Tyatya Volcano

Vulcan Tyatya

Volcano Tyatya is the highest active volcano and symbol of the Russian island of Kunashir. It rises to a height of 1,819 meters and has a crater diameter of over a kilometer. The indigenous people of the Great Kuril Ridge, the Ainu, called the volcano “Chacha-Nupuri”, meaning “father mountain”, and the Japanese called it “Tyatya-Dake”. For its regular truncated cone shape, Tyatya is considered one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the world.

General Information

Volcano Tyatya is located on the territory of the state nature reserve “Kurilsky”. At its foot, the slopes are covered with coniferous and broad-leaved forests with Kuril bamboo, and the upper belt of vegetation is dominated by thickets of cedar shrub and stone birch. The protected forests are home to brown bears, sables, foxes, weasels, hares, and European mink, which were introduced here in the 1980s.

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Tourists can get to Tyatya volcano only on the route established in the Kuril Reserve, having received a pass and having familiarized themselves with the rules of behavior in the protected area. An entrance ticket to the reserve costs 300 rubles for a day’s stay, and accompanying a group of 7 people on a two-day excursion to Tyatya volcano will cost 27,600 rubles. Passes are issued at the reserve’s manor house, which is located on Zarechnaya Street, 5, in the urban-type settlement of Yuzhno-Kurilsk.

Volcanic activity

Tyatya is one of the most active volcanoes located in the Kuril Islands. It belongs to the stratovolcanoes of the somma-vesuvium type, and its slopes are composed of andesitic and basaltic lavas. Documented eruptions occurred on Tiat in 1812 and 1973. The last time, a powerful eruption from the crater Otvazhny led to a large fire in the protected area.

Standing on the edge of the main crater, which has a depth of 160 meters, you can feel the heat emanating from the volcano. To do this, it is enough to touch the clay areas under your feet. Today, the main crater of the volcano is often “smoking” in cold weather, and poisonous gases are periodically emitted from the side crater. This is one reason why this part of the island has so few inhabitants.

Route to Tiatia Volcano

The route to Tyata is accompanied by a guide and is designed for travelers with good physical shape. From Yuzhno-Kurilsk to the foot of Tyati reach in three days on foot along the coast or in 2.5-3 hours by boat. Those who chose the walking option will have to cross several rivers – Kamyshevaya, Saratovskaya, Tyatina and Nochka. From the Tyatina River to Cape Rubizhny the way goes along the old Japanese road.

The ascent to Tyatya volcano starts from Cape Rubezhny. Depending on the place of overnight stay, the ascent to Tyatya can be done in one or two days. At first tourists go up along the bed of the Rubizhny brook, and then overcome the black cinder field. At an altitude of 650 meters above sea level there is the Otvazhny crater, and 100 meters above it – a small crater, which was named “Pogranichnik”. From here the most labor-intensive part of the route begins – the ascent along the long slag tongue up to the crest of the somma, from which you can see the young cone. The final push to the edge of the volcano’s main crater takes about 40 minutes.

Part of the climb is on sharp volcanic cinder, so you should have sturdy trekking boots for the ascent.

How to get there

To the urban-type settlement of Yuzhno-Kurilsky, from where the route to the volcano Tyatya begins, you can get by air and sea. From the airport in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to the airport Mendeleevo, located 15 km from Yuzhno-Kurilsky, fly small aircraft. The trip takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. Usually airplanes make 4 flights a week, but weather conditions can always make adjustments to the schedule. From Mendeleevo to Yuzhno-Kurilsky is reached by vahtovki (40 minutes).

Another option is to come to Kunashir Island by sea. This way takes much more time and can stretch for a day or even two, because some ships go directly to Kunashir, and others before Yuzhno-Kurilsky call at Shikotan Island. Ships to Kunashir depart from the seaport of Korsakov, where bus No. 115 runs from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. When considering the option of traveling by sea, one should not discount the sea swell, which not everyone tolerates with ease.