Helicopter excursion to Kuril Lake in 1 day

If Kamchatka is a bear region, then Kuril Lake can be called its capital. Here you will see bears with maximum probability. The ideal time to see them is from July to September. By the end of summer, more than two hundred brown predators come to this area to feed on salmon coming to spawn from the Sea of Okhotsk.

We will pick you up at your hotel or recreation centre and go to the heliport - it is located near the village of Nikolaevka, 30 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Here we will get acquainted with the pilot, take seats in the helicopter and start our journey to the south of the peninsula.

The helicopter will land at the Ozerny cordon on the shore of Kuril Lake. We will be met by an inspector and a guide and escorted to a scientific station at the mouth of the river, where salmon migration is monitored. This place is the only way that connects the lake with the Pacific Ocean, and spawning shoals must pass through it. That is why many bears gather near the fish fence in summer. Sometimes one can catch dozens of predators here at the same time. They can be clearly seen from the observation platform in the centre of the bridge fence. We will observe the salmon and bear fishing from a distance of just a few metres, and the guide will tell us more about the habits of local animals.

The tour lasts 1.5 hours.

15 minutes of flight - and we are in the crater of the Ksudach volcano. It is filled by two lakes: Shtyubelya is memorable for its unusual shape, and Kliuchevoye is interesting for its hot springs. The water temperature of this lake is distributed in ‘spots’: from scalding to icy. We will land at Kliuchevoye for 15 minutes for a short excursion and walk along its black beach. The lake is surrounded by walls up to half a kilometre high, and steam rises along the shore from the hot springs. If you're into photography, bring a wide-angle lens, it comes in handy here.

After a 20-minute flight, we will land at the foot of Khodutka volcano for a bath in the thermal springs. Here, the waters warmed by the hot earth merge into an entire river - a kilometre long and up to 1.5 metres deep. The temperature of the water in the river remains at a comfortable 40 °C even in winter. New changing rooms and wooden paths have been built on the riverbank.

After a swim and a rest, we will board the helicopter again and return to the airfield in 40 minutes.

Туристам, которые хотят провести несколько дней в медвежьем раю, мы предлагаем многодневный тур на Курильское озеро, который проходит на автомобиле.