The Kamchatka peninsula is located at the extreme east of Siberia, over 8,000 km from Moscow. It stretches into the Northern Pacific Ocean from the district of Tchoukotka, over around 1,500 km from north to south and 450 km west to east between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

There are approx. 322,000 inhabitants, of which approx. 180,000 live in the capital Petropavlovsk, in the south of the peninsula.

Its climate is under marine influence along the coasts, with a temperate continental climate in the centre. Winters are coldest with temperatures between -18°C and -41°C in January; whereas in July the temperature can rise as high as +20°C. At the coast, average temperatures range from -5°C to -10°C in February, to +10°C to +15°C in August.

Kamchatka’s speciality is its extreme volcanic activity. The peninsula is situated in the “Pacific ring of fire” and is home to at least 29 active volcanoes, and around 130 extinct ones. Most of the craters are found along the eastern coast. A host of geothermal phenomena such as geysers, hot springs and boiling “mudpots” are part of an environment that is famous for hosting a large number of reindeers, as well as grizzly bears concentrating in the region where thousands of salmons migrate.

The Opala River and the bears of Kamchatka

29 July to 09 August 2021

12 days / 10 nights - from £ 2,960 per person

Read more