Kamchatka is a peninsula located in the Far East of Russia and is one of Russian most remote areas. Till 1992 it was a military region which was prohibited to enter for those from the main land. Nowadays it remeains an area of high concern for military as it boarders with US, Japan and China over mainland and sea.
However, Kamchatka opened its beauty after 1992 to those, who are keen to travel where the mass tourism has not yet reached the scale of the major travel destinations aroind the globe. The tourism industry started blooming in the beginning of 2000, attracting outdoor fans from Switzerland, Austria, France and Germany due to endless hiking and trekking oppotrunities in the total wildereness, as well as tousists from the US for hunting Kamchatka brown bear. There was a handfull of travel agencies who offered organisation of the tours and little to no infrastructure.
Today, the amount of travel agencies and tour operators reaches the number of apprx. 150 in total, new hotels and lodgies wre built and more are being built, comfortable vehicles and speed boats are eager to transport tourists groups to the secluded areas of Kamchatka. Due to the rise of social networks, it became possible for small and private travel agencies to promote their services and so the supply is probably bigger than demand these days in Kamchatka.
In summer, if you plan hiking volcanoes or go on a prolonged trekking tour, from the middle of June till the middle of September you will be granted with moderate summer temperatures, yet be prepared to have snow fields to cross if travelling in the beginning of June. There were years, when winter was snow rich, and spring turned out rather cold in Kamchatka, which resulted in huge masses of snow in the south of Kamchatka like the area of the Mutnowsky volcano, for instance. Groups could be transported by off - road vehicles only to a certain point and then snow - cats were involved to get tourists to the volcano.
In the case you travel to Kamchatka majorly for observing and photographing Kamchatka brown bears, we recommend you to consider middle of July till the end of August, since during this period of time Kamchatka salmon streams into Kamchatka´s rivers for spawning, what surely attracts masses of brown bears.
In winter, most interested in Kamchatka in this time of the year consider travelling there as a helisking destination. The best time for that is from the beginning of March till the end of April, if skiing powder is your priority. May is great too, yet it is more about skiing firn and experiencing wild life: it is the time you might meet Kamchatka brown bears on the slopes of volcanoes.
Another great opportunity to prolong the skiing and freeride season is travelling to Kamchatka in order to experience new format of skiing trips such as Ski & Sail, which offers exploring Kamchatka´s Pacific shore by ski touring its white slopes while staying overnights on a vessel in comfort. From the end of April till the end of May we operate Ski & Sail tours in Kamchatka.
