Commander archipelago. The Commander Islands are a corner of untouched nature. Fauna of the Commander Islands

The amazing Commander Islands are the point where two continents, Asia and America, meet.

The composition of the Commander Islands includes about. Medny and Beringov, which are part of the Commander Natural State Reserve. The islands are named Commander Islands in honor of Captain-Commander Vitus Bering, who got to the islands as a result of a shipwreck. The captain and his expedition died without surviving the cold winter. After the discovery of unknown islands, the lands began to be gradually developed by people, various fishing expeditions were carried out, in particular hunting for animals.

Cloudy and windy weather persists in summer, the air temperature does not warm up above +15 degrees, in winter it is completely monotonous, snow is everywhere and blizzards are raging. The best time to travel to the Commander Islands is from July to September, when life returns to the islands, nesting birds arrive, sea animals occupy the shores and more or less clear weather sets in.

At first glance, the flora may seem scarce, because only dwarf birches and aspens grow on the islands, in some places there are meadows of rhododendrons, buttercups and other northern flowers, the landscapes are not as bright as in regions with a warm climate. Despite such a seemingly boring picture, tourists still come to the Commander Islands for new experiences, for solitude with nature, not missing the opportunity to watch the rich marine fauna. A trip to the Commander Islands is a great opportunity to relax away from bustling noisy cities and everyday worries.

Large animals such as arctic fox, reindeer live on land, the most common are various types of rodents, namely mice and rats. By the way, polar foxes in these parts are very intrusive, chasing tourists all the way. But you should not be afraid of them, they just know that people have food, which sometimes they manage to steal.

During low tides, sea urchins, sea anemones, bolanus, jellyfish can be observed on the bare bottom. In search of food, seabirds scurry everywhere, which include the well-known gulls, terns, as well as puffins, puffins and other birds.

Rookeries of sea animals, collapsed fur seals are arranged on the coast, huge walruses are of interest to all tourists. Traveling to the lakes, it becomes possible to observe the spawning of salmon fish.

Excursion routes pass through picturesque places, along the way you can stumble upon berry fields, mushroom places, and relax by the lakes. The path runs through narrow canyons, past rivers and sheer cliffs overgrown with grass, along deserted stone beaches to places of accumulation of birds and rookeries of marine animals. It is worth noting that the existing hiking trails are quite long, so minimal physical fitness is required to overcome them.

Of no small interest are expedition tours on a sea vessel, which allow you to discover something new, look at the islands from the side, watch whales. During sea cruises you can go fishing.

In addition to walking and water excursions, there are helicopter and car excursions, the cost of which depends on the duration of the excursion.

You can see the sights not only as part of an excursion group, but also on your own. After all, there are no predators and dangerous places. Although during group tours you can learn a lot of interesting facts, learn about the history of the islands.

Sights of the Commander Islands

• Rookeries of fur seals and sea lions in the north and northwest of Bering Island, in the southeast of Medny Island. The largest accumulation of animals is observed in summer. Viewing platforms are specially equipped for tourists.
• small Islands Toporkov and Ariy Kamen which are nesting sites for thousands of birds.
• Bay Komandor- the place of death of the expedition of Vitus Bering.
• Bayan Bayan, where there are deposits of semi-precious stones (jasper, opal), washed out by the Buyan River.
• Old Harbor Bay on the northeastern coast of Bering Island, about 16 km. from Cape Buyan. On the coast you can relax, swim in the sea, go fishing.
• Lake Saranoe where there are large salmon spawning grounds.
• Arch Steller, which is a huge stone vault, formed by the forces of nature over many centuries. Near the arch you can observe large concentrations of birds, admire the waterfall.
• Aleutian Museum of Local Lore in the village of Nikolsky, where skeletons of disappeared marine animals, a collection of semi-precious stones and other interesting exhibits are exhibited.

Where to settle

You can settle on Bering Island, in the village of Nikolskoye, which is the regional administrative center. The village is inhabited by the indigenous inhabitants of these places - the Aleuts. The village has a post office, a hospital, several shops.

You can buy food from local residents, many will be surprised how cheap delicacies are in the form of red caviar, sea fish. To avoid unnecessary problems with food, it is better to stock up on food in advance, buy various canned food, dry meals, as well as take care of essentials and warm clothes.

