#111 Rafting & Home Volcanoes

We invite you to get unforgettable lifetime memories of natural diversity and boundless beauty of Kamchatka by joining us in the following itinerary, carefully designed to offer you the best combination of different but close to each other and the most interesting areas to visit. First we will do two active volcanoes situated in the south of the main city – these are Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanoes and see the one of the biggest in the world Avacha Bay. Then we will try a rafting down the Bystraya (translated as ‘Swift’) river. Then we fly to the Nalychevo National Park, famous for the surrounding snow-capped volcanoes (4 of 10 volcanoes are active here), rivers full of salmon during the spawning period, mineral and thermal springs, rich flora and fauna. After observing some of the volcanoes from the helicopter and exploring some of the springs down the Nalychevo Valley we are transferred to the foot of the Avacha volcano (located to the north of Petropavlovsk city) to make an ascent the following day.

July to September is the best time for the trip below, which will surely fit both for groups up to 15 people and for families who like to travel together.

Season: July – September. 

Departures: July 16, July 30, August  20, September 03

Day 1. Arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Rest and unwind from travel. City tour with a visit to the Museum of Local Lore and some historical monuments. Accommodation in a hotel. 

Day 2. Drive to the plateau between 2 active volcanoes:  Mutnovsky  and Gorely (120 km, 3-4 hrs by truck). Set up a camp. Ascend to the top of the Gorely volcano at 1829 m (about 5-6 hrs) to see the string of craters for stunning views. Return to camp.

Day 3. Drive to another active volcano – Mutnovsky. A walking excursion into the crater of active Mutnovsky volcano (2323 m) will take 6-10 hours depending on the condition of the road and blanket of the snow. If the weather is good you will see the active funnel and the acid lake inside the crater as well as steaming fumaroles, boiling mud pots and glaciers, which will give you the indelible impression of the volcanic mightiness. Return to camp.

Day 4. Drive back to Petropavlovsk. 3-hours excursion around Avacha Bay

Day 5. Rafting down the river Bystraya (6 hrs). Overnight in tents.
You will be transferred to the starting of the floating route (about 2 hours by truck). The time of rafting is almost 3 days down both quiet and rapid in some spots river. You will see high rocks coming close to the river banks, thick forests of dwarf cedar, stone birch and shrubbery of giant grasses. Keep your eyes open to catch a glimpse of a bear or soaring in the sky white eagles.

Day 6. Continue rafting down the Bystraya river (6 hrs). Catch fresh fish for your dinner. Picnic on the river shore. Set up a camp and overnight in tents.

Day 7.The end of rafting (3 hrs). Return to the city (4-4.5 hrs by truck). Rest and accommodation at a hotel.

Day 8. Helicopter flight to Nalychevo Valley (25 min). For many years this National Park has been a popular recreational zone thanks to its picturesque scenery, exquisite landscape with the closeness of volcanoes and diversity of mineral, both cold and thermal springs. We fly over some of the volcanoes and land in the valley with a very rich vegetation and abundant wildlife. Take baths in the springs. Return flight will transfer you to the tourist camp at the foot of Avacha volcano. The campsite is at an altitude of about 950 m. Camping in huts of Priyut camp.

Day 9. Today we ascend to the top of active Avacha volcano (since 1737 it has erupted 16 times). The last eruption was recorded in 1992 when the lava flows reached nearly the foothill of Avacha volcano. It is one of the volcano groups consisting of 5 mountains: Aag (2187m), Arik (2319m), Koryaksky (3456 m), Avacha (2751 m) and Kozelsky (2190 m) volcanoes. The ascent will take about 6 hours for people with moderate fitness. Drive back to Petropavlovsk (3 hrs by truck). Accommodation in a city hotel.

Day 10.Drive to the airport for your departure home.

Group size max is 16 pax
The tour cost is 1100 Euro per person
Single supplement is 130 Euro

Included: double accommodation, visa invitation and registration, are transportation within Kamchatka (truck vehicle, bus for transfers, helicopter), Park taxes, museum entrance, boat trip (3 hrs), accommodation, full board en route & bed/breakfast in the city, interpreter, guide and cook services, visa registration, permits.

Note: In the view of the adverse weather conditions the flight to the Nalychevo Valley may be cancelled one-sidedly. In this case the tour operator will recalculate the cost of the tour.