Bear Watching at Kurilskoe Lake

Highlights: Fabulous Kurilskoye Lake is located in the Yuzhno-Kamchatsky Reserve and in August this is the place where the bears come to feed on the abundant red salmon and the ripening berries. After a fantastic helicopter ride over the southern group of volcanoes, you will land at the Scientific Station and proceed to the Grassy Point Lodge, which offers cozy and comfortable accommodations while you are in bear country. With your naturalist guide hike, boat and sit on the deck of the Grassy Point Lodge observing bears, birds and other wildlife at the Yuzhno-Kamchatsky Reserve. You will explore the most dramatic ecosystem of the peninsula while staying in a wonderful comfortable lodge.

Logistical details: Arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky through Vladivostok. Spend one night at Martha's B & B before you fly out to Kurilskoye Lake. The lodge offers three bedrooms with 2-4 bunk beds per room with outside bathroom facilities. Spend three days at Kurilskoye Lake. This is followed by four days of hiking and camping at the Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanoes. Back in Vladivostok, spend the day at Victor Yudin’s protected area and observe the Amur Tiger in its habitat. This trip may be combined with other activities either in the Primorsky Krai or Kamchatka. Weather conditions can be rainy with temperatures between +10 and 15 degrees Celsius. Travelers need to be comfortable under rudimentary conditions.
Operated by ExploreKamchatka

Introduction

Kamchatka is, one of the last places on this earth, yet to be discovered. For travelers this means a wealth of new discoveries on a peninsula covered with expanses of vast wilderness and globally important biodiversity. Kamchatka, a volcanic and biologically diverse territory is included in the list of 200 World Heritage sites that was created by World Wildlife Fund. Remote and difficult to access during soviet times, the peninsula now offers many great opportunities for eco-educational tours that focus on its rich natural resources.

Kurilskoye Lake, one of the largest lakes on Kamchatka was formed by a volcanic eruption. Kurilskoye Lake is also the largest spawning ground for sockeye salmon and consequently attracts a large concentration of brown bears. The long spawning season also attract a diverse array of magnificent eagles, such as the Steller Sea Eagle, and White-Tailed and Golden Eagles.

Itinerary

Day 1, Thursday
US- Seoul
Depart from the US to Seoul Korea. You will cross the International Date Line

Day 2, Friday
Seoul

Day 3, Saturday
Seoul-Vladivostok
Upon arrival in Vladivostok, you will go through customs and immigration. Afterwards you will be transferred by bus to downtown Vladivostok. You will pass through several dacha communities. This area, the Satornaya District accommodates also a variety of health spas. The city's sky line is impressive and so is the traffic. Your home for your stay in Vladivostok will be the Hotel Versailles located in the middle of this very city. After check-in we take a stroll to acquaint you with your surroundings. The day will end with a light dinner. (D)

Day 4, Sunday
Vladivostok
You'll spend the day exploring the city, its wonderful architecture and its many highlights. The city has an interesting historical background as a place of wealth and cultural riches, enjoyed by a multicultural society. You will have lunch in one of the wonderful café's in the downtown area, a must for those who cannot do without their lattes. In the evening you enjoy a great dinner in the oldest restaurant in Vladivostok, Café Nostalgia, serving by far the best borscht in town. (B,L,D)

Day 5, Monday
Vladivostok - Kamchatka
After a free morning, you return to the airport and depart on your flight to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, approximately 2 1/1 hours with a two hour time change. Upon arrival you will be transferred to Martha's B & B where you'll enjoy a wonderful home cooked meal.
(B,L,D)

Day 6, Tuesday
Kurilskoye Lake
Weather permitting you will be flying today to Kurilskoye Lake. You will be flying on an MI-8 for approximately 1 ½ hour. You'll have the opportunity to observe and photograph the southern group of volcanoes out of the portholes of the helicopter. Some of the volcanoes you might be able to see are: Viluchinsky, Gorely, Mutnosvky, Opala, Asacha, Khodutka, Ksudach and Ilyinsky. Upon arrival at Kurilskoye lake scientific station, you will receive instructions on safety techniques to be used during bear observation, photographing and boat trips. You will also meet your guides and get acquainted with your accommodations. After lunch at the lodge, you will walk to the observation deck to watch bears and later to go to the Scientific Station to learn more about salmon spawning. In the evening there will be an open discussion of today's and tomorrow's activities

Day 7-9, Wednesday thru Friday
Kurilskoye Lake
You will participate in walking around and boating on Kurilskoye Lake, all activities geared to observe as many bears as possible. Kurilskoye Lake also offers one of the highest populations of raptors in the world. Approximately 300-400 Steller Sea Eagles, 100-150 White-Tailed Eagles and more then 50 Golden Eagles can be found around the lake. Also thousand of ducks spend the whole season in the lake's ice free water. In the late afternoon of the 7th, we fly back to Yelizovo and overnight in Martha's B & B (B,L,D)