There are no catering establishments and hotels on the Commander Islands (there is one cafe and a small hotel), so many tourists spend the night in tents or try to rent accommodation in the village of Nikolskoye. Some spend the night in abandoned apartments.

The easiest way to buy tours to the Commander Islands, because. travel companies include accommodation, meals and excursions in the tour. Tourists are accommodated in a tent camp, in museum warehouses. With enough funds, you can rent a cabin on a yacht.
You can check into a hotel in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and from the city to get to the islands by plane. But it is easier to settle in the village of Nikolskoye, because. it is difficult to see all the sights in one day, and flying every day by plane, the ticket price for which is quite high, is costly.

When planning a trip to the Commander Islands, you should not count on a cheap vacation. The average cost of excursion tours is 52,000 rubles. Prices can be much higher, exceeding 100,000 rubles per person. When buying a tour, the price usually includes the price of tickets for transport, accommodation, meals and excursions. When traveling independently, the costs may be lower, the main costs will be for transport.

Of course, the trip will leave the most vivid impressions, there is something to see on the islands, there is something to be surprised at. The main thing is to stock up on a sufficient amount of money, because the prices here are very high.

How to get there

Russia, Kamchatka Territory, Aleutsky District, Commander Islands, Nikolskoye settlement.

The journey to the Commander Islands begins with the purchase of an air ticket to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, from there from the Yelizovo airport by plane you need to get to the airport of the village of Nikolskoye. Then you need to get to the village, which is about 7 km. from the airport.

Please note that flights may be delayed or delayed due to bad weather. Flights are carried out several times a week, so you should carefully plan your vacation, taking into account the day of departure home.

: 54°40' N. sh. 167°50′ E d. /  54.667° N sh. 167.833° E d. / 54.667; 167.833 (G) (I)

Commander Islands- an archipelago of four islands in the southwestern part of the Bering Sea of ​​​​the Pacific Ocean. Administratively, they are part of the Aleutsky District of the Kamchatka Territory of Russia. The islands are named after the navigator Commander Vitus Bering, who discovered them in 1741. On the largest of them - Bering Island - there is a grave of a navigator. Commander Islands - a place of mixing of Russian and Aleutian cultures. They have a huge potential for the development of northern tourism.

Story

The first Europeans to visit the Commander Islands are considered to be members of the Second Kamchatka Expedition, who in 1741 crashed near Bering Island. Medny Island was discovered by the industrialist Emelyan Basov, who gave it this name.

Publications about the natural resources of the islands began to appear from the end of the 18th century.

Geography

The Commander Islands are the western tip of the Aleutian island arc and are separated from the Aleutian Islands by the Near Strait, about 370 km wide. The total area of ​​the archipelago is 1848 km². It is located on the border of the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, 200 km east of the Kamchatka Peninsula, from which it is separated by the Kamchatka Strait. Bering and Medny Islands are separated by the Admiral Kuznetsov Strait.

Compound

The archipelago includes:

Economic activity

Administrative-territorial division

Administratively, the islands make up the Aleutian region.

Settlements

The village of Nikolskoe on about. Beringa is the only settlement of the islands. The population according to the 2015 census is 637 people.

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Notes

Literature

• Marakov S.V. Nature and wildlife Commander / S. V. Marakov; Rep. ed. Dr. Biol. sciences, prof. A. G. Tomilin; USSR Academy of Sciences. - M .: Nauka, 1972. - 185, p. - (General scientific popular publications). - 25,000 copies.(reg.)
• Pasenyuk L. M. I'm going to Commanders. - M .: Soviet Russia, 1974. - 284, p. - (On the Russian land). - 50,000 copies.(reg.)
• Mochalova O. A., Yakubov V. V. Flora of the Commander Islands. - Vladivostok: Biology and Soil Institute FEB RAS, 2004. - 120 p.

