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An
Introduction to Kamchatka
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
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Vilucha Volcano, Kamchatka |
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.
Kamchatka
in 5 Easy Steps:
1. Read through the WayToRussia.Net Kamchatka
guide.
2. Choose the tour you like
and send the request.
3. Book a plane
ticket to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky via WayToRussia.Net
4. Buy as many films for your camera as you can afford and put
it in your backpack.
5. Get all the confirmations and leave for Kamchatka.
Why Go There?
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
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Geyser, Kamchatka |
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.
What To Do at Kamchatka:
1. Trekking around. It can be one day or several
days trip from the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
2. Kayaking and rafting. There are many rivers
with the different levels of difficulty for professionals and novices.
3. Fishing.
4. Hunting.
5. Mountaineering.
6. Cycling.
7. Bathing in the hot springs.
8. Swimming in a cold Pacific ocean at the famous
Black sand beach.
9. Watch the whales just in 2 hours voyage from
the port.
10. Snowboarding or heliskiing.
11. Exploring the unique nature.
12. and more…
When to Go:
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
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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.
Average temperature in the area of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Month: Jan Feb May Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Celcius: -8 -8 -5 -1 4 9 12 13 10 4 -2 -6
Fahrenheit: 18 18 23 30 39 48 54 55 50 39 28 21
The Nature of Kamchatka:
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
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Flowers at Kamchatka |
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.
The People of Kamchatka
Kamchatka
peninsula is quite deserted. There are just 440.000 people living
over there (360.000 of that number live in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky).
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Fishermen, Kamchatka |
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.
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