Day 10, Saturday
Mutnovsky
Drive by truck to Mutnovsky Volcano. In July travelers will likely have to hike a long way to get to the area where it is possible to ascend Mutnovsky due to either snow or formation of snowmelt lakes preventing the truck from getting through. The tarred road lies along the west side of the flat valley floor. Near the end of the farmed land, a dirt road begins; this provides access to the Mutnovsky area. From the road there are views east to the splendid but inactive cone of Viluchinsky volcano, and north along the glaciated trough of the Paratunka Valley. The road climbs gently in a lovely environment of open mountain tundra. We stop at a viewpoint on the broad plateau east of Gorely; the shield volcano of Gorely lies to the west, beyond the rim of its modest caldera wall; the ice-clad ramparts of the Mutnovsky Volcano lie further away to the south; the Viluchinsky cone rises to the east. The truck will go as far as they can.

Your campsite is in a beautiful and remote area, with the steep slopes of Mutnovsky rising to the south and the gentler basaltic slopes of Gorely to the north. A short walk to the south reaches the rim of the canyon that drains out of Mutnovsky; it contains some fine waterfalls cut into the volcanic rocks, but its floor is choked with snow many meters deep. Dinner is at camp, and then it probably will be an early night in your tents

Day 11, Sunday
Mutnovsky
The walk to the crater is a single trail and back. No one should wander off alone, because the grounds are very unstable and potentially hazardous. The walk is nearly 7 km from the camp site with a rise of less than 600m into the main caldera. The truck goes as far as possible. On the way you pass the two hills of Skalisty and Dyugorby, which are actually very old volcanoes. Beyond the trail one can observe past old bore holes spouting steam. The track goes through the pass between Mutnovsky and Dyugorby from where Asacha, Opala and Gorely volcanoes can be seen to the left. This is an incredible sight. You then traverse through a mix of rough tundra, lava and banks of ash and pumice.

The walk up the gorge is largely on banks of hard snow and firm ice that has accumulated in winter avalanches off the gorge walls. Much of the surface is covered in wind-blown ash. The caldera's eastern glacier lies ahead where it melts out on a steep rocky slope, aided by a series of fumaroles. You climb the slopes of volcanic ash and glacial till and pass besides various geothermal vents; these include fumaroles and mud pools. A lake is sometimes dammed up behind the glacier; at other times it drains through the ice, leaving a flatbed of reworked ash pitted by boiling mud pools. Streams emerge from the snow and ice fields and flow back under the glacier toe. You have lunch on the rim of the caldera, take pictures and enjoy the view. In the afternoon you return to your campsite.
B, L, D --- Camp Site

Day 12, Monday, August 13
Gorely Volcano
Depart the camp after breakfast towards Gorely. From the lake flats, walk up the volcano, climbing steadily to gain 750 m in height. You trek over a mixture of rough grassy tundra with very low dwarf willow and bare stripes of basaltic lava. Some lava flow structures are recognizable and there are also patches of volcanic ash redistributed by the winds. Higher up, long gently graded snow-fields provide the easiest route up (and certainly the best way to come back down). The first large crater contains a cold lake about 100 m below; its surface has ice floes from a small glacier on its internal slope. The walls of all the craters expose profiles through thick sequences of lava flows. You will have a picnic lunch on the edge of the crater.

Over 100 m down, a hot acidic lake has active fumaroles around its margin and beneath the surface. The recent eruptions of Gorely have been largely steam events produced when vents heat up and increase their output.

Day 13, Tuesday
Gorely-Yelizovo
After a free morning, perhaps spend on some private hiking, return back along the outward route to the trucks by the lake. The trucks head back out of the Gorely caldera and return to Explore Kamchatka's B & B
B, L, D --- Explore Kamchatka's B & B

Day 14, Wednesday
Valley of Geysers
Today weather permitting you will depart for the Valley of Geysers, located to the north in the Kronotsky Biosphere Nature Preserve. This is a mini Yellowstone, but much more picturesquely located. You will be flying over an incredible volcanic landscape with fuming volcanoes and bright blue colored crater lakes. While in the valley you will spend about three hours walking its many wooden walkways to observe its various spouting geysers, fumeroles and hot steaming rivers. After a Russian lunch in the lodge in the valley, you'll return back to Yelizovo. If the weather is not fit for flying, you'll spend a day exploring the vicinity of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, visiting the local lore museum, some of the souvenir stores, taking a bath in the Paratunka hot springs and ending your day with a final dinner hosted by a local dacha owner. (B,L,D)

Day 15, Thursday
Alternative day
Reserve day for Valley of Geysers or alternative activities as cited above.