Links

• Commander Islands- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

An excerpt characterizing the Commander Islands

The friends were silent. Neither of them began to speak. Pierre glanced at Prince Andrei, Prince Andrei rubbed his forehead with his small hand.
"Let's go to dinner," he said with a sigh, getting up and heading for the door.
They entered the elegant, newly decorated dining room. Everything, from napkins to silver, faience and crystal, bore that special imprint of novelty that happens in the household of young spouses. In the middle of dinner, Prince Andrei leaned on his elbows and, like a man who has long had something in his heart and suddenly decides to speak out, with an expression of nervous irritation in which Pierre had never seen his friend, he began to say:
“Never, never marry, my friend; here is my advice to you: do not marry until you tell yourself that you have done everything you could, and until you stop loving the woman you have chosen, until you see her clearly; otherwise you will make a cruel and irreparable mistake. Marry an old man, worthless ... Otherwise, everything that is good and lofty in you will be lost. Everything is wasted on trifles. Yes Yes Yes! Don't look at me with such surprise. If you expect anything from yourself ahead, then at every step you will feel that everything is over for you, everything is closed, except for the drawing room, where you will stand on the same board with the court lackey and the idiot ... Yes, what! ...
He waved his hand vigorously.
Pierre took off his glasses, which made his face change, showing even more kindness, and looked in surprise at his friend.
“My wife,” continued Prince Andrei, “is a wonderful woman. This is one of those rare women with whom you can be dead for your honor; but, my God, what would I not give now not to be married! This I tell you alone and first, because I love you.
Prince Andrei, saying this, was even less like than before, that Bolkonsky, who was sitting lounging in Anna Pavlovna's armchairs and squinting through his teeth, uttering French phrases. His dry face kept trembling with the nervous animation of every muscle; eyes, in which the fire of life had previously seemed extinguished, now shone with a radiant, bright brilliance. It was evident that the more lifeless he seemed at ordinary times, the more energetic he was in those moments of almost painful irritation.
“You don’t understand why I say this,” he continued. “It's a whole life story. You say Bonaparte and his career,” he said, although Pierre did not talk about Bonaparte. – You are talking to Bonaparte; but Bonaparte, when he worked, went step by step towards the goal, he was free, he had nothing but his goal - and he reached it. But bind yourself to a woman, and like a chained convict, you lose all freedom. And everything that is in you of hope and strength, everything only weighs you down and torments you with repentance. Drawing rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out. I am now going to war, to the greatest war that has ever been, and I know nothing and am no good. Je suis tres aimable et tres caustique, [I am very sweet and very eater,] continued Prince Andrei, “and Anna Pavlovna is listening to me. And this stupid society, without which my wife cannot live, and these women ... If only you could know what it is toutes les femmes distinguees [all these women of good society] and women in general! My father is right. Selfishness, vanity, stupidity, insignificance in everything - these are women when everything is shown as they are. You look at them in the light, it seems that there is something, but nothing, nothing, nothing! Yes, don’t marry, my soul, don’t marry, ”Prince Andrei finished.
“It’s funny to me,” said Pierre, “that you yourself, you consider yourself incapable, your life a spoiled life. You have everything, everything is ahead. And you…
He did not say that you were, but his tone already showed how highly he appreciated his friend and how much he expected from him in the future.
"How can he say that!" thought Pierre. Pierre considered Prince Andrei a model of all perfection precisely because Prince Andrei combined to the highest degree all those qualities that Pierre did not have and which can be most closely expressed by the concept of willpower. Pierre was always amazed at Prince Andrei's ability to calmly deal with all kinds of people, his extraordinary memory, erudition (he read everything, knew everything, had an idea about everything), and most of all his ability to work and study. If Pierre was often struck by the lack of the ability of dreamy philosophizing in Andrei (which Pierre was especially prone to), then he saw this not as a drawback, but as a strength.

Journey to the Commander Islands- romance in half with the severity of the edge. This is what makes the Commander Archipelago so attractive to visit.

Price and time to travel to Komandory

• TIME DIFFERENCE FROM MOSCOW - +9 hours.
• WHEN TO GO TO THE COMMANDOR ARCHIPELAGO -
• HOW TO GET TO THE GOAL - From Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: by plane - from 25000 RUR. Tour of the Commander Islands of the archipelago from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky along the described route - from 50,000 RUR.
• TRANSPORT AND ROAD - To see the beauty of the Commander archipelago, it is better to choose a tour along the proposed route. Its cost includes all transportation from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
• ARCHIPELAGO WEATHER - In May, the average temperature on the islands of the archipelago is about 0 ° C. Fog and cloudy weather will be your travel companions in any season and season.
• DURATION OF THE TRIP TO COMMANDORS - 10 days
• ACCOMMODATION - Accommodation in cabins and tents is included in the tour price. Price per room in the hotels of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: se./d - from 3500/5000 RUR. Rent an apartment for the night - from 1100-1300 RUR; rooms of local residents - from 1100 RUR / person. Often food is included in the price of accommodation.

