Kuril Islands
Kurl Islands is a chain of 56 volcanic islands stretches for 1,300 km like stepping-stones all the way from the Kamatchka Peninsula to Hokkaido, Japan. They form the boundary between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean and the summits of undersea stratvolcanoes, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Offshore is the Kuril trench, one of the deepest ocean regions in the world, 10,5 km deep.
The Kuril Islands are breathtakingly beautiful with dense greenery except at the highest levels and an amazing variety of spectacular scenery ranging from dramatic volcanic ridge and craters to alpine tundra, meadows and wetland. There are broadleaf woods, coniferous forests, crater lakes circled by trees, lush narrow valleys and fast running steams with coast of steep cliffs, volcanic sand beaches and rocky shores. Many millions of seabirds congregate on every available hammock and cliff ledge. Baird’s whales, fin and sperm whales, sea otters, sealions and fur seals.
Forty of the islands are volcanically active with hot springs and frequent eruptions. A combination of distance from the mainland, the depth of the ocean and strong currents have been major barriers to plant and animal dispersal so the each island had its own self-contained ecosystem and natural history. The Kurils are in one of the least scientifically explored regions of the world – and eco adventurer’s paradise, full of unique biological and geological wonders.
When to go: June to October. Population: 16,800. How to get there: You need a lot of determination to get to Kurl Islands. By boat to Kunashir (the southernmost island), from Kushiro, north Japan. Irregular ferry services to the other inhabited islands and a once monthly boat from Korsakov, the southern port of Sakhalin Island, Eastern Russia. To explore the Kurils on max, you must charter a boat or join an eco-expedition.
The Kurils were discovered in 1634 and first charted in 1739. They were seized by Japan in the 19th century and only returned to Russia at the end of the World War II. Photos by: sophieatkinson
