Kamchatka map & itineraries

2 min summary When to go Map & highlights Things to do Wildlife Chukotka Wrangel Island Kuril Islands Advice Responsible tourism

Kamchatka map & itineraries

There’s a local phrase in Kamchatka: ‘there are no roads, only directions’, which is both very true and blissfully liberating.

The bulk of the peninsula’s rugged glory takes the form of steaming volcanic land, bubbling geysers, shimmering lakes and ocean, and fortunately your tour guide - armed with a 6WD truck and a brilliant knowledge of the trekking ‘routes’ - available will make sure you get where you want to go, and stay safe while doing it.

Alternatively, you’ll be hopping on and off a boat and viewing fascinating wildlife from its decks, to no timetable other than Nature’s own.

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1. Chukotka Coast
2. Diomede Islands
3. Gorely Volcano
4. Kolyuchin
5. Kozirevsk
6. Mutnovsky Volcano
7. Tolbachik Region
8. Uelen Village
9. Valley of the Geysers
10. Wrangel Island
11. Yttygran Island

Chukotka Coast

1. Chukotka Coast

The wild and largely uninhabited Chukotka Coast stretches along a finger of northeastern Siberia that stops at the Bering Strait, just a whisker from Alaska. Considered the last stronghold of the spoon-billed sandpiper, the lush scenery, where Subarctic and Arctic vegetation blend, is also a hotspot for brown bears, yellow-billed loon, king eider and the majestic Emperor goose.

Chukotka Coast

Diomede Islands

2. Diomede Islands

Close to where Russia and Alaska practically meet lay The Diomede Islands: Big Diomede and Little Diomede; often referred to as Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Isle. One is Russian and one is American, and they straddle the International Date Line. You can’t land there because it’s sensitive ground, but you can approach and explore nearby and the mystique of it all is exciting in itself.

Gorely Volcano

3. Gorely Volcano

Belching gas and being generally exciting, Gorley volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Kamchatka and has an unusual structure of overlapping conical peaks and lots of craters, many of which contain acid and freshwater lakes, which reflect the surrounding landscape in dazzling shades of green and blue. It's also flatter, so easy to climb for visitors of all ages and abilities.

Gorely Volcano

Kolyuchin

4. Kolyuchin

Kolyuchin is a tiny island in the Chukchi Sea that has been uninhabited since 1987. It has interesting associations with Russian polar research stations and is known for its magnificent birdlife – an abandoned meteorological station stands alone at its center overtaken by thousands of nesting cormorants, murres, puffins and seabirds, and it has a huge walrus population too.

Kozirevsk

5. Kozirevsk

An age-old settlement, Kozirevsk was founded by the Itelmen way back in the 18th century, but don’t expect yurts and tribespeople - a little bit like the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Kozirevsk has moved on, just not that far. Wood is everywhere: if the locals aren’t living in it, or painting signs on it, they’ve got a truck full of logs to do something else with it. An odd, intriguing charm.

Kozirevsk

Mutnovsky Volcano

6. Mutnovsky Volcano

This is considered Kamchatka’s most impressive volcano, which is impressive itself in a class of over 300, and is a fascinating volcanic structure with multiple craters that exist on a single massif, intercepted by a bright green acid lake. Ascending its 2,322m crater, you feel the hot breath of fumaroles rising around you and gaze upon walls lined with red and yellow sulphur deposits.

Tolbachik Region

7. Tolbachik Region

Exploring this region is akin to stepping through C.S. Lewis’s magical wardrobe. The site of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption paints a fascinating picture of the real scale of a volcano eruption. Bright prayer flags in front of huge snow-capped peaks put you in mind of Nepal, and then there’s the Dead Forest, an eerie and enchanting landscape of row upon row of lifeless, leafless trees.

Tolbachik Region

Uelen Village

8. Uelen Village

Uelen Village, which lies a few nautical miles to the west of Cap Dezhnev, is the most northeastern village in Russia. The population is predominantly Chukchi and the village is one of the largest centers for traditional Chukchi and Inuit art in the world. The bone-carving workshop is a masterclass is sculpture and the locals are keen to share their stories and traditional skills.

Valley of the Geysers

9. Valley of the Geysers

The ‘Pearl of Kamchatka’ is one of the world’s most fascinating wonders – a lunar landscape of 20 large bubbling geysers that gush forth regularly. Together, the random plumes of steam, upwardly shooting fountains of boiling water and the kaleidoscope of colours that cover the landscape create an enthralling spectacle. The only drawback? It’ll cost you £350 to see it by helicopter.

