It is the spirit of a Raven that is the soul of Kamchatka. Legend has it that it was the dropping of a feather by Kutkh, the Raven that created this land. Indigenous people of the far-east, revere the Kutkh as a key figure in creation, an ancestor of man and a mighty shaman. Now, many years later, few “pure” native dwellers of this land remain and fewer still live by their traditional way of life as hunter gathers and deer-nomads in cold and remote climes. But when visiting Kamchatka you cannot but feel a hidden sprit which has made this land so ethereal. 

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Simmering volcanoes, sputtering calderas, shooting geysers, hills exhaling steam, streams and rivers criss-crossing the land and calming blue glacial lakes – the farthest east of Russia, surrounded by two seas and an ocean, has few parallels in the world. One hundred and sixty eight volcanoes dot this land, making it one of the largest concentration of volcanoes in the world, and a World Heritage site. 

But getting to this far end of the land is not easy. The capital city, Petropavlovsk- Kamchatsky, has an airport which is connected only by domestic flights. And while a few snow covered caldera rims can be seen from there and even hiked to, several other hidden treasures can be reached only after days of driving or trekking.  

Of Kamchatka’s population of around 323,000, more than half live in Petropavlovsk and the remaining inhabit the central and eastern part of the peninsula; leaving the rest to nature. The road network is limited and while it is being improved, thankfully it is not being increased extensively allowing primal nature its space. 

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The best way to see the volcanoes, the geyser valley, the lakes and more is to fly. We took off in a Bell 6-seater helicopter. A window seat is a must as you cannot take your eyes off the view even for a minute. We skirted the volcanoes, enjoying their shapes and topography formed over the years with flowing lava. At one point our pilot even took us over a mildly active caldera where we could see gases escaping from molten material and at other points we flew over cooled-down caldera lakes and even an unreal blue-green acid lake. 

From the skies we also spotted the Khalaktirskiy Beach, which we had visited the day before. A very long stretch of almost 50 kms covered with black sand, getting its colour from the volcanic materials. Unlike another back beach that I had seen in Santorini in Greece, the sand here was not rough and rocky but very-very soft. Ice-cold water meant that swimming was impossible but the beach is said to have become a favourite with surfers riding the high Pacific waves in season. 

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The green forests below, through which meandering rivers flowed, looked even more beautiful with the sprinkling of yellows and pink due to berry bushes and the onset of autumn. Just as we were coming to our first stop after almost an hour of flying we spotted a mother and baby bear in the bushes below. Our guide, Anastasia, told us that berries in this area are a  favourite of these bears. Slowly our chopper descended into the Uzon caldera, part of the Kronotsky Reserve. The bears were nowhere to be seen but the sight was of extraordinary beauty. Neither my words nor the photographs that accompany this article can do justice to what I was looking at. As we walked along earmarked paths so as not to step into burning hot water pools, have a shoe melted in an area of high acid concentration or be pulled into a sputtering hole, I could do little else but marvel at nature.  

Caldera of the Uzon volcano is said to have formed around 40 thousand years ago. Once its place was occupied by a tall volcano, the top of which collapsed giving rise to this large basin. The caldera has many bubbling, boiling and foaming water bodies like lakes, mud pots and  tiny volcanoes. Owing to the geothermal activity under the surface, each has its different temperature, chemical composition and thus its own distinct colour. It was like being in the laboratory of the Earth.    

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Then we took-off again and landed in a narrow valley with steep slopes. Amidst the greens were yellowish rock faces with water and steam coming out of vents. This was the Valley of Geysers, which hosts the second largest collection of geysers in the world, which erupt from time to time, from a few minutes to a few days. The four kilometres zone holds 50 thermal springs and around 40 geysers. This area was hidden from the ‘modern’ world till 1941 when a Russian explorer, Tatyana Ivanovna Ustinova, came across it in 1941. She returned here regularly to study the geysers and as per her wishes was eventually laid to rest in this very valley in 2010. 

The next day was meant for our bear expedition. We were headed to Kurilskoye or Lake Kuril, also a crater lake in the southern part of the peninsula. This is where I had been promised my chance of seeing Kamchatka brown bears, an event for which I had specially invested in a telephoto lens. The Kamchatka bear can be 8-10 feet tall when standing on its hindlegs and can weigh upto 650 kilograms. The Kurilskoye is known as the largest spawning ground of the sockeye salmon, where the bears flock to feed on them. I had chosen the right season (August-September) to see them fill up their stomachs to their heart’s content at this rich feeding ground before they go into hibernation for the winter. It was meant to be an experience of a lifetime. But, this time, it was not meant to be.  

After a two-hour wait at the helipad we were informed that there was no let-up in the strong winds since the morning which meant that the plan was called off. 

The day was spent instead at a farm with horses and dogs. The 120 dogs at this farm, not only draw sledge carts in the winter for travelling over frozen rivers and snow, but also participate in arduous races across the tundra that last several days. We also learnt a bit about the culture of the native dwellers of Kamchatka, from Koryak and Itelman girls. Koryak is a largest of the ten-odd tribal groups in Kamchatka with only about 3000 of them who have not intermarried. We were told a fun Itelman folklore about the volcanoes in the region. They are seen as home to the Gamuls, legendary giants. When the volcanoes begin to smoke – it signals the Gamuls cooking; when ash and stone come out of the volcano – it is the Gamul feast; and when the earth trembles and quakes – it is the Gamuls dancing post their feast.

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The trip to Kamchatka was like no other –  enchanting, , awe inspiring, thrilling, delightful – I could go on, but despite that I personally felt somewhat incomplete. The wildlife buff that I am,  my disappointment at not being able to see the king of the wild in this part of the world – the Kamchatka bear- was immense. But the traditional local beliefs comforted me. They say  the difficult volcanic terrain and swift rivers of Kamchatka reflect the Kutkh’s capricious and wilful nature. I felt the same towards nature, I bowed and prayed to the Kutkh for better luck next time.