Kurilsky Nature Reserve

Southern Kuril Islands are a land of contrasts. Here, the latitude of the subtropics meets the cold ocean, the plains covered with bamboo shoots coexist with coniferous forests, hot springs of different colors are flowing and transparent ice rivers flow, and the brown bear, the owner of the northern taiga, lives next to the southern Japanese mouse. The unique volcanic landscapes of the Southern Kuril Islands, their peculiar flora and fauna, marine and coastal ecosystems are protected in the Kurilskiy reserve and the federal reserve Small Kuril Islands.
Even the most sophisticated traveler will not remain indifferent when visiting the southern Kuril Islands. This is majestic volcanoes, hot springs, picturesque coast, riddled with numerous bays, coastal islands and cliffs, dotted with nests of sea birds, curious foxes, Pacific dolphins swimming in the waves, inquisitive seals watching you from the water, and of course, Pacific Ocean, mysterious and beautiful in all seasons.

The best time for visit is July - September.

What to see: Kunashir Island and Smaller Kuril Archipelago islands, Golovnin Volcano, Tyatya Volcano, the Ptichy Waterfall, Neskuchensky Springs, Cape Stolbchaty; Ancient man's sites, Japanese installations and Ainu settlements.

How to get to: By plane from Moscow (tickets on the website of the airline Aeroflot), from Sapporo, Tokyo, Seoul, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Novosibirsk (tickets on the site of the airline Aurora) to Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk.
From Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Yuzhno-Kurilsk (Kunashir Island) the Aurora aircraft fly.
The Kuril Islands are a border zone, for visiting which you need to obtain permission from the Border Guard Department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation for the Sakhalin Oblast.