Yankito Plateau + Thermal Pools Jeep Tour (Iturup)

Two faces of volcanic Iturup in a single full day: the black-basalt Yankito lava plateau hammered by Pacific swell, and the thermal bathing pools sourced by Baransky Volcano — steaming, sulphur-scented rock tubs set deep in the island's forest interior.

What you'll do

We depart Kurilsk in 4WD vehicles early morning and drive north along the volcanic road. The first stop is Yankito Plateau — a lava terrace that Bogatyr Ridge and Baransky volcanic flows pushed down to the sea and froze there in columnar basalt. Spend 90 minutes walking the black tideline: hexagonal column tops, iron-dark sand, the "fingers" rising from the surf, Bogatyr's cone on the southern horizon. On calm days the cliff-to-sea drop and the silence compete for attention.

We return to the vehicles and press inland. The road climbs into birch and alder, then opens to a geothermal field on Baransky's slopes. Baransky is an active stratovolcano on the island's axis, and its groundwater system delivers mineral-rich water at 37–42 °C to a series of natural pools in the river valley below — locally known as vannochki (little baths). There are no facilities beyond basic wooden platforms; the pools are the product of the mountain, shaped by each flood season. You soak for an hour or more while steam curls over the treeline. Lunch is a field meal on the riverbank.

Return to Kurilsk by late afternoon. Total distance driven: approximately 110 km on 4WD tracks, with two hours of on-foot exploration at Yankito and an hour-plus soak at the thermal pools.

What makes it AMIST

Iturup roads punish standard vehicles. We use purpose-maintained 4WDs driven by Kurilsk-based guides who have worked these tracks through every season. The Yankito segment is timed to avoid high tide at the lava shelf; the thermal pools visit is timed so you arrive warm and leave before afternoon fog rolls in from the Pacific. Border permits for foreign nationals are arranged by us — 30 working days in advance — as a standard part of the booking, not an add-on.

We keep this tour to six guests. Yankito absorbs a large group into a smudge; six means everyone finds their own column top to stand on. At the pools, small numbers keep the soak quiet and the water at the right temperature for comfortable bathing.

Practical notes

• Duration: 8–9 hours, departure from Kurilsk 8:00 am, return approximately 5–6 pm.
• Distance: approximately 110 km round trip by 4WD; 2 h walking on lava terrain, 1+ h thermal soak.
• Group size: max 6 per vehicle / per guide.
• Included: 4WD transfers, Kurilsk-based guide, field lunch on the riverbank, border-permit filing for foreign nationals.
• To bring: sturdy hiking boots (lava eats soles), swimwear and small towel for the pools, windproof shell, polarising sunglasses, insect repellent for the forest section.
• Season: late June to mid-September. The thermal pools are fed year-round but road access closes with autumn mud season.
• Iturup access: border-zone permit required (AMIST files; passport details needed at booking). Nearest airport: Yasny (BVV), 90 min from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Why we run this pairing

Yankito and the Baransky pools are the two landscapes Iturup guests almost universally wish they had more time at. Running them together — coast first, forest thermal second — creates a day that reads as a full geologic argument: the same volcanic system that built the lava plateau also heats the pools. The drive between them is through primary alder forest, which is its own reward. AMIST has been guiding on Iturup since Yasny civilian flights opened in 2014 and, prior to that, on charter logistics since 2001.