Excursion to Vachkazets

One of the variants of the trip starts with gathering early morning in the city, but if you have booked transfer, the car will pick you up. Usually gathering time is 8 - 10 a.m.

Vachkazhets, which has tours and routes from June till October, is considered to be one of the most beautiful place in the whole peninsula. It demonstrates primordial nature. Vachkazhets has its own old history, according to which, this mountain range used to be one volcano. It was time when no people lived here. And after a catastrophic eruption the volcano was divided into three parts: Vachkazhets itself, Letnyaya Poperechnaya and Vachkazhtsy. Not each time there is an opportunity to get to the foothill of the mountains. But in fact there is no such necessity. Many tourists do carelessness to the nature, they destroy the road by the jeeps or Kamas. Creating new roads each time they turn the forest to dreadful slush. You will see it by your own eyes and understand us.

Our company takes care about the nature and wants to keep it for next generation. So we offer you to leave the car and have a walk to the Takhkoloch lake. This part of trekking is interesting as well: tourist path starts near the nameless lake, goes through the forest. Crossing small brooks, you get to the picturesque Takhkoloch lake. By the autumn time bushes of rowan become heavy because of red bunches of berries and you have an opportunity to enjoy this sour gift of wild nature. Some place you can find honeysuckle.

Takhkoloch lake is surrounded by mountain ranges, it`s seems like the lake is hidden from curious eyes. It feeds due to mountains glaciers melting and it`s rather cold always. It`s here where small Takhkoloch river starts. Running down it flows into deeper Plotnikova river. Feeding from numerous small rivers, all water mass rushes to the west, crossing Kamchatka. It flows into Okhotsk Sea by finale.

We have a halt by the lake. There we take a rest and make photos of surrounding beauty. Destroyed circus of ancient volcano, which we are to ascend to, is visible over the lake between ranges. But before it we follow the path, leading us to the waterfall on the right.

After a small climb we have a new view to familiar lake.

Squeezed by ranges from all sides, the path to the waterfall goes higher and higher. It`s impossible to go through mixture of ochre stony slopes and green, red and orange bushes on its foothills without stop. Autumn landscape is more contrasting and amazing.

Don`t forget that the place, which we are going through, is a wild nature. There is always a chance to run into a host of this territory - a brown bear. Listen to your guide, follow his instructions and observe safety precautions on the route! The best way to let a bear know that you are coming is singing. So keep singing louder!

Look around carefully: there are small holes dug in the ground here and there. It`s a ground squirrel. Local people call it "evrazhka". Run into this baby is real luck and joy! This animal is very trustful and sometimes they let human come very close.

Water in the brook, running from mountains is the clearest and very tasty. We can make a short halt here, drink and take some water with us. Approaching to the lower waterfall, we face next obstacles - crossing the river. Those who has worried beforehand, has rubber boots, and others can jump over stones and cross river this way. It depends on your dexterity! Both variants are possible and not difficult. As for us, we always recommend our tourists to wear high waterproof trekking boots for every route. Good equipment is the main point, if you travel around Kamchatka.

After crossing the river, we have one hundred meters left to the first aim of our excursion. It is a lower Vachkazhets waterfall. There is an upper waterfall above, but routes are held seldom there. No photo can convey the power of water flow.

A gorge is covered with glacier in the begging of summer and late autumn, as usual. Water, falling down from the height equal to several peoples` height, cut fantastical caves and entrances in the gorge and keep running down. In summer the gorge melts and it become possible to go down close and feel finest splashes of water.

Having looking around, we continue the program of our trip. Next purpose is an ancient destroyed circus, the edge of which we`ve seen down, being by the lake.

Cross the river back, go back for a while and reach the path to the circus. Ascending becomes harder. This part of the path is the toughest, but for people, who get used to hike, it will be a trifle. A new panorama of the same lake becomes visible from this altitude. This is the highest point of the whole route.

Having reached the top and the circus, we take a rest. Looking at brown and orange walls of the circus we can imagine that this is the very place where volcanos bowl has been. Rocky outcrops keep quartz, opal and other minerals. And you have a chance to see forms of glacial origin.

After looking round, we start descending to the valley. For descending we choose another path-along small brook, running down from shelves. It creates a chain of small waterfalls, that makes returning no less interesting process for shooting and taking pictures.

Way back always seems to be shorter, as we go through familiar places, which have become special for us. Reached the car, we go to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. We hope that you will remember the trip to Vachkazhets for a long time!