The Kamchatka Peninsula, at the eastern end of the vast Russia - the Russian population itself does not consider itself to be European or Asian, but of its own entity due to the size of the country - represents the perfect example of the kind of destinations that revolutionize our country. concept of traveling.
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| Kamchatka Peninsula Russia |
A little known but incredible destination
Although still little visited - only foreigners were allowed to access it as of 1990 - this peninsula of more than a thousand kilometers long from end to end and connected to the continent by a portion of land of less than a hundred kilometers, is one of the wildest and most beautiful places in all of Russia.
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| Kamchatka Peninsula Russia |
Almost skimming the Bering Strait, that strip of water that we always have on the far right of any world map that uses the Greenwich meridian as a central reference, the Kamchatka Peninsula swims between the Okhotsk and Bering Seas and the Pacific Ocean.
But despite being surrounded by water less by its isthmus, this peninsula is synonymous with fire. Forming part of the Pacific Ring or Ring of Fire, where the areas of greatest seismic and volcanic activity on Earth are concentrated, it is not surprising that the essence of this territory has to do with its enormous concentration of volcanoes and phenomena associated with activity. telluric.
This great density of mountains that have had or are still active and the enormous variety of volcanic cones and craters that we can find make this area at the end of Asia one of the most spectacular on the planet.
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| Kamchatka Peninsula Russia |
Volcanoes, glaciers, geysers, unique geological formations, lakes, rivers and an overwhelming nature dominated by the presence of the tundra and taiga, make this destination a privileged place.
The most fascinating places on the peninsula
With endless natural parks and protected areas, several of them declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, the offer that Kamchatka offers us is enormous.
Hundreds of volcanoes, many of them active, are the absolute protagonists of this territory. The Kliuchevskói, located practically at the height of the Kamchatka River, with its almost 4800 meters of altitude, is the one that holds the record for size - it is the highest active volcano in Eurasia -; however, the Kronotsky is undoubtedly the most famous of them all. Its perfect cone and the mirror that forms the Kronotskoye Lake at its feet make it one of the most beautiful on Earth, without any fear of being wrong.
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| Kamchatka Peninsula Russia |
In the same nature reserve where the Kronotsky volcano is located, with whom it shares the name - also called Kronóstskaya -, there is another of the essential places of Kamchatka, the one known as "Valley of Geysers", the second largest concentration of these phenomena natural from all over the world.
A space of several kilometers in length in which we will get tired of seeing geysers and hot springs.
Further south we come across the administrative capital, Petropávlovsk-Kamchatsky, a reference point both for arriving on the peninsula and for leaving for the different destinations in the territory, either by land vehicle or helicopter, depending on its accessibility.
From the same city - located next to Avacha Bay - you can see above all the Koriaksky, Aváchinsky and Kozielski volcanoes, which represent its most typical postcard.
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| Kamchatka Peninsula Russia |
Not far to the south, another of the fire mountains of Kamchatka gives us one of the most wonderful formations on the entire peninsula: the Mutnovsky Volcano Ice Cave, a cavity formed by the current that flows under the glacial ice in the one that the structures of the interior and the game that the light produces resemble a completely surrealistic scene.
Turning northward, another active volcano, Tolbachik, has given rise to a landscape that seems taken from another planet due to its intense activity - the last major eruptions belong to this century -.
Apart from the incredible range of volcanic formations in Kamchatka, the natural wealth of the peninsula is also lush.
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| Kamchatka Peninsula Russia |
Here, for example, we can find one of the largest concentrations of brown bears in the world - Kurile Lake, almost at the southern end of the territory is the best point to observe them -. A fact related to the abundance of salmon, since the lake is, in turn, one of the largest spawning sites for this fish on the planet.
Along with them, eagles, otters, foxes, wolverines, tundra rodents, numerous species of cetaceans... complete the great variety of fauna in the region and add to the thousand reasons to visit Kamchatka and take the trip of a lifetime.