However, Kamchatka’s people are extremely friendly, and I feel that even without a helicopter you will come away with lots of happy memories and a better understanding of the people and place than if you had spent your entire time in the air!
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with volcanoes
Avachinsky
The best time to go to Kamchatka is a period from July to September. There is no whole Kamchatka weather forecast. It can be cold in Heysers, Kamchatka in Russia. Heysers, Kamchatka the mountains while you are swimming in the warm shore bays. As most of the sights accessible at Kamchatka are in the area of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city, we provided the average temperatures info in this city. Please note, that nights are cold even in the summer time (I guess, you’ll need up to –10 C sleeping bag if you plan to sleep in the tent). The weather is very changeable. You have to be prepared to any weather conditions. Speaking about July-September period - one should has equipment to feel comfortable if it is +18 or –7. If you are going to Kamchatka be prepared for the rains. My friends and I spent two weeks at Kamchatka (end of July, 2001) and it was raining 5 days out of 14. Besides morning dew in the mountains is like a small rain itself.
Cliffs “Three brothers” in the
Avachinskaya bay
Kamchatka is a peninsula at the north-east of Russia. It is washed by Bering sea and Sea of Okhotsk of Pacific ocean. There are 28 active volcanoes and about 160 extinct ones. There are about 200 mineral water springs and 160 of it are the hot water springs. Most of the volcanoes, hot water springs and geysers are located at the eastern part of the peninsula. There are more than 14000 rivers while only two rivers are considerably large – river Kamchatka and river Penjina. Most of the rivers remain open during the wintertime. There are about 4 hundreds glaciers at Kamchatka. Most of them are located in the mountains and accessible by the helicopters only. The fauna of Kamchatka is typical for this type of climate. The bobcats, sables, minks, wolfs, foxes, brown bears and many other animals can be found at Kamchatka. The sandpipers and seagulls as many other typicall birds of northern territories can me met there. The ocean is full of cods, flounders and different types of crabs. The different types of the salmon dominate in the rivers. The flora is quite usual for northern territories either. However there is a phenomenon of giant plants. In the area of volcanoes and hot springs the usual plants grow to the giant ones. It remains all the same, but the size is multiplied.
Lenin square at Petropavlovsk-Kamcahtkasky city
Kamchatka has no ground connection with the mainland. No railways or roads lead to Kamchatka from the rest of Eurasia. The Navy and fishermen mainly use the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There are no regular passenger ferries to anywhere from this port. The only possibility to get to Kamchatka or leave it is the air flight. The airport is located in 20 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the village called Elyzovo. So the airport called “Elyzovo” airport. There are daily flights to Moscow, several flights a week to Siberia, Saint Petersburg and Alaska. To book your flight, you can use WayToRussia.Net Airline Tickets reservation service. It is hard to get around Kamchatka by yourself. There are two reasons – permissions required and the lack of public transport. Most of the area of Kamchatka is the closed and secured area. Some of it
Sovetskaya street at residential area in
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatkasky
Kamchatka peninsula is quite deserted. There are just 440.000 people living over there (360.000 of that number live in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky). Most of the people work for the Army or employed in the fishing industry. Russians came at Kamchatka in the 17th century. They colonized this land quickly and soon become the dominant ethnos. Nowadays natives form only 3.5% of the total population. The native ethnos: Koryaky, Etelmeny, Chukchy, Eveny, Aleuty. Their traditional way of life was influenced much by the industrialization and Russian culture, so most of them lead usual Russian way of life. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the capital and only city at the peninsula. Built like a base for Russian Navy the city has poor infrastructure. However the only airport at Kamchatka is situated near the city, so it is a starting and final point for any tourist visiting Kamchatka.
Old light house nearby Petropavlovsk port.
The locals call the city just Petropavlovsk or even PK. It is very easy to move round the city. There is the main street leading through Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky along the bay all the big shops and sights can be found there. Most of the offices and banks and shops open from 10.00 to 18.00. Meanwhile, there are many daily shops. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky provides few possibilities to promenade with the pleasure. Kamchatka do. However if you up to walk round the city just take the main street and you will see all the main sights. All the main squares in soviet towns were called after Lenin. But for the last 10 years almost all of them were renamed and redecorated. Things seems to be the same in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, there is still Lenin’s square with the monument of Lenin in the center of it. Local skaters occupied a small area just near the square. To get there face the monument and go to the right, pass building of the local administration and the skaters hub will be at your left. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is an ocean port, gaunt along the shore, but there is just single 200 meters long embankment. There are several 24h cafes over there. The only way to get to Kamchatka is the airway and the only airport at Kamchatka is in the village called Elyzovo in 20km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
A part of the beach area in Avacha Bay,
Kamchatka peninsular
The only public mean of transport in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a bus transport.The green municipal buses operate all over the city. There is always a conductor inside the bus. There are also privately owned buses of different colors and models. They are operating at the same routes as city buses. The most popular mean of transport is the minibus (locals call it “mykreek”) – privately owned minibuses. These minibuses operate at the same routes as city buses. So if you want to stop the passing by minibus wave with your hand and don’t forget to tell to the driver where to stop. There are several hotels in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and no hostels. Hotels are usually full in the high season, so you better reserve the room beforehand. All the hotels accept cash only, rubles. Do not leave valuable things and money in the rooms, stealing is spread over. There are several restaurants and cafes in the city, generally eating out is not popular in the city. All the hotels propose own cafes, where you can eat.
As you see, it’s possible to do and see a lot here on the cheap, especially in winter, and with a bit of time and courage you can get to some extremely remote places that have very rarely been visited by travellers before. However, it is of course true that hiring a helicopter will get you better views and photographs of Kamchatka’s stunning natural beauty, as well as getting you out to some places that are almost impossible to access on your own. However, Kamchatka’s people are extremely friendly, and I feel that even without a helicopter you will come away with lots of happy memories and a better understanding of the people and place than if you had spent your entire time in the air!
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