Helicopter excursion to the Valley of Geysers, flight around active volcanoes Karymsky & Maly Semyachik, visit of Uzon caldera and "Nalychevo" nature park

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Itinerary: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC) – the Valley of Geysers – Karymsky volcano – Maly Semyachik volcano – Uzon caldera – Nalychevo nature park – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

An excursion to one of the most amazing places in Russia - the Valley of Geisers - has always been a dream for many people. It became one of the «7 Wonders of Russia» in an all-Russia contest. During the flight you will admire the miraculous beauty of the volcanoes, formidable mountain ranges, boundless forests, the blue of the rivers and lakes of Kamchatka. You will see bubbling mud pots, boiling geysers and steaming fumaroles at arm's length when you walk in the fantastic place. The flights are made by modern Russian helicopters Mi-8Т.

The Valley of Geisers - is one of the largest geyser areas in the world and the only one in Eurasia. It is situated in the heart of the Kronotskiy Preserve. Geysers are definitely nature miracles, because there are only four large fields sheltering dozens of natural fountains, staggering by their striking beauty and unique periodicity of work! Not far from the Valley there’s the caldera of the ancient Uzon volcano, that attracts tourists from all over the world. The caldera of the Uzon volcano is a volcanic depression, which was formed in the result of the volcano top collapse.

Caldera of Uzon volcano - is a ring-like hollow developed 40 thousand years ago on the plase of a giant volcano which was destroyed by a set of bursting eruptions. The last cataclysm inside the caldera (8,500 years ago) left its trace as a blasting crater about one kilometer in diameter. The following centuries of intensive hydro-thermal activity have developed a unique symbiosis of volcanoes and wildlife in Uzon. Nowadays the caldera is about 10 km in diameter, and inside it there is a complete "museum" collection of everything that Kamchatka is famous for: hot springs and cold rivers, poisonous mud cauldrons and pure lakes full of fish, a berry tundra and a birch forest, mountains and bogs, birds and animals (mostly brown bears). Incredible algae and bacteria live in the burning solution for whom the poisonous boiling water is the most desirable environment.

Karymskaya Sopka volcano (1468 m) - is a typical stratovolcano wich a regular cone. It is relatively young (6,100years old) but the most active one in Kamchatka. The eruptions of Karymsky volcano happen dayly and are accompanied by bursts and throw-outs of ash and bombs going out from the central crater. 1996 there happened an under-water eruption in the lake 6 km away from the volcano. It lasted not more than 18-20 hours, but that short period included over 100 under-water bursts each accompanied with waves tsunami 15 meters high. The lake was actually boiling. The temperature as well as salt and acid components killed all the life in the lake. As a result of this eruption, the Karymsky lake that used to be ultra-fresh turned into the biggest natural reservoir of acid water in the world.

Maly Semyachik volcano (1560 m) is a 3 km long volcanic mountain range with 3 craters on its top. In its southern crater there is an unusual turquoise-colored acid lake which temperature ranges from +27^oC to +42^oC while the level of mineralization is equal to an average concentration of sulphate and hydrochloric acids. The size of the lake amazes: it is about half kilometer wide and is 140 m deep. The scientists assume that the acid lake developed quite recently.