Adventure tour of Sakhalin and Kunashir

This is a trip for those who appreciate comfort and want to spend time as intense as possible. The trip will take place without backpacks and tents, except for one night at Cape Krillon, the southernmost point of Sakhalin Island. We will be accompanied everywhere by local drivers and experienced guides who love and appreciate their land. The program will be held in the most interesting and important places in the region. In ten days we will see the shores of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk, visit abandoned lighthouses, climb active volcanoes, swim in hot springs, try local delicacies. Each place in our program is unique and unlike the previous ones. You are waiting for ten days of a rich and bright program. Every day is thought out to the smallest detail and filled with impressions.

What awaits you:

• All the most interesting locations of Sakhalin and Kunashir in one trip.
• Visit the caldera of the volcano Golovnina.
• Sea excursion to the abandoned lighthouse Aniva.
• Visit to the fumarole field of Mendeleev volcano.
• Hike along the ecological path Stolbovskaya.
• Swimming in hot springs.
• Tasting local seafood on Lake Busse.
• The southernmost point of Sakhalin Island is Cape Krillon.

Detailed description of the expedition

• Number of participants up to 15 people. The team will always be accompanied by experienced instructors who ensure safety on the route.
• By the beginning of each tour, we will drive on prepared SUVs, so as not to waste time on uninteresting approaches.
• The program is prepared in such a way as to spend every day as interesting and rich as possible.
• climbing volcanoes will take place along prepared hiking trails and will require physical endurance. On the Mendeleev volcano, under the very top, relax in hot wild hot springs overlooking the island of Hokkaido. And in the caldera of the volcano Golovnina, if desired, you can swim in the lake.
• We'll get to Aniva Lighthouse by motorboat. All necessary equipment will be given to you at the beginning of the tour.
• The trip to Cape Crillon will take two days, with one overnight stay in a tent camp.
• On an excursion to Lake Busse, the chef will prepare us freshly collected seafood.

Day 1

Beginning of adventure

Meeting of participants at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport. After we meet, we will move to the city and stay in a hotel. After a short rest, we will take a walk through the historical part of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. We will climb on the chair lift to the observation deck, which overlooks the whole city. In the evening we will have dinner at the restaurant where we will discuss our trip.

Day crossing - 24 km. Day crossing - 7 km.

Day 2

Aniwa Lighthouse and Lake Busse

After breakfast, we'll head to Aniva Lighthouse. This is an amazing construction of Japanese architects, saved from the death of thousands of ships. Built in 1939 by Japanese engineers, the lighthouse attracts travelers from all over the world. It is located on the rocks in the southern part of the island of Sakhalin, and it can only be reached by water. We will move to the village of Novikovo, where we will move to motor boats. The path to the lighthouse goes along the bays and capes of the southern part of Sakhalin Island and takes a little more than an hour. The lighthouse has long been abandoned, so you can freely land and climb to the very top. On the way back we will have lunch on the shore of Lake Busse. Giant oysters, scallops, sea urchins, trepangs, crabs, trumpeters and many other species of marine life live here, in this unique place in every sense. All this variety of seafood you can collect and taste. Lake Busse is especially famous for its giant oysters. We'll have a chef cooking. In the evening we will return to the hotel Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Day crossing - 250 km Sea crossing - 80 km.

Day 3

Cape Giant

Cape Giant is considered one of the most impressive places on the coast of Sakhalin. Throughout our journey along the coast, we will constantly encounter grottoes, caves, arches and pillars of rock origin. Many of them had colonies of birds. The tour to Cape Giant will take all day. In the evening we will return to the hotel Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Day crossing - 240 km. Day crossing - 5 km.

Day 4

South Kurilsk, Kunashir Island

Today we are going to the mysterious South Kuril Islands. After breakfast transfer to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport. On a small modern plane we will fly to the island of Kunashir. The airport is located at the foot of the volcano Mendeleev, famous for its gas emissions, which can be seen on the approach to the island. In the evening we will stay in a hotel in the center of Yuzhno-Kurilsk. After we arrive, we will explore the city. Dinner at a local cafe and walk to an abandoned lighthouse where we meet the sunset overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Day crossing - 70 km. Day crossing - 5 km.

