Kamchatka is a peninsula located at the eastern end of Russia, in a place whose remoteness has helped preserve its great natural beauty. Foreigners were not allowed to visit during the Soviet era, and even today few tourists venture to this far-flung corner of the world
Limited infrastructure and challenging weather make the journey demanding, but its attractions are immense: volcanic phenomena, extraordinary landscapes and abundant wildlife with the brown bear as its emblematic species. A true immersion in wild nature.
Author Javier Pulido
Every year, between mid-June and October the river literally boils with a crowd of salmon that go back to the riverbed to spawn, sharing space with trout and other freshwater species. Nature follows its cycle undisturbed by humans: bears follow the salmon, finding a vast food supply in these waters to satisfy their appetite before winter.
The lakes Kurilskoye, at the southern end of the peninsula, and Dvukhyurtochnoye, north of Kozyrevsk , are two of the best places to watch bears in the wild. The rivers of the south of the peninsula of Kamchatka also offer opportunities for observation and are accessible overland in off-road vehicles. Throughout Opala River there are fishing camps that provide ideal bases for seeing bears and discovering extraordinary wilderness.
Photo: Silvia Alonso
The peninsula’s volcanic region is on the list of sites declared UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
Around the Kamchatka River valley are some 160 volcanoes, about thirty of them still active. The most accessible are Koriakski, Avachinski and Kizielski, which are, as locals define them, "the three of us".
⇒ Learn about our trip: Bears and volcanoes on the Kamchatka peninsula