The Far East is an almost unexplored country for tourists. And there are amazing beauty and incredible mysteries! Volcanoes and geysers, huge Pacific bays, mammoth revival projects, the most distant monasteries in Russia - all this is there, in the Far East!
Top 10 attractions of the Far East
Volcanoes of Kamchatka
Volcanoes of Kamchatka are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Around the entire perimeter of the Pacific Ocean, there is a belt of volcanic activity - the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is here that the strongest earthquakes occur and the most active volcanoes are located. Kamchatka is part of this ring: there are about 30 active or recently active volcanoes and hundreds of extinct ones.
The most popular for excursions is the Gorely volcano. This is not an ordinary mountain with one crater at the top - this is a whole ridge with 11 craters, and all are different. And from the observation deck next to it you can see classic cone-shaped volcanoes. The second most popular volcano is Mutnovsky, it is more difficult to get to it. However, excursions - on foot or on all-terrain vehicles, take here to several active volcanoes and always leave the impression of unreal beauty.
Every year eruptions take place here - three or four volcanoes are active. Of course, it is dangerous to approach erupting volcanoes, but there are, for example, incandescent lava flows in the area of Tolbachik volcano - they are available for inspection.
Valley of Geysers
In addition to volcanoes, Kamchatka also has geysers! The Valley of Geysers in the Geysernaya River canyon is one of the seven wonders of Russia. There are three groups of thermal springs. Some of them are just geysers that "spit" boiling water and steam, and some are just hot springs, picturesquely flowing into the river. It has its own microclimate - always warm and humid, and its own unique vegetation.
The canyon is 8 kilometers long and 400 meters wide, literally strewn with springs. Over time, both the river valley and the sources themselves change. For example, in 1981, many geysers were damaged by a typhoon, and in 2011 there was a mudflow - and some of the geysers were filled up, and some, on the contrary, cleared up and clogged more.
Tours do not always go here - for example, in late spring and early summer you cannot get to the Valley of Geysers, as at this time birds and animals are mating season, and they should not be disturbed.
Amur Museum of Local Lore in Blagoveshchensk
The largest and oldest museum of local lore in the Far East. It was founded in 1891 in order to show the wealth of the Far East to the heir to the throne, the future Nicholas II. Now the museum occupies 25 halls. It is housed in a neoclassical-style building of the late 19th century - once there was a Kunst & Albers trading house.
Five halls of the museum are dedicated to the nature of the Amur region, and the rest - to its history. These are archaeological collections that tell about the most ancient population of the region, halls dedicated to the emergence of the Russian population and the gradual development of these territories. In recent years, exhibitions have appeared that tell about the revolution and the civil war, and about the history of repressions in the 30s, in addition, exhibitions are constantly held.
Address. G. Blagoveshchensk per. Saint Innocent, 11.
Mammoth Museum in Yakutsk
Remains of extinct mammoths are found throughout Eurasia, but 75% of well-preserved burials were found in Yakutia. The remains of mammoths are considered a national treasure of the Sakha Republic. In addition to the mammoths themselves, the "mammoth fauna" is also distinguished, the whole complex of animals that lived in those days and became extinct to our days: woolly rhinos, cave lions and bears, the ancestors of modern horses, camels and deer, and much more. All this is in the museum.
The permafrost made it possible to preserve not just animal skeletons, but also almost whole carcasses, which are 12-13 thousand years old - such are stored in museum laboratories. Yakut scientists, together with Japanese scientists, are working on the isolation of genetic material from these remains and the revival of mammoths. In the meantime, the mammoth has not been revived, you can just go to one of the best paleontological museums in the Russian Federation.
Address. G. Yakutsk, st. Kulakovsky, 48.
Avachinskaya Bay
A never-freezing bay on the Pacific coast, discovered and mapped by Bering himself. On its shore is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with its huge port. The bay is the second largest in the world and is indented by many smaller bays. This is one of the most beautiful places in Russia. Its symbol is the Three Brothers - three rocks standing above the water, as if guarding the entrance to it.
It is cold to swim here, but diving is actively developing. At the bottom of the bay, in addition to the sea abodes themselves, you can see several sunken ships. Birds nest on the shores of the bay and on Starichkov Island, and a magnificent view of the ocean and the Avachinsky volcano standing above it opens from the hills surrounding the bay. The most beautiful landscapes can be seen from the observation deck on Mishennaya Sopka.