Misty Lands of the Commanders

Day 3-4

Walk to the rookery of sea animals. Visit the far side of the rookery. The next day, go to Saranoye Lake, where you will set up a campground. Head to the salmon spawning ground located in the river that connects the lake to the ocean.

Russia is a huge country that surprises everyone not only with its diverse natural beauties, but also with a large number of different attractions. The main assets of this country most often include its vast expanses, one of the most interesting places within the country is the Commander Islands.

Yes, this is by no means a standard vacation: beach, sea, and all-inclusive. Rather, a trip to the Commander Islands is for those who crave something unusual, the most vivid impressions, both from the trip itself and from sightseeing. From the article you will learn about holidays on the Commander Islands: how to get there and what to see? Perhaps, after reading about this amazing corner of our country, you will want to go there in 2019.

Brief historical background

The first European travelers reached the Commander Islands not so long ago by the standards of world history: in the 18th century. They were members of Russian expeditions to Kamchatka, they were shipwrecked there. The main island of the archipelago was named after the expedition commander, Vitus Bering. Bering himself died during this journey, but part of his team began to study new territories, and other scientists subsequently continued this.

Subsequently, not only researchers, but also businessmen appeared on the islands: thanks to the rich animal world, various crafts developed here. Aleuts appeared on the islands, whom the combined forces of Russian and American businessmen brought in as workers.

After the transfer of Alaska, oddly enough, the Commander Islands remained part of Russia. Many years passed before humanity reached the understanding that rare animals should not be exterminated uncontrollably, but should be preserved, controlled by the population. At present, crafts on the islands are still part of the activity, however, reserves have also been created, and the islands are no longer visited by discoverers or businessmen, but by tourists who want to visit an unusual place and see a completely different, reserved world.

Brief geographic reference and climate

The islands are located on the eastern side of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Due to the fact that these land areas are located in the northern part of the cold Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the climate on their territory is rather changeable and very harsh. Therefore, one can often hear that the Commanders are the land of "fogs and winds." It often rains there and strong winds blow. The weather conditions on one island can be very different from the weather conditions on another, and the weather tends to change several times during the day.

In winter, on the islands, the average temperature is five degrees below zero, but it can drop to twenty degrees below zero, and in summer the average value on the thermometer is ten degrees Celsius. It is better, of course, to go to the islands in the summer. The islands do not belong to those places where you can see the usual city life, since the only settlement on the archipelago is a village called Nikolskoye. It is home to less than 1000 people - Russians and Aleuts.

Commander Islands on the map

Planning a trip to the Commander Islands: transport, accommodation, permission

How to get there?

Tourists wishing to get to the Commander Islands will not be so easy to do, since a small plane that transports travelers there flies only once a week, while one of the important conditions is the presence of good weather. However, the presence of all these difficulties has never stopped tourists from other cities and countries, and those people who have visited the Commander Islands at least once believe that everyone should see this amazing land.

Firstly, there are specially organized tours to the Commander Islands. The cost of such proposals is very high for tours in Russia. So, you can order a summer 12-day tour to the Commander Islands for about 150,000 rubles. However, this amount will include:

• accommodation in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky;
• transfer to the village of Nikolskoye and all other transfers;
• nutrition;
• excursions;
• rental of necessary equipment;
• medical insurance;
• all necessary permits from the authorities.

when buying a tour to Komandory, air tickets to Kamchatka will have to be paid separately.

I must say that the suggestions of guides in this case are quite justified: after all, if a tourist is not prepared, has not made such trips, without a guide it may even be dangerous for him to make such a trip.

But since there are those who have already traveled on rather stressful travel conditions, you need to know how you can get to the Commander Islands on your own. You need to buy an air ticket to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The cost of a ticket from to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in August will be approximately 25,000 rubles (one way per person).

In three hours from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky or Ust-Kamchatsk by plane you can get to the village of Nikolskoye, which is located 4 kilometers from the airport. You will have to get acquainted with the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport website in advance in order to understand when the plane will take off.

Another option is a trip by sea. From the seaport of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the Commander Islands, tourists are delivered by the motor ship Vasily Zavoiko, the travel time will be at least thirty-six hours (depending on weather conditions, it may increase).

Where to stay?

