DESCRIPTION

Sakhalin. Here the island silence will help you forget about the bustle of big cities and relax
from cars constantly honking and flying forward. Here you can generally forget about everything for a while and simply relax your soul to your pleasure at any time of the year. Here you can not worry about the problems that you left in the big city, restore your strength and simply enjoy the pristine beauty of nature!

Arrival dates: May – October

TOUR PROGRAM

Day 1. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

• Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Meeting at the airport with a guide. Departure for a city tour of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (approx. 3 hours). Visit to the Museum of Local Lore (except Monday), Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, Victory Square. Our guide will tell you about the history of the island and what it is famous for.
• 13:00-14:00 Stop for lunch at one of the city restaurants.
• 14:00 Continuation of the excursion. Next, we will take the cable car to the observation deck of the Mountain Air ski resort, located within the city.
• At the end of the program, transfer to the hotel, accommodation and rest after the flight. Dinner on your own in one of the hotel restaurants

Day 2. Cape Giant

• Breakfast. Today an excursion to Cape Giant will be organized for you. The place is difficult to access, you can drive on specially prepared SUVs, and we begin our journey to Cape Ptichy almost off-road, through dense forest, overcoming hills and passes, and in the end we find ourselves on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk.
• Cape Velikan is a natural monument that received its status in 1990, located in the Korsakovsky district on the eastern coast of the Tonino-Aniva Peninsula. This is one of the most beautiful and amazing sea coasts of Sakhalin with postcard and most recognizable views of Sakhalin.
• Bizarre rocks, in the outlines of which some see a lion emerging from the sea, some a mysterious castle, and some the head of a giant hero dozing off at the water's edge, rise along the entire coast from Cape Bird to Cape Giant. The stone arches, created by the greatest architect - Nature, amaze with their grandeur. On the tops of rocks and arches, noisy seagulls scurry around, cormorants sit proudly and swifts scurry about. Along a narrow strip of sandy beach stretch spruce-fir forests on the sea terrace, where fir trees diligently hide from the cold sea wind, “turning their backs” to the Sea of Okhotsk.
• Hiking along the coast at metro Ptichy, metro Velikan, bird market. Lunch – lunch box on the seashore.
• Return to the city. (the road from the city to Cape Velikan takes 2-2.5 hours one way)

Day 3. Flight to Iturup Island. Baransky Volcano

• Breakfast at the hotel. Airport transfer. Flight to Kurilsk. Arrival at Yasny airport, Kurilsk.
• Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation, lunch in a cafe.
• 14:00 Trip to the foot of the Baransky volcano. Swimming in natural and artificial baths and in the waterfalls of the sulfuric river Boiling with a water temperature of about 42 degrees. Distance to the volcano is about 20 km
• Before leaving, there will be a safety briefing when visiting the route. Along the way, a stop at the Trinoga observation deck at an altitude of 417 m. From the top of Trinoga there is a wonderful panoramic view of the central part of the island: Bogdan Khmelnitsky volcano, Kurilsky Bay, the city of Kurilsk, Yasny airport, Prostor Bay, the village of Reidovo, the Kurilka River and its source , the Grozny ridge with its volcanoes (Baranskogo, Tebenkova, Dragon, Ivan the Terrible, Ermak), Mount Volchok, Lake Pokatoe.
• At the foot of the volcano, a stop near the first site of the Okeanskaya geothermal power plant, where you can observe hot sulfur springs, mud pots with gurgling blue clay, steam hydrotherms, and sulfur deposits. The next stop is in the area of two small lakes with boiling water (temperature 96 degrees), popularly called Emerald (Blue) Eyes, with the water color being emerald or blue. The next stop is the final one - a recreation area on the sulfur river Boiling, with the water temperature at the swimming area about 42 degrees (the river originates from the slopes of the Baransky volcano and flows next to the boiling lakes, mixes with their water and in the area of the constructed recreation area reaches a comfortable level for swimming temperature). To swim, you must have a bathing suit, bath slippers, and a towel.
• 20:00    Return to Kurilsk.