Day 16, Friday
Kamchatka-Vladivostok
Today we'll return to Vladivostok early in the morning. Upon our arrival, on our way to our hotel, we'll stop at the Arboretum. After lunch close to our hotel, you'll have a free afternoon and evening to explore the town. (B,L)

Day 17, Saturday
Spassk-Lake Khanka
After an early morning breakfast, you depart for a four hour drive in the countryside to Victor Yudin's protected habitat near Spassk, where three to five Amur Tigers roam a specially set aside territory. These tigers have either been found as cubs without mothers, or have been born in the protected area. This is the only way to observe the beautiful Amur tiger, more or less in the wild, and we are sure that you will enjoy it. In the early afternoon we drive to Lake Khanka, where we will stay in the reserve cabins and make an early evening boat ride. (B,L,D)

Day 18, Sunday
Lake Khanka-Vladivostok
After watching birds early in the morning, we depart for the city of Vladivostok. We have lunch on the way. The remainder of the day is free until we meet in the early evening for our farewell dinner. (B,L,D)

Day 19, Monday
Vladivostok - Seoul
After breakfast, the morning is free. We depart for the airport at 1:00pm, have lunch there and board our aircraft for Seoul, Korea.

Details

Hotel in Vladivostok
Hotel Versailles
10 Svetlanskaya Street, Vladivostok

With its prime location on the Amursky Bay and close to the downtown are, the hotel is situated in a perfect location for both business as well as leisure clients. The hotel is close to the downtown business center, shopping, entertainment and the railway station.

The Versailles Hotel offers comfortable rooms with all western amenities. The Lobby is elegant and usually accommodates an excellent exhibition of locate paintings. The restaurant is stylish and offers great food. There is also a nice little souvenir store in the lobby

Explore Kamchatka B & B
Martha Madsen
41 Bolshakova Street, Yelizovo
Kamchatka Region 684007
Telephone: 7 - 41521 - 2 6601

Martha originally is from Alaska and she and her Russian husband have been living in Kamchatka for many years. She has worked with numerous tour companies as a tour coordinator and is very knowledgeable about Kamchatka.

Included:

• All transportation, including the flight to and from Kamchatka, helicopter and ground transportation, transfers, etc.
• Accommodations in B & B, cabins and tents
• All excursions as noted in the itinerary
• An English speaking knowledgeable Tour Manager
• All meals as noted in the itinerary
• All accommodations
• All other entrance fees to preserves and reserves

Excluded:

• International airfare including the flight from Seoul, Korea to Vladivostok
• Items of personal nature, such as communication, laundry expenses and liquor when not provided by tour management

Payment Policy

Refund Policy

Visas

A visa is required for Russia. We will process your visa for you, as it requires extensive paperwork. You will receive a visa application and information as soon as we have received your deposit. Visa fees for two week processing are $120, not including any express handling charges.

Pre- or post itineraries

We will be more than happy to add additional days in Russia both pre and post to the offered itinerary.

Important Notes

This itinerary takes you to one of the most remote parts of the world. All though services have improved in the last couple of years, we will encounter problems with delays, bureaucratic conditions, bad road conditions, uneven surfaces and steps and unavailability of public bathrooms. Please also note that weather circumstances may change each day's activity as to take advantage of good weather.

This program requires flexibility and good humor. Every effort will be made to follow the itinerary; however there is always the possibility of changes

We work only with tour operators who adhere to the following basic ecotourism principles.

Our Ecotourism Guidelines

1. Make tourism and Conservation compatible
2. Support the preservation of wilderness and biodiversity.
3. Use natural resources in a sustainable way
4. Minimize consumption, waste and pollution
5. Respect local cultures
6. Respect historic and scientific sites
7. Communities should benefit from tourism
8. Trained staff are the key to responsible tourism
9. Make your trip an opportunity to learn about the destination and its people
10. Follow safety rules

Weather

Summer season is usually warm and sunny in Kamchatka... However, we have no control over weather patterns and so one always has to be prepared for all types of weather

Please be prepared by wearing layered clothing, take woolen or silk underwear and certainly raingear and excellent hiking boots or shoes.

Need more information, please contact:
Aaltje van Zoelen
Managing Partner
World Wise Ecotourism Network
1321 W. Emerson Street #6
Seattle, WA 98119
Phone: 206-282-0824
Cell Phone: 206-288-6778
Fax: 206-281-4417
E-mail: info@traveleastrussia.com
Alternative e-mail: iaito@worldnet.att.net

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