Planning an independent trip to the Commander Islands will be difficult also because there are numerous hotels, inns and other delights waiting for tourists there. No, in this corner of the wild nature there is only one settlement - the village of Nikolskoye, in which the only Vitus Bering hotel was opened just a couple of years ago.

In principle, you can try to find local residents in advance by correspondence and agree on renting a corner for a certain time. However, what you need to know is that for a thorough inspection of all corners of the islands, you will have to spend the night in field conditions. To do this, you must either be part of an organized group, or be a very, very prepared and experienced tourist.

Permission to visit

A fairly large part of the islands is occupied by the Komandorsky state natural biosphere reserve. In order to simply be on its territory, you must obtain special permission from the administration. For tourist groups who book a tour to the islands, this permit is issued among other paid services, but you can get it yourself.

Tourists need permission to visit the territory for the purpose of educational eco-tourism, separately it will be necessary to obtain paper for photography and video filming. In order to obtain such a permit, it is necessary to contact the administration of the reserve in advance, even before making a trip, through official contacts.

Sights of the Commander Islands

So, the tourist has overcome all obstacles. What awaits brave travelers on the Commander Islands?

I must say that the village of Nikolskoye is the only stronghold of civilization among the wild. But the stronghold is very modest: there are shops, a hospital, a bank, as well as the Aleutian Museum of Local Lore. The latter is definitely worth a look: to learn more about the history of the discovery of the islands, travelers, Vitus Bering, the further history of this region, the Aleuts, the nature of the islands.

The anchored ship of the Second Kamchatka Expedition led by the chief associate of the ruler of the Russian Empire, Vitus Bering, is considered to be a historical landmark of the islands. Also on the islands there is a reconstructed campsite of the same expedition, as well as the grave of the great explorer himself.

But the most important thing on the Commander Islands is their nature.

Today, more than four hundred species and about forty subspecies of plants live in the reserve. They tend to be located on the so-called border of the natural zone of western and eastern flora and fauna.

So, on the islands you can see stunning rookeries of fur seals - these cute and beautiful animals live their lives on the shore, and tourists should only quietly observe and, with permission, take pictures. In addition to fur seals, tourists are expected on the Commander Islands, among others:

• humpback whales;
• sperm whales;
• porpoises;
• arctic foxes;
• birds, fish, invertebrates abound.

Tourists usually do not miss the opportunity to visit the local bays. The most famous of them are the Podutesnaya and Poludennaya bays. In addition to the most interesting relief and landscape, in Podutesnaya you can admire the bright northern flora, waterfalls, an abundance of birds and fish, as well as sea lions, sea otters, and anthurs. In the Midday Bay there is a station where scientists observe such powerful animals as whales and killer whales. An interesting place on the islands is Steller's Arch - a natural monument of an unusual shape, named after the famous naturalist Georg Steller.

Medny Island will delight lovers of landscapes - the rocks on it are lushly overgrown with grass, the island is rich in grottoes and hills, gorges and waterfalls and is generally considered the most picturesque of the entire island group of the Commander Islands. A very large bird colony lives on the islands of Ariy Kamen and Toporkov: puffins, ipatka, cormorants and other birds of local latitudes.

Features of traveling to the Commander Islands

It is immediately necessary to understand that such a journey will not be easy in any case. You will have to spend a lot of effort and money both on its planning and on its implementation. It is necessary to take into account all the nuances: how to get there (buy tickets in advance, but be prepared for the fact that, for example, due to weather conditions, you will have to stay on the islands); where and how to live; be sure to take care of communication and carefully collect everything you need, but not superfluous; check your health and have the necessary medicines with you.

Of course, scientists, reserve workers, and villagers from Nikolsky are currently living on the islands, so they cannot be called completely uninhabited, yet this is not a trip to the desert, where there is not a soul. In the village you can easily buy food, spend the night, local residents and employees of the reserve, as a rule, are friendly to inquisitive and polite tourists, the fact that this is Russia will be a big advantage, which means that there will be no language problem. But if you have planned a trip to the Commander Islands, you must immediately understand that such a trip is not for the sake of relaxation in comfort, but for the sake of knowledge, acquaintance with wildlife, and in some ways, even overcoming oneself.

However, if you decide to go on a trip to the Commander Islands, you will not regret it. After all, no other place will give you such pure impressions of the pristine and exotic northern nature!