Kamchatka Coast

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometre (780 mi) peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km2 (182,400 sq mi). It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. Kamchatka is extremely geologically active and has numerous volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and even a lake of acid! It contains the southernmost expanse of arctic tundra in the world and is notable for its wealth of arctic wildlife, fish, game, and marine life.

Kamchatka boasts abundant flora. The variable climate promotes different flora zones where tundra and muskeg are dominant succeeded by grasses, flowering shrubs and forests of pine, birch, alder and willow. The wide variety of plant forms spread throughout the Peninsula promotes just as wide a variation in animal species that feed off them. Although Kamchatka is mostly tundra, deciduous and coniferous trees are abundant and forests can be found throughout the peninsula.

Kamchatka boasts diverse and abundant wildlife. Among terrestrial mammals, Kamchatka is best known for the abundance and size of its brown bears. In the Kronotsky Nature Preserve there are estimated to be three to four bears per 100 square kilometres. Other fauna of note include carnivores such as wolf, arctic and other fox, lynx, wolverine, sable, several species of weasel, ermine and river otter.

Things to See & Do

* Kronotsky Nature Reserve
* Valley of the Geysers
* Komandorsky Nature Reserve
* Hiking volcanoes & fishing
* Volcanoes & natural hot springs

General information

Cruise Season – Jan - Dec
Currency – Yen (JPY)
Language – Japanese
Population – 705,500 approx
Land Area – 789.88 km2
Electricity – 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style or with a round pin below
Time - GMT plus hours nine hours
International Country Telephone Code – 81

Port Location – Visitors to the Kamchatka coast leave from the Port of Korsakov.

Travel Links – Arriving by plane is the only practical way of reaching Kamchatka. All commercial flights arrive at Yelizovo, only 16km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (which airlines list as the destination). There are regular flights between Petropavovsk-Kamchatsky and: Moscow (Aeroflot, Transaero), Saint Petersburg (Rossiya), Novosibirsk (S7, Rossiya), Irkutsk (S7), Khabarovsk (S7, SAT Airlines), and Vladivostok (S7, Vladivostok Avia). Korean Airlines offers frequent charter flights from Incheon in summers.