South Kamchatka Federal Sanctuary

The T.I. Shpilenok South Kamchatka federal reserve is located in the south of the Kamchatka Peninsula. This territory can rightfully be called the world of volcanoes, brown bears and salmon. There are active volcanoes Ilyinsky, Dikiy Greben crest, Koshelevsky and Kambalny.
The heart of the reserve is the crater lake Kurilskoe. It is the deepest fresh water reservoir in Kamchatka with a maximum depth of 316 meters. Here the largest in Asia herd of red salmon is reproduced - a valuable species of fish of the salmon family. In August and September, the water in the lake becomes purple and as if boiling - thousands of red salmon in a wedding dress go to spawning. During this period dozens of brown bears are fishing on the shores of the lake.
The islands, the Sea of Okhotsk and Pacific coast of the South Kamchatka nature reserve are a home for marine mammals and birds. Here seals - insular seals, bay seals and ringed seals live and procreate offsprings, sea lions organize seasonal herd. In the coastal waters sea otters rest and feed. Ways of cetaceans migration go through the reserve water area.
The South Kamchatka Federal Nature Reserve is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in the category Volcanoes of Kamchatka.

The best time for visit is July-September.

What to see: the massive spawning run of red salmon, bear fishing, pumice rocks Kutkhiny baty, rookeries of seals and sea otters on Utashud Island in Vestnik Bay, breeding grounds on Cape Lopatka, flowering of Kamchatka rhododendrons on Samang Island in the Kuril Lake, Koshelevskie thermal springs.

How to get to: by plane from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, traveling time 8-9 hours. You can book tickets and see the flight schedule on the website of Aeroflot airline (http://www.aeroflot.ru/ru). The territory of the reserve can be reached by helicopter (the flight takes about an hour), by sea vessel or by foot.