Bears of Kamchatka: the Kuril Lake

Trip type: adventure and learning value

Duration: 2 days / 1 night 
Number of participants: 6

Itinerary: VItyaz-Aero heliport - Ozyorny check-point at the Kuril lake - Travyanoy check-point at the Kuril lake – Ksudach volcano – Khodutka thermal springs - VItyaz-Aero heliport

Difficulty level: no special requirements
Comfort level: tents pitched at guarded territory
Catering: kitchen and canteen 

Why go: 
1. View Kamchatka’s landscapes from helicopter.
2. Observe Kamchatkan brown bears from close-up.
3. Learn about the unique ecosystem of the Kuril lake.
4. Watch sock-eye salmon from the largest population in Eurasia run and spawn.
5. View volcanic landscapes and bathe in Kamchatka’s largest hot spring which is actually a thermal river.

Price per person: 108 000 RUB
 

Be the bears’ guest. Tour programme

Day 1. Fly to the Kuril lake
Transfer to heliport. Make sure every participant has packed his passport. Set off for the Kuril lake. Tour fish-counting machinery installed where the sock-eye salmon and brown bears are especially numerous.

Security is provided by armed personnel of the South Kamchatka Reserve. Observe the bears fish and salmon spawn. Hot dinner. Climb Domashnyaya hill (2 hours of hiking) for a bird’s-eye view of the Kuril lake. Return to the camp. Watch the bears pass between lake and camp. Supper. Rest.

Kuril Lake. Untouched wilderness at the extreme south of the peninsula incessantly attacked by the Pacific from the east and Sea of Okhotsk from the west. Veiled from the eyes of man, this patch of primeval nature is protected by government as the South Kamchatka Reserve.

Bear fishing is some sight to see with up to two hundred bears simultaneously seen at the banks of the lake, chasing salmon in exaltation, playing with each other, raising clouds of crimson caviar mixed with splashing water – or, having eaten themselves full, leisurely resting under trees.

Come to the Kuril Lake to become part of this powerhouse of an ecosystem. And believe us, when it’s over, you will want to come back …

Day 2. Boat to the Kuril Lake. Fly to the Ksudach volcano and Khodutka hot springs

Breakfast. A motor-boat cruise on the lake, calling at another check-point of the reserve, named Mys Travyanoy. Hike to the observation tower near the river Khakytsyn. Watch bears fish. Return to the Ozyorny, hot dinner.

Fly to the Ksudach caldera. Walk to the lake with heated beach. Take pictures against the caldera lake. Fly to the Khodutka hot springs. Bathe in a whole river of thermal water, rest. Fly to the Vityaz Aero heliport.

Ksudach volcano is located in southern Kamchatka and stands 1079m tall, shaped like a truncated cone with the base 18 x 22km wide and crowned by a sprawling caldera which consists of several smaller calderas and differently aged volcanic structures. The young Shtyubel cone, raising 77m above surrounding area, is found in the northern part and contains a lake. There are also small lakes in the caldera’s eastern and north-eastern atrios. The main caldera measures 7 x 9km, and its western half is elevated 100 to 200m above the other one. 

The 2087-metre tall Khodutka volcano stands 130km away from Petropavlovsk. The similarly named thermal springs can be found on a large, flat area surrounded by a terrace overgrown with birches, not far from the volcano’s north face. The magma chamber shared by two volcanoes, Priyomysh and Khodutka, heats subterranean waters that rise from the numerous washouts to form a little river. More springs that can be seen downstream from there join the river, eventually causing it to expand up to 30m in width.

Price includes:

• transfer to heliport;
• helicopter ride;
• guidance;
• chef’s services and catering;
• group equipment rental (tents, kitchenware, etc.);
• entry fees.

Price does not include:

• alcoholic drinks, tobacco products;
• personal equipment.

What to pack: