Tourism in Russia > Kamchatka > Avachinskaya Bay

Avachinskaya Bay

One cannot experience the peninsula and its main city of Petropavlovsk to the fullest without taking a look at Kamchatka's landscapes from the sea. Avachinskaya Bay (also known as the Blue Bay) cuts into the Pacific coast of Kamchatka 20 km (1 2 miles) deep. It is one of the world's most beautiful harbors. It is estimated that all of the ships of all of the fleets of the world could easily fit into this bay. In addition to its size and beauty, Avachinskaya is famous for being well protected against the fearsome tsunami waves.

A boot ride in the boy is a necessary part of any tour of the region. The main attractions here are the rock formations called the Three Brothers, Devil's Finger, and Granny's Rock. The lively colonies of seagulls, puffins, cormorants, and guillemots are always fun to visit. The bay is also a great place for fishing for sole and flounder. On a scuba-diving excursion of the boy you can observe and marvel at the rich underwater environments and hunt for delicious Kamchatka crabs. Experienced divers can find and bring up sea urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, and various mollusks. The roe of sea urchins and sea cucumbers is a true delicacy. If you are lucky, you can encounter a number of marine mammals: seals, sea otters, and even orcas.

A motor-boat site-seeing trip of the bay usually takes from a few hours to half a day. Pass the Nikolskaya Mountain, the Quiet Harbor, and the small island called Granny's Rock, tourists approach a kind of natural sea gate to the city of Petropavlovsk: the famous Three Brothers rocks, the emblem of the city, that stand at the entrance to the boy. According to Kamchatka native people's legend, these huge monoliths were once beautiful youths who took it upon themselves to stand at the bay's entry in order to protect their people from tsunami.

Two rivers called Avacha and Paratunka run through very picturesque valleys and flow into Avachinskaya Bay on its western side. I n the winter, water temperature of the bay remains above the temperature of the air, so the climate of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is fairly warm.