Valley of the Geysers

Wrangel Island

10. Wrangel Island

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Wrangel Island is home to a large polar bear population, as well as Pacific walruses, Arctic foxes, snowy owls, snow geese, musk ox, reindeer and more. In addition, Wrangel Island is believed to be the last home of the woolly mammoth and mammoth tusks and bones are regularly unearthed in the riverbeds and interior of the island.

Yttygran Island

11. Yttygran Island

Yttygran Island is a hub of sea cliffs and estuaries where you can spot vast flocks of puffins and auklets, emperor geese and possibly the fabled spoon-billed sandpiper. Pods of killer whales and gray whales patrol the coastline and the prodigious ancient aboriginal site, Whale Bone Alley, is also found here – seeing whalebones stretched along the beach for nearly half a kilometre is a sight to behold.

Yttygran Island

Travel Team

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Sample Kamchatka itineraries

Kamchatka itineraries

Small group tour (13 days)

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky > Arachinskaya Bay > Mutnovsky Volcano > Gorely Volcano > Paratunka > Valley of the Geysers > Malki Hot Springs> Great Tolbachik Fissure > Lunokhodchik >Ploski Tolbachik Volcano >Tolbachik Region > Kozirevsk > Malki Settlement > Bystraya River > Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky

Kamchatka, Chukotka Coast and Wrangel Island wildlife cruise (15 days)

Anadyr > Anadyrskiy Bay > Preobrazhenija Bay > Yttygran Island > Cape Dezhnev > Uelen Village > Kolyuchin Island > Wrangel Island > Herald Island > Kolyuchin Inlet > Diomede Islands > Chukotka Coast > Anadyr

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Travel times in Kamchatka

The following times give you a rough idea of the travel times between the main attractions in Kamchatka by road and sea.

Gorely Volcano - Great Tolbachik Fissure: 7hrs 50mins road, ferry, road Tolbachik – Kozirevsk: 2hrs 30mins by road Bystraya River – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: 2hrs road Yttygran Island – Uelen Village: 13hrs sailing Uelen Village – Kolyuchin: 16hrs sailing Kolyuchin - Wrangel Island: 25 hours sailing

More about Kamchatka

Best time to visit Kamchatka

Short seasonal bursts best describe Kamchatka’s annual temperature & rainfall levels, which is why our month by month guide and our recommendations are essential reads for discovering the best time to visit Kamchatka.

Kamchatka travel guide

Find out what we rate & what we don’t in our Kamchatka travel guide that presents our best and worst of Kamchatka vacations alongside a brief history of Kamchatka and tips on how to discover Kamchatka like a local.

Things to do in Kamchatka

Walk into a land of fire and ice and quickly discover why cruising, trekking and the untouched glaciers of Wrangel Island offer an exceptional range of things to do in Kamchatka, way off the beaten track.

Kamchatka wildlife

Learning what to look out for where Kamchatka wildlife is concerned is an essential part of any Kamchatka vacation with brown bears, grey whales and Pacific walrus all to be found, if you know where to look.

Traveling to Chukotka in Russia

A huge region in the extreme far east of Russia, Chukotka is a wild, remote place, home to a scattering of people and a whole lot of wildlife, and visiting is more an expedition than a vacation.

Wrangel Island polar bears

The word ‘remote’ could definitely have been invented to describe Wrangel Island, which sits on the very top of the world in the Arctic Ocean, off the northern coast of Chukotka.

Kuril Islands, Kamchatka

A skinny archipelago of volcanic islands that drops like a broken necklace from Kamchatka in Russia down to Hokkaido in Japan, the Kuril Islands are a wild place of bustling seabird colonies, wooded shores, active volcanoes, but very few people.

Kamchatka travel advice

Lots of helpful Kamchatka travel advice, including tips from our friends in Kamchatka on bird watching, Wrangel Island wildlife and local culture, plus advice on what to pack and how to stay healthy and safe.

Responsible tourism in Kamchatka

Poaching and trophy hunting are, unfortunately, issues that need to be dealt with, which is why our responsible tourism in Kamchatka page doesn’t hold back when it comes to helping you travel right in Kamchatka.

More relevant guides

Written by Polly Humphris

Kamchatka map & itineraries