Day 4. Excursion Olya Bay, Black and White Rocks, Kasatka Bay

• 09:00 In the morning after breakfast we will go to Olya Bay, where we will have an excursion to the Black and White Rocks in Prostor Bay (15 km from the village of Reidovo)
• The Black and White Rocks in Prostor Bay are unique rock formations and fabulously beautiful places. Black rocks are extrusive lava outcrops of basaltic volcanic rocks. White ones are pumice. The rocks are among the most remarkable natural monuments of the Kuril Islands and the Sakhalin region. Several kilometers of bizarre rocks with green caps of herbaceous vegetation, white quartz sand mixed with black titanium-magnetite, emerald-colored sea...
• 13:30 Lunch at a cafe in Kurilsk.
• 14:30 Departure to Cape Kasatka, the Pacific coast. Along the way, stops at the observation platforms Bolshaya Podkova, Kuibyshevka and optional.
• Kasatka Bay (Japanese name - Hitokappu) - during the Second World War, on November 26, 1941, a Japanese aircraft carrier squadron and support ships left from here to defeat Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in the Hawaiian Islands. On the shore of the bay there was a Japanese naval base with an airfield (which was located in the area of ​​the modern Burevestnik airfield).
• From here, in the winter of 1960, a self-propelled barge with four servicemen was torn from its moorings by hurricane winds. The barge hung around the ocean for 49 days until it was picked up by an American aircraft carrier one and a half thousand nautical miles from the launch site.
• In addition, the bay has an interesting geological feature - the Devil's Rock (Chertovka) - an extrusive outcrop of volcanic rocks, forming an impassable cape (Tunnelny), in which the Japanese dug tunnels for through passage, as well as for military purposes. The remains of these structures still remain. One of the structures is popularly called a “hospital” - a large cavity, invisible from the shore, in which, according to unconfirmed rumors, there existed one of the military laboratories where bacteriological weapons were created.
• The sandy shore of the bay has several local names - Mirror Beach, Low Tide, and until recently - Kuril Asphalt...
• 19:30 Visit to the health complex “Hot Waters” or “Bannochki”, where we will enjoy thermal baths.
• 21:00    Return to the hotel. Dinner.

Day 5. Yankito lava plateau, flight to Sakhalin

• 09:00 In the morning after breakfast, departure to the Yanquito lava plateau. The Yankito lava plateau is a pile of bizarre pointed rocks on the seashore, formed from solidified lava of the Bogdan Khmelnitsky volcano, the calling card of the city of Kurilsk, because the city is located almost at its very foot. It is located in the central part of the island on the Chirip Peninsula, and together with the Chirip volcano it forms the Two-Humped Range. The height of the volcano above sea level is 1585 meters.
• 12:30 Transfer to the airport, flight to Sakhalin. Arrival and transfer to the hotel, free time.

Day 6. Aniva Lighthouse

• Breakfast in the hotel. We invite you to visit the legendary Aniva lighthouse, which is included in the list of the most mysterious, interesting and mysterious places on Earth. It is located in a remote place, at the junction of two water elements, the Seas of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. The lighthouse was built by the Japanese in 1939 on the Sivuchya rock. The height of the lighthouse tower is 31 meters, and the height of the fire is 40 meters above sea level.
• Aniva Lighthouse is considered one of the most complex technical structures, because... part of the lighthouse consists of rock, and part is man-made.
• We invite you to walk with us through the rooms of the lighthouse, walk along the spiral staircase and experience the time when life was still in full swing at the lighthouse: diesel generators were working, staff were preparing food in the kitchen, and in the radio room on the second floor they were receiving information from ships...
• The road to the Aniva lighthouse passes through the Aniva Bay, where you will enjoy the beauty of the magnificent mountains, sea air and waterfalls falling down, and along the way, if you are lucky, you will be accompanied by killer whales, dolphins and seals until it appears on the horizon... a ghost lighthouse, peeking out from behind the fog...

