Kamchatka tours, travel, eco tours, fishing, bear viewing, mountaineering, skiing, hiking and more with Explore Kamchatka!

kamchatka tours ecotours fishing bear viewing expeditions eco tours ecotourism travel

Hike the Circle of Tolbachik to Bezimyanniy & Zimina Volcanoes

14-day trip available late July to early August

Hike the Circle of Tolbachik to Bezimyanniy and Zimina Volcanoes
Active backpacking and mountaineering

The Pacific Mountain Range features Klyuchevskoy Volcano, the highest active volcano in Eurasia. Surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous active and extinct volcanoes forming a ring of fire and fantastic scenery and volcanic landscapes.

Fedor Farberov, your guide on this trip, literally grew up on these slopes as both his parents were volcanologists on Kamchatka and they often took their children with them during fieldwork. This spawned a lifelong love of the highest places on Kamchatka and with mountaineering, climbing, and skiing. Fedor is one of Kamchatka’s most experienced and accomplished mountaineers and his instructor’s status, professional guide qualifications, fluency in English, and many years experience working with North American and European clients make him the best guide we can imagine for seeing this country.

This route can be adapted to the mountaineering skill levels of the participants ranging from active with moderate skills and experienced to advanced mountaineering. We have presented a route here that is geared toward the active trekkers with moderate experience. Hiking distance is between 50 and 70 km dependent on whether or not you choose to ascend Zimina Volcano.

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival on Kamchatka. Overnight either at Explore Kamchatka’s bed and breakfast or a cozy Yelizovo hotel. Meet your guide, go for a walk around the town of Yelizovo.

Day 2 Final preparation for your departure. We recommend spending this day with your guide checking gear, making last minute food purchases, and getting rested up after your trip to Kamchatka. We’ll stage an evening picnic with folk music Russian style for your send-off dinner.

Day 3 Drive 10 hours to the village of Kozirevsk at the foot of the Klyuchevskoy group of volcanoes.

Day 4 Drive several hours to the 1975 northern eruption site at Tolbachik Volcano and make camp. Take a day hike along the cone. Overnight.

Day 5 Hike to the seismic station Tolud 16 km or 10 miles, overnight camping.

Day 6 Hike to the source of the Praviy Tolbachic River 16-18 km or 10-11 miles. Overnight at the base of Zimina Volcano.

Day 7 Hike across the pass at Tolbachinskiy (1503 meters) and the pass at Bezimyanniy (1500 meters) to the seismic station Plotina 16-18 km or 10-11 miles. There is a cabin here but it’s first come first serve and is always reserved for volcanologists who may be in the area. Thus it’s best to camp nearby. There is fresh water here.

Day 8 Ascend the shoulder of the Zimina Volcano (2200 meters) In case of good weather this gives one an outstanding panorama of the entire Kluchevskoy group of volcanoes. For those in good enough condition, an ascent up the Zimina Volcano (3080 meters) is possible. The ascent is made from the shoulder and depending on snow conditions may require each hiker to have crampons, ice axes, and ropes. Return to the cabin, camping nearby. Without the ascent of Zimina’s summit, this is a 6-9 hour round trip hike dependent on physical condition of hikers. Add another 3-4 hours minimum for ascent of Zimina for experienced mountaineers.

Day 9 Reserve day in case of bad weather. In there is good weather the time can be used to explore the area.

Day 10 Hike to the Baraniy River 15 km or 9.5 miles. From your camp spot you can hike up the creek another 4 km to 2 beautiful canyons of lava rock carved out by the river. This hike is only possible at low water times. The walls of the canyons vary from 4 to 15 meters high. Overnight.

Day 11 Hike to the Kopyto Mountain and meet the vehicle 10 km or 6.2 miles. Drive to the hot springs in the area of the 47th km near Esso, camp.

Day 12 Drive back to the city (10-12 hours) Overnight Yelizovo.

Day 13 Explore the cities of Yelizovo and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky evening pre-departure banquet.

Day 14 Departure day.

Notes: This route may be extended to include ascents of the Bezimyanniy 1 day (2869 m), Ploskiy Tolbachik 1 day (3000 m), and an excursion to the cone and lava of BTTI 1975 eruption (1-2 days)

See a Map of Kamchatka HERE

Email: info@explorekamchatka.com