Grand Kamchatka photography tour, 29 August – 9 September 2020

Join us on an epic Kamchatka photography tour.  Our journey will begin at the footsteps of the Mutnovsky volcano at the south of Kamchatka Peninsula. Then we travel to the north to Klyuchevskoy Nature Park.  During our 12 days journey, we will see nine active volcanoes in Kamchatka, visit ice caves, lava plains, volcanic cones, see the Dead Forest and picturesque river canyons.

Throughout our Kamchatka photography tour, we will be commuting on a 6WD Russian truck called “KAMAZ”, which has been transformed into a comfortable bus seating 25 people (but maximum participants – 12) , with additional room for storing luggage, equipment, food and water.  Each seat has a USB hub for you to charge your devices.  At night, we will be turning on the fuel generators to charge the camera batteries and the rest of your devices.

For the most part of the journey, we will be sleeping in 2-person tents, as there are no established facilities to stay at, around the volcanic area.  However, every three to four days, we will be lodging at either a hotel or a guest house.  This will be an opportunity for us to have some rest and freshen up.  There will be a dedicated tent for kitchen use, housing a cook, who will be making us three meals a day.  Additionally, we will be accompanied by a very experienced driver and a local guide.

August 29, Day 1

Our journey will begin on the day of your arrival to the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport. We will meet you at the airport and transfer to our hotel. There, we will have time to pamper ourselves and discuss our next route, whilst enjoying the onsite hot spring amenities. 

August 30, Day 2

We will head towards one of the most active volcanoes on the entire Kamchatka Peninsula – Mutnovsky volcano.  Various gases like CO2, methane, sulfur dioxide along with water evaporation reach incredibly high temperatures, evaporate to the surface through fumaroles, making the entire surrounding area smell like a chemical laboratory.  The hike to the volcano will take up to three hours, where we will be spending the next two days.

August 31, Day 3

Warm water that trickles down the Mutnovsky volcano creates uniquely shaped caves inside glaciers and snow fields.  We will spend our morning shooting inside these ice caves and later during the day, we will hike to one of the craters on the Mutnovsky volcano.

September 1, Day 4

We will return to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to our hotel with hot springs. Tomorrow we will move to the north of Kamchatka Peninsula. 

September 2, Day 5

This day of our Kamchatka photography tour will begin on the road to the Klyuchevskoy park in the north of the Kamchatka Peninsula.  It’s going to be a long two-day trip, where we will cover more than 600 kilometres. Meals will be provided and in the evening, we will check into our accommodation – a guest house with 2-person cabins in a local village called Kozyrevsk, where you will be able to enjoy an authentic Russian banya (steam room).

September 3, Day 6

Our next destination is “Kleshnya” camp.  From the surrounding volcanic cones, we will get a chance to see the Tolbachik volcano.  The landscape of this area is surreal, resembling the surface of Mars.

September 4, Day 7

Today we spend around “Kleshnya”  campsite.  During this time we will take the opportunity to explore the lava plains of the Tolbachik, which last erupted in 2012-2013. We will also spend some time taking pictures in the Dead Forest.

September 5, Day 8

Returning back to the guest house in the village Kozyrevsk, where we will unwind and enjoy the banya.

September 6, Day 9

On the next day, we head off to the Klyuchevskoy volcano.  It will take us four to five hours to reach our destination – “Kopyto” camp, located not far from a beautiful lake.  The surrounding area offers amazing views to the Kamen and Klyuchevskoy volcano from its south-western side.  Two years ago, we were lucky enough to witness its eruption. Hopefully, this time around we will get to experience it too.

September 7, Day 10

We will spend this day at base camp “Kopyto”. During this day we will head down to the Studyonaya river canyon, which is a two hour walk from camp.

September 8, Day 11

We will meet our last sunrise in the Klyuchevskoy park and shortly after will head back to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

September 9, Day 12

Shopping at the local fish market and transfer to the airport.

Price per person: 2300 USD

Deposit (required to reserve your spot): 500 USD

Full payment: 90 days before starting date

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