Valley of Geysers

The valley is a six-kilometre canyon of the Geysernaya river in the Kronotsky reserve holding around ninety geysers and many more hot springs, mud pots and steam vents - the second largest concentration in the world after Yellowstone. It was found in 1941 by Tatyana Ustinova, a reserve geologist, which is remarkably late for a feature of this size and says something about how empty Kamchatka is. It has been rearranged twice since: a landslide in June 2007 buried part of the valley and dammed the river into a new lake, drowning several geysers, and another in 2014 shifted things again, so the field visitors see now is not the one in older photographs. It is part of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka UNESCO site. Access is by helicopter only, on a day trip that usually also lands at the Uzon caldera, with visitors kept to boardwalks throughout and bears in the valley.

History

Tatyana Ustinova discovered the geysers in 1941 but published her findings fourteen years later, and there was little exploration until 1972; a systematic survey followed in the mid-1970s and automatic monitoring in 1990, and over thirty geysers were named, among them the Giant (Wikipedia, Valley of Geysers).

What you'll find

• The geysers - around ninety in a six-kilometre canyon, second only to Yellowstone.
• The 1941 discovery - a field this size unknown until a reserve geologist found it.
• The landslides - 2007 and 2014 slides that buried and rearranged parts of the valley.
• The boardwalks - fixed routes visitors do not leave, with bears present.

When to go

June to September, when helicopters fly. A day trip, weather permitting. Everything is booked through licensed operators.

Practical notes

Helicopter only, expensive, and cancelled by weather constantly - many visitors to Kamchatka never get in. Time on the ground is a couple of hours on boardwalks. Bears are present and rangers escort groups. The valley today is not what pre-2007 photographs show.

Nearby

The Uzon caldera is usually visited on the same flight; Petropavlovsk is south-west.

Key facts