The Cream of It

Action-packed vacationing combined with comfortable lodging with thermal pools attached. You will visit the world-famous Valley of Geysers, familiarise yourself with unique aboriginal cultures, make an exciting visit to active volcanoes, and explore the Pacific Ocean on a comfortable yacht.

Duration: 9 days / 8 nights
Trip type: adventure and learning value
Planned tours for pre-assembled groups in 2017: Jun 20 to Sep 1
Tours available for ad hoc groups in 2017: Jul 17 to Jul 25, Aug 19 to Aug 27
Difficulty level: no above-average level of physical fitness expected, children welcome
Comfort level: twins and doubles in out-of-city lodging with thermal pools attached
Catering: breakfasts and suppers in café at lodging; pre-packed or cooked dinners during excursions

Price per person: 128000 RUB

Tour programme

Day 1: Arrival 
Meet your guide at Yelizovo Airport. Transfer to hotel in Paratunka (40km). Check in at lodging (doubles and twins). Depart for Petropavlovsk for touring the city, including viewpoints, main historic objects, and fish market. Return to lodging, supper, resting time, stress relief in open-air thermal pool.

Day 2: Helicopter ride to Valley of Geysers and Uzon caldera
Depart for heliport. Fly to the Valley of Geysers, one of the most outstanding geographic discoveries of the 20th century and the pearl of Kamchatka. Marvel at the shocking beauty of dormant and active volcanoes, mountain ridges, vast expanses of taiga, rivers and lakes. The whole excursion takes six hours, including two and half hours’ flying time. Return to lodging.

Day 3: Jeep tour to Vachkazhets massif
Ride well-prepared jeeps down a winding forest road to the picturesque lake of Takhkoloch. Hike to the volcanic cirque between the two neighbouring mountains, Vachkazhets and Vachkazhtsy (700m above sea level). The hiking will take two or three hours. Pre-packed lunch available. The trek culminates near a beautiful waterfall. Sights on the way include flowers, birds, and beautiful mountain landscapes. Return to lodging.

Day 4: Rafting and fishing experience on the river Bystraya
Breakfast. Depart for the river (a three hours’ drive). Meet your whitewater guide, safety briefing. Raft-and-fish experience (char, rainbow trout, grayling). Your catch will be in the soup for dinner. Return to lodging.

Day 5: Avachinsky and Koryaksky volcanoes, climb the Camel Rock
Breakfast. Ride an all-terrain jeep to the Avacha Pass, a 45-kilometre drive along the bed of the Dry River, taking three to four hours. Hike to the Camel Rock to enjoy the breath-taking view of the Avachinsky, Koryaksky, and Zhupanovsky volcanoes. The Vilyuchinsky volcano can be seen across the Avacha Bay. To boot, cute ground squirrels made the vicinity of Camel Rock their home and often visit the tourist cabins, seeking treats. You will get a chance to meet these funny, curious critters.

Return to jeep, outdoor lunch. Return to lodging.

Day 6: Avacha Bay cruise and sea fishing
Depart to the city port. Six-hour cruise of the Avacha Bay, including viewing the panorama of Petropavlovsk, the mouth of the Avacha river, and the Avacha Bay. Tikhaya Bay, Babushkin Kamen isle, Stanitsky cape, and Three Brothers rock formations can be also seen en route.

Exciting ledgering opportunities with greenlings, lenok, and flatfish to be caught near the Three Brothers, Bezymyanny cape, Starichkov isle. View rookeries where guillemots, kittiwakes, and cormorants nest together. Dinner on board, return to lodging.

Day 7: Ethnographic tour and visit black sand beach at the Pacific coast
Breakfast, transfer to ethnographic site. Tour the reconstructed nomad camp and riding dog kennels; learn facts about Kamchatka’s indigenous nomadic peoples and their culture and history. Aborigines will tell you a plethora of amazing stories about their nomadic life, their ethnic clothes and musical instruments. Venison soup for dinner.

Transfer to the Khalaktyrsky black sand beach. Easy hike to observation tower with great views of ocean and volcanoes. Return to lodging.

Day 8: Jeep tour to Mutnovsky volcano, including a climb
Breakfast. Depart for the base of the Mutnovsky (a ride of three or four hours). Stop for taking pictures at the Vilyuchinsky pass. Hike to the active crater of the Mutnovsky volcano (taking around four hours). Cross vast, never-melting snow fields and a narrow canyon cracked through the crater. Return to lodging, supper, rest.

Day 9: Departure
Transfer to Yelizovo. Visit fish market. Transfer to airport, departure.

What to pack:  
- backpack, 40 litres (to pack your personal belongings)
- boots with lugged soles;
- spare footwear;
- windproof jacket;
- warm clothes (sweatshirt, trousers, socks, cap, gloves);
- rain cover; 
- light headgear;
- swimming gear;
- sunglasses;
- toiletries;
- repellent;
- sunscreen.

Attention! We reserve the right to alter the sequence of events while providing the entirety of the programme!