Cape Stolbchaty boat trip — hexagonal columns of Kunashir

Half a day on the Pacific side of Kunashir for the closest thing Russia has to a Giant's Causeway — Cape Stolbchaty's hexagonal basalt columns rising straight out of the surf.

What you'll do

Pickup at the Yuzhno-Kurilsk wharf around mid-morning, depending on tide and swell. Forty-minute boat run down the Pacific coast in our partner skipper's small craft. The cape comes into view as a dark wall — closer in, the surface resolves into thousands of vertical pencil-stones packed in honeycomb geometry. The skipper holds position 30 to 45 minutes; if the swell allows we land for a short walk on the basalt platform.

Sensory moments

The Pacific side of Kunashir does not look like Sakhalin. Steep dark coast, no settlements, the steam of the Mendeleev volcano in the haze behind you. The columns ring under your boots when you tap them — the cooling fractures that gave the rock its geometry are still there, audible.

Practical notes

• Duration: 4–5 hours door-to-door.
• Departure: Yuzhno-Kurilsk wharf, mid-morning.
• From price: ₽12 500 per person (≈ $140) for the boat slot. Min 4 guests, max 8 in our partner boat.
• Season: July through early September. Sea swell cancels often — AMIST rebooks within the same Kunashir week.
• What to bring: windproof and waterproof shells, sturdy non-slip shoes for landing, polarising sunglasses, a 70–200 mm zoom for the columns.
• Combine with: Mendeleev fumarole hike same day if energy allows; we can arrange.

Why we run it

Cape Stolbchaty is the photograph that brings most first-time guests to Kunashir. Our partner skipper has been running this short coastal route since the 2010s and knows when to push and when to abort — the swell on this stretch turns fast.