Onekotan Island Kurils Russia
Russia
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but nothing is assured. No pier, no village, no marked trail: landings are made by inflatable boat onto black sand or shingle beaches, only when swell and fog allow.
In the northern Kurils, between Kamchatka and the rest of the chain, in the Russian Far East. The island is uninhabited and can only be visited aboard expedition ships.
A volcano inside a volcano. From the deck you first take it for an illusion: a perfect cone standing at the centre of a lake, itself set within the walls of an older volcano. It is one of the most striking geological sights in the Pacific.
A basin roughly seven and a half kilometres across, formed by a cataclysmic eruption some 7,500 years ago, one of the most violent in the recent history of the Kurils. Its walls hold Lake Koltsevoye, the 'ring lake'.
The 1,325-metre cone rising from the depths of the caldera, with slopes so regular they look drawn with a compass. It is still active: its last eruption was in 1952.
When the weather cooperates, yes: the luckiest groups make the climb with the guides. It is not a stroll — there is no marked trail and the walk demands reasonable fitness.
Red foxes, curious enough to come and inspect visitors, cliffs where guillemots, horned puffins and kittiwakes nest, and at sea whales and orcas met along the way.
Only intermittently. The Ainu used these shores for hunting and fishing — the island still carries a name from their language. A few families lived here, a Soviet post held on for a time, then the island was left to itself.
In warm waterproof layers, with waterproof boots for the Zodiac landing. Fog and wind rule these waters even in summer, and a climb to the caldera calls for footwear that grips on loose ground.
During the summer season, roughly June to September, when expedition ships work between Kamchatka and the Kurils. Even within that window, swell and fog set the programme day by day.