Day 5

Caldera of the volcano Golovnina

After breakfast, we will go to the southernmost volcano of the Kuril Islands - Golovnina volcano. The tour will take place on the caldera of an active volcano. On the site of the crater of the volcano formed two lakes – Boiling and Hot, whose names speak for themselves. The water in the Boiling Lake is heated by volcanic hot gases, and in the places of their exit the water temperature reaches +95 ° C. On the shores of this lake you can still find the remains of the Japanese sulfur fishery. Climb to the observation deck, where you can see the entire crater of the volcano Golovnina, and on the horizon will open a view of the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido. Those who wish can swim in the Hot Lake in the caldera of the volcano. We will have lunch and return to South Kuril in the evening.

Day crossing - 88 km. Day crossing - 16 km.

Day 6

Mendeleev volcano

Today we will go to the fumarole fields of the volcano Mendeleev. After breakfast we will reach the foot of the volcano, where the trail begins. The path goes through the dense thickets of bamboo into human height and takes about 2 hours. In front of the fumarole field there are small natural baths with thermal water, where we will relax overlooking the Japanese Islands. The fumarole field of Mendeleev volcano is the largest in the Kuril Islands, with a large number of griffins and sulfur deposits. In the evening we will return to South Kurilsk. Dinner at one of the cafés in town.

Day crossing - 34 km. Day crossing - 7 km.

Day 7

Cape Pillars

Today we will go to Cape Column. The path to the cape goes along the ecological path of the Stolbov Kuril Reserve. On the trail, we will get acquainted with the rare relict plants of the island, see a bear trail and swim in hot springs. At the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk we will stop at the Blue Rocks (they are also called Monks) and walk along the sea shore to our final point. Cape Column is composed of frozen basaltic formations in the form of five- and hexagonal columns that occur when lava cools. This phenomenon is called “pillars’ separateness”, hence the name of the cape. After lunch on the beach transfer to the airport and flight to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. In the evening we stay in a hotel in the city center.

Day crossing - 46 km. Day crossing - 10 km.

Day 8

Cape Crillon, day 1

Today we will go to the southernmost point of the island of Sakhalin – Cape Krillon. To this edge of the earth, about which Yuri Vizbor sang in his immortal song, rare groups of travelers get. On the way we will stop in the city of Nevelsk, the closest city to Japan in Russia. By lunch we will reach the shore of the Sea of Japan. We will set up a tent camp on the shore near the Kovrizhka mountain, an ideal round shape. Those who wish can climb the mountain or participate in the preparation of ears at the stake. Night in the tent camp under the sound of the surf.

Day crossing - 180 km. Day crossing is 3 km.

Day 9

Cape Crillon, day 2

After breakfast we head south. Not far from our camp is the base "Cordon", near which herds of semi-wild horses graze, and on the base itself you can feed a tame bear. Stop at Cape Kuznetsova, where there is an abandoned Japanese lighthouse. By lunch, we will arrive at Cape Krillon, where you can “leave stones from a steep bank”. Let’s look at the operating lighthouse of the late 19th century, military fortifications of the Second World War and military equipment. In the evening we will return to the hotel Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Day crossing - 240 km. Day crossing is 3 km.

Day 10

Departure from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Before flying home, we will visit the local market, where we will tell you which fish and caviar is best to take with you. Airport transfer.

Day crossing - 15 km.

• escort of the instructor from arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
• transfers airport - hotel - airport (in case of arrival and departure with the main group)
• accommodation in hotels on Sakhalin and Kunashir
• tours
• hotel
• sightseeing
• supper
• health insurance
• kit
• Permits to visit border areas (copies of passports required)
• permits to visit natural parks