Chirpoy Island, Russia

Chirpoy Island is one of two uninhabited volcanic islands, collectively known as Chyornie Bratya. These islands are located between Simushir and Urup, in the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk, in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The two islands are surrounded by a number of small islets and offshore rocks.

Chirpoy, the northernmost of the two islands, has an area of approximately 21 km², and consists of three overlapping stratovolcanoes. Vulkan Chernoga with a height of 691 metres (2,267 ft) is the tallest point on the island.

Things to see and do

* Bird watching
* Sea Lion rookeries
* Volcanoes
* Steller Sea Lions

General Information

Cruise Season - March - Nov
Currency - Ruble (RUB)
Language - Russian
Land Area - 21 sq km's
Electricity - 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT plus two hours to plus twelve hours
International Country Telephone Code - + 7

Port Location - Transfer to the island is via zodiac.

Travel Links - Chirpoy island is accessible by boat from Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka and Otaru, in Hokkaido, Japan.

Sapporo's Chitose Airport is Hokkaido's sole international gateway of significance, with flights to Hong Kong, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Busan. However, there are only limited international flights and most visitors will need to transit through hubs such as Tokyo and Osaka.

The small Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky airport is 16 km from city border in Yelizovo. Most visitors arrive on the Aeroflot flight from Moscow, but S7 offers a 3-hour flight from Vladivostok. There is also a regular connection to Khabarovsk.