On Nikolskaya Sopka, which also overlooks the bay, there is a memorial complex in honor of the exploits of Russian weapons. On the embankment of Petropavlovsk there is a monument to the Apostles Peter and Paul.
South Sakhalin mud volcano
24 kilometers from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk near the village of Klyuchi there is a unique natural landmark - a mud volcano. It is a low mud dome with a diameter of about 200 meters. Nothing grows on this dome, so its appearance is quite "Martian" - this is fully compensated by the beautiful surrounding landscape. On the way to the volcano, bright green grass grows in spots surrounded by gray-silver salted soil.
Several craters are hidden in the mud field - they can be seen, they look like small volcanoes. They are called griffins. Some of them gurgle constantly, others less often, and sometimes a real eruption happens, with a ten-meter mud stream ejected upward.
Contrary to expectations, this volcano is not hot, but cold. The activity of the volcano is changing - the last big eruption was in 2011.
St. Seraphim Monastery
The monastery is located in the Vladivostok Bay on the Russky Island. The history of this place is connected with the stories of Vladivostok itself, the main Russian port on the Pacific Ocean. A considerable garrison stood on the shore, fortifications were erected, and on the Russky Island in 1897 the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands was erected as a military church so that regimental units could pray here. But it did not hold all of them, so soon several more house churches for different divisions appeared on the island.
By the beginning of the revolution, there were 12 churches, several chapels, a cemetery - it was a real island-temple. Most of the buildings were wooden. The remains of only one church, once assigned to the 34th Siberian Rifle Regiment, have survived to this day. It was dedicated to St. Seraphim of Sarov, who was considered the patron saint of the regiment. In Soviet times, the building was a club, and in 1997 the temple was again handed over to believers.
Since 2002, a male monastery has been operating here - the only island monastery in the Far East. The temple was restored, and a bridge was drawn to the island. Now it is a place of pilgrimage for residents of the city and just an amazingly beautiful and calm place.
Far Eastern Marine Reserve
The Marine Reserve in the Sea of Japan covers 63 hectares of water area, a small coastal protected area and several islets. Endemic plants grow on them and more than 180 bird species nest, 28 of which are included in the Red Book.
But the most important thing here is the variety of the sea abodes. There is a beautiful underwater world: starfish and urchins, sea anemones, mussels, pink algae, colorful fish, and from larger abodes dolphins, small whales and sharks swim here.
Three areas of the reserve are accessible for visiting and guided tours. You can, for example, swim to the southern border of Russia - Furugelm Island, where you can see cormorants, gulls, guillemots and many other birds, there are many of them. A battery from the Second World War has been preserved on the island.
In addition to natural attractions, the reserve includes a nature museum and an archaeological and ethnographic museum "Heritage", dedicated to the peoples of the Far East.
Providence Bay in Chukotka
Providence Bay was discovered in 1660. Whaling and merchant ships wintered here, but a real port and village appeared only in the middle of the 20th century. It houses the most northeastern museum - the Beringian Heritage Museum and the Ethnographic Site. The expositions illustrate the life of the northern peoples, whaling (for example, there you can see 11-kilogram whaling guns).
But the most beautiful things here are the landscapes of Chukotka, mountains and hills, the sea, northern fogs. The climate here is very humid and very cold, and fogs can almost always be seen. Whales enter the bay, and there is a freshwater lake Istizhed nearby.
Cape World's End in the Kuril Islands
Do you want to visit the real end of the world? That way. This is a picturesque promontory on Shikotan Island - a rock that juts out into the ocean and ends with a steep cliff. Shikotan is the Kuril island closest to Japan, and the subject of its territorial claims, so border ships sail here, and on the island itself there is an old Japanese lighthouse and remnants of pillboxes from Soviet times. Even the very name of the island is Ainu and means “a large settlement”.
Funny as it may seem, Cape World's End is not the easternmost point of the Kuril Islands, but the most picturesque. The path to it leads through a mesmerizing Kuril landscape: hills overgrown with bamboo, fancifully twisted trees, green hills. And from the very cape the Pacific Ocean opens up - and then you really get the impression that you are on the very edge of the inhabited world.