Approximate timing of the day

• 06:30-09:00 Departure to the village of Novikovo (packed breakfast)
• 09:00-09:30 Transfer to a PVC boat with a motor and departure to the Aniva lighthouse
• 11:30-13:00 Tour of the Aniva lighthouse, small snack
• 13:00-14:00 return trip to Cape Mramorny
• 14:00-15:00 lunch box lunch
• 15:00-16:00 return to Novikovo
• 16:00-18:30 return trip to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Day 7. Amber Coast, Tikhaya Bay

• Today we will get into SUVs and visit the most legendary beach in Russia!
• There is a place on Sakhalin, a secluded corner of nature, where the silence is only occasionally broken by the sound of waves and the cries of seagulls. This place is Tikhaya Bay. A stunning place, protected from cold winds blowing from the north and northeast. Incomparable silence, amazing views, pleasing to the eye, unique beauty of nature - all this is Tikhaya Bay!
• On the way to Tikhaya Bay we will stop in the village of Starodubskoye, on the amber coast of Sakhalin. There are few places in Russia where you can easily find amber that you can collect with your own hands. One of them is located in Kaliningrad, the other is at the opposite end of the country on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Amber is credited with magical properties and is used for various rituals. It is considered a talisman and is often called the stone of the sun. There is even a legend that if you squeeze the stone tightly in your hand, you will feel warm because it stores the energy of the sun. Want to check it out? We invite you to take a walk along the beach, where you can collect amber with your own hands and forever preserve a piece of Sakhalin’s energy in your home.
• Next we will visit the remains of a Japanese temple located in the village of Vzmorye and pass through the Torii gate.
• Lunch lunch box + 1 crab.
• During the walk, you will be able to see fairy-tale characters frozen in stone on the sea coast, watch the bird colony on the island of Zametny and feel the fabulous atmosphere of a place where it seems that time has stopped... From Tikhaya Bay there is a beautiful view of the Smely Peak and the Zhdanko Ridge, which is a picturesque monument of Sakhalin nature. It's always good here, regardless of the time of year or weather. Return to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Approximate timing of the day:

• 09:00 departure from the hotel
• 10:00 arrival in Starodubskoye
• 10:00 – 10:30 walk along the shore in search of amber
• 10:30 – 11:20 transfer to the village of Vzmorye
• 11:30 – 12:30 walk to the temple and Torii gate
• 12:30 – 13:15 transfer to Tikhaya Bay
• 13:15 – 15:30 walk along the Bay and picnic lunch
• 15:30 – 18:00 return to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Day 8. Lake Busse

• Today we will go for gastronomic pleasure to Lake Busse (about 2.5 hours on the road). This is one of the most delicious excursions that you simply must visit, because Sakhalin is famous for this throughout Russia - delicious and fresh seafood that you can collect and eat yourself.
• Lake Busse (or, as it is also called, the lagoon) is a natural monument of regional importance. Giant oysters, scallops, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, crabs, whelks and many other types of marine life live here in this unique place in every sense. Picnic lunch. During this lunch, you will try almost the entire variety of Sakhalin seafood that our chef will prepare for you (according to the season), including giant oysters, which people from all over the world come here to taste. In your free time on the lake, we invite you to actively relax by going on a boat to an oyster bank or fishing. Don't forget to give the catch you catch to the chef for cooking.
• Return to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (approx. 2.5 hours).

Day 9. Departure

• Breakfast. Check out from the hotel. At the appointed time, transfer to the airport.

ACCOMMODATION

• 6 nights Mega Palace Hotel 4* double and single rooms, breakfast included
• 2 nights in Iturup, Zhemchuzhina Hotel, standard double and single rooms with breakfast

TOUR COST

• ½ DBL group 4 people (lunch box on Sakhalin, except Busse) - 236,800 rubles.
• ½ DBL group 4 people (private catering on Sakhalin) - 297,300 rubles.