Kamchatka Wilderness Trek

Day 1
Those on the group flights land in the afternoon and transfer to the hotel.

Day 2
We drive north and quickly enter the spectacular scenery for which Kamchatka is justly famed. As we board the huge 6-wheel drive vehicle, you'll realise the kind of wilderness that we're about to enter! We make our first stop in the village of Milkovo for lunch and to get a taste of rural life. Continuing on north, the central valley in which we're travelling broadens and eventually we cross the mighty Kamchatka River, with the towering volcanoes of the Klyuchevskaya group dead ahead. We then enter the small village of Kozyrevsk and stay in small and basic, but pretty huts with shared facilities. This is a long driving day (about six or seven hours), mostly on good roads.

Day 3
We leave Kozyrevsk and drive on a very rough track for about three hours through forests and swamps, fjord the Studenaya River and eventually up onto the lava plateau formed by Tolbalchik's great fissure eruption of 1975. This was the largest basaltic eruption in historic times on Kamchatka and the 28km long fissure stemming from the volcano is believed to have ejected several cubic kilometres of lava over about 15 months. The volcano itself has two striking peaks - one a smooth and flat-topped shield volcano and the other a classic conical example of a sharp-peaked stratovolcano, the latter of which is 3,682m. We will explore the dead forest here, lava tunnels and climb a couple of the smaller cones (if time permits) before settling into our camp for the next two nights at Lunakhodchikov. It was here that soviet scientist tested their robotic lunar rovers due the landscapes close resemblance.

Day 4
We ascend to the crater rim (2800m) of the active Plosky Tolbachik Volcano; it is part of the south-western massif of the Klyuchevskaya chain, the tallest active volcano group in Eurasia. There are fantasic panoramic views from the top: smoking volcanoes and blue mountains painted with white snowy peaks are gathered around this fascinating terrain, whilst the crater at 1500m wide and 500m deep is spectacular and rumbles with constantly shifting and falling rocks. From the rim, we will be able to see some 50 slag cones, formed by the famous holocene eruption of Tolbachik. We return to Lunokhodchikov Base Camp for the evening. About 15km walking with approx 1100m ascent.

Day 5
After having stood on top of our first volcano, we now set off today for a longer trek towards our next goal - the legendary smouldering Bezymianny Volcano. The trek takes three days and we start with gentle walking off the black ash of the recent eruptions and through lush alpine meadows towards the Tolud River. Meadow flowers and berries will strongly contrast with the lack of life in the river, caused by the eruption of Tolbachik in 1975. We camp close to the river at about 1000m altitude next to a small mountain hut. About 12km walking with about 100m of ascent.

Day 6
We continue our trek through the volcano-studded valley, amidst splendid wilderness. After a walk up a grassy slope we reach Tolud 'Pass' (1291 m asl) from where we do not descend as we have reached a wide plateau. The highland is dominated by three volcanoes: Tolbachik, Zimina and Udina - completely surrounding us. We trek across the plateau, which is cut by some dry channels (and if it has rained recently some wet!) and our guide will help us to spot wild mushrooms and other foods that we can use with our dinner. Camp at about 1280m. 15km of walking with about 300m of ascent.

Day 7
The day starts with a spectacular climb up a small pass. The Tolbachinski Pass (approx 1500m asl) opens an incredible otherworldy vista of huge cones, glaciated shield volcanoes and of course the smoking Bezymianny (our target for tomorrow) with the conical giant of Kluchevskaya behind it, Eurasia's tallest active volcano. We descend from the pass - a descent to a different world. Grassy meadows of the plateau are now replaced by the UNESCO protected strange rock formations, slag cones and lava fields of Polennitsa with the huge Mars and Jupiter craters on either side. We carry on past black-headed marmots and susliks (ground squirrels) to the Bezymianny Volcano Base Camp near Plotina Hut. Walk about 14km with 500m of ascent to camp at 1430m.

Day 8
Perhaps the highlight of the trek is the ascent ot the Bezymianny, which in 1955-1956 underwent a catastrophic eruption akin to the explosion of Mt. St Helens in 1980. Thought to be extinct for the preceeding 1000 years, the mountain exploded forming a huge new horseshoe-shaped crater and losing 200m in height. The explosion released a 0.5 cubic kilometer section of the mountain and was sufficient in magnitude to fell trees up to 15 kilometres away! Climbing this 2860m crater rim affords us excellent views into the crater, which is more than a mile wide and in which a new volcanic dome is growing (occasionally producing fresh lava). As the dome is constantly evolving (sometimes in dramatic ways), it's possible that it may actually be higher than than the crater rim at the time of your visit, but its constant activity means that climbing it is not recommended! A true privilege to gaze upon such a newly formed part of the world, where the landscape is still in flux and no two visits will offer the same vista. We return to the previous night's camp in the afternoon. Walk 11km with a 1200m ascent.

Day 9
We head away from Bezymianny Volcano, following the course of the ice-cold Studenaya River. The mud of this river is usually covered in animal tracks and a great place of sizing up some of the mammals here - the bear prints can be huge! There are some stunning narrow lava canyons around the river that we can explore on our walk through this surreal scene. As we head away from the destruction of Bezymianny Volcano, vegetation and animals begin to reappear and wild snow sheep are often seen. Walk about 15km, mostly flat.

Day 10
Our last trekking day is a shorter one, over the tundra to Kopyto Hill. The vegetation here is rich with berries and this is a great place to spot bears. The volcanoes still dominate the scenery as we rejoin our vehicle and take an approximately two-hour drive through the forest back to Kozyrevsk, hot water, beers and our cabins! Walk 11km, mostly flat.

Day 11
We return by truck the way we came, down Kamchatka's long central valley stopping for lunch in Milkovo. In the afternoon, after about six hours of driving, we will arrive at the Avacha Volcano mounain hut and set up camp nearby.

Day 12
Nestled almost against the eastern coast, Avacha Volcano and its near neighbour, Koryasky Volcano, are a smouldering presence above Petropavlovsk. Avacha last erupted in 2001 the summit has many active fumeroles and beautiful lava features. The peak commands an incredible view of adjacent and perfectly conical Koryasky, as well down across the forests to the city and sea. It is a long and relentless climb up to the 2741m scree and ash covered peak, but after yesterday's rest and the trekking of the previous week, we should be fit enough and the summit views make it more than worthwhile. We will pass a small glacier on the way and may have to cross snowfields (crampons are not normally required, though) before returning to our camp. Approx 1400m ascent and descent, 9-10 hours of walking.

Day 13
With all of our hiking completed, we can have a more leisurely start today and enjoy the wilderness around camp before boarding the truck and driving to Petrapavlovsk (about 3 hours). Here we celebrate our well-earnt return to civilisation with a big final night's dinner!

Day 14
The return flight to London is normally daytime, departing around lunchtime and arriving in London in the late evening.