| One of Russia's best kept secrets,
the little known Kamchatka Peninsula juts out between the Bering Sea and the Sea of
Okhotsk. Called the 'land of fire and ice', it is an area of remarkable natural beauty and
spectacular scenery. The 1000km long peninsula is a region of intense seismic activity,
with over 200 dormant and active volcanoes and is part of the "Ring of Fire," a
string of volcanoes that encircles the Pacific Ocean. All this underground/underwater
geothermal turbulence bursts forth in a lunarscape like terrain dotted with craters, hot
springs, geysers and warm rivers. The volcanic calderas, stone sculptures, lakes in
extinct craters, dense stands of virgin forests, geysers and mineral springs are
Kamchatka's main attractions. The regional
capital of Kamchatka is the town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - the only
settlement of any substantial size on the Kamchatka Peninsula. It lies along the
landlocked Avachinskaya Gulf, on the south-eastern shores of the Kamchatka Peninsula on
the Pacific coast. The city was founded in 1741 by the Danish born Russian Capt. Vitus
Bering, who also gave his name to the waters of the Bering Straits. The city gets its name
from two of his ships: the Svyatoy (St.) Petro and the Svyatoy Pavel.
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky soon became a port of great strategic relevance to Imperial
Russia's Navy. Sea expeditions used it as base for the exploration of the Arctic
Ocean that ultimately led to the discovery of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.
In the last century, Petropavlovsk continued to
figure high in the grand scheme of super power rivalry and remained of great strategic
value as a submarine base for the Soviet Pacific Fleet. Today, it is of more commercial
than military importance as the centre of the fishing industry that exports tonnes of fish
to Japan and so earns desperately needed foreign currency. Despite being the regional
capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a small provincial town built up alongside the
arterial main road that extends from the northern limits of the city to the harbour of
Rakovaya Bay in the south. The city and its large harbour are well-protected from storms
lying in a protective lee, safe from even the worst of tsunamis generated by the strong
earthquakes endemic to the region.
The city lives in the shadow of volcanoes, Mt
Avachinsky, Mt Kozelsky and Mt Koryaksky - two of whom have
erupted in the past ten years. The city itself has little to interest travellers except
for a Memorial Complex dedicated to the port's defence during the Crimean
War, a Regional Museum and two other museums dedicated to volcanology and geology. Most
travellers who venture here do so to get in a bit of climbing, trekking, fishing or
rafting. They prefer to use the town as basecamp for expeditions to see the picturesque
natural springs at Goryachaya and the hot springs at Paratunka. The Avachinskaya Bay is a
large, deep sheltered harbour with a narrow opening leading to the sea - boat rides are
available to see it as are helicopter trips to the famous Valley of Geysers, sea mammal
and bird watching tours, heli-skiing trips up the volcanoes, horseback riding and tours to
the old Russian Cossack settlement at Milkovo. A thirty-minute drive from the city is the
black sand beach where sea lions frolic and fish in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The entire Kamchatka Peninsula, more particularly
the Kronotsky Nature Reserve is an ideal destination for the active
traveller - river rafting on the Bystraya River, climbing expeditions up the slopes
of the Klyuchi volcanoes and to Uzon Caldera in the crater of of an ancient
volcano, fishing for king salmon and rainbow trout in Opala River and Lake
Kurilskoe, snowboarding, skiing, sailing and trekking in pristine wilderness areas.
Getting there:For many long
decades, the Kamchatka Peninsula was out of bounds for all but natives, sailors and
fishermen. The number of defence establishments in the region made it a high security area
where travel was forbidden, even for domestic tourists till very recently. Now that
visitors can go there - the only way to get here is by air. Aeroflot has daily flights
from Moscow (9hrs) and Khabarovsk (3hrs) and three flights a week from Vladivostok and St
Petersburg. The closest international airport is at Yelizovohas - inbound flights come
from Anchorage in Alaska, the only other direct airlink between the Kamchatka Peninsula
and the rest of the world. Weekly charter services also fly in from Anchorage to
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk apart from the fortnightly scheduled flight
on a combination passenger-cargo service.
Accommodation: Choice of places to
stay in this city are limited to a few hotels - some of them provide reasonably good
accommodation and additional facilities. As the number of visitors to the region increase,
so will the infrastructure; already the restaurants in the town serve traditional Russian
and European cuisine alongside cocktails, sandwiches, pastries and coffee. The seafood of
the region - giant crabs and seafish and freshwater fish like salmon and trout are
delicacies to be savoured at the local cafés.
The city's main post office is on the ulsita Leninskaya; currency can be exchanged at
either Sberbank or at the Hotel Oktyabrskaya.
For detailed country and visitor
information, see Russia. |
