Why Explore Kamchatka Region
The Kamchatka peninsula is perhaps one of the most beautiful locations in the world. With about 300 volcanoes, 29 of which are still active, the mountains dazzle visitors. Kamchatka volcano, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, stands as the largest active volcano outside of the Andes at 15,584 feet (4,750 meters), along with all the other volcanoes in the eastern chain. It most recently erupted in late January (2013). Meanwhile, volcanologists often nominate the near-perfectly symmetrical Kronotskaya Sopka, the centrepiece of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, as the world’s most beautiful volcano.
With so much volcanic activity, it's natural that this world wonder of a peninsula features so many natural hot springs. The geothermal potential of the region is incredible, with unique sights dotting the landscape. For instance, the spectacular natural steam emissions in the Valley of Geysers are, in fact, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
What to Do in Kamchatka
The Nalychevo Nature Park features quite a number of special medicinal hot springs, set in the middle of a reserve that showcases many rare species of plants and animals.
The peninsula has a population of about 350,000 people, about half that of the U.S. state of Alaska, and as with that country's 49th state, about half of the overall population resides in one city, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The second-largest city in the world that is not reachable by road (other than from the airport at nearby Yelizovo).
Petropavlovsk hosts several monuments to its earliest 18th-century visitors, including one to the city’s founder Vitus Bering (who "rediscovered" the Bering Strait 80 years after Semyon Dezhnev first sailed through it), Bering died on a nearby island heading back home to here.
Another monument is in honor of James Cook's successor in the ill-fated third British circumnavigation - Charles Clerke (he died during his visit not long after Cook was killed in Hawaii). One more sight worth seeing is the monument to Jean-Francois de la Perouse, whose French expedition sank on the way from Petropavlovsk to Japan. That this is a remote location whose scenic beauty is worth risking one’s life, there can be no doubt.
Kamchatka thrills more than just the eyes, though. Along with many other remote North Pacific locations, one of the leading attractions is the seafood. The red king crab here is the same as can be seen on Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch", and as in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, is superb when eaten freshly caught. Salmon fishing is also still quite good on the rivers of Kamchatka (though, be aware that many bears agree).
Kamchatka tour is certainly not for the timid traveler, the kind that must have all the comforts of civilization at beck and call at a moment’s notice. But it is for the adventurer who must see and experience Russia and its most beautiful places which attract the attention of millions worldwide at least once in a lifetime.
