Gorobets Bay

Gorobets Bay (Bukhta Gorobets) lies on Shikotan Island, in the Yuzhno-Kurilsky municipal district of Sakhalin Oblast, close to the village of Krabozavodskoye. Shikotan is one of the southern islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, and its coastline is cut by many small bays. Crab Bay (Krabovaya) lies next to Gorobets Bay, with Snezhkova Bay and Cape Trezubets a little further along. The bay is best known for the rock spires on its shore that visitors call the "Dragon's Fangs" and the "Monks".

What to see

The main landmark of the bay is a row of sharp rock pinnacles rising straight out of the water and sand. Their jagged shape earned them the nickname "Dragon's Fangs"; nearby stand other rocks known as the "Monks". The shore itself is a beach of black volcanic sand, typical of the Kuril Islands' volcanic origin. The water near the shore is shallow, with kelp beds that shelter crabs and shrimp, and sea lions are sometimes spotted offshore.

History

The name of the bay, like that of the nearby Mount Gorobets, is thought to come from Ainu words — "horo" (lower) and "bets" (river) — meaning "lower river". Shikotan Island, like the whole southern Kuril chain, belonged at different times in the 20th century to Japan and then to the USSR, and traces of earlier settlement can still be found around the bay.

Legends and stories

Among tourists and locals, stories circulate about ghost ships seen in the waters off Shikotan and about old underground tunnels said to remain from the island's Japanese period. There is no reliable confirmation of either, but such tales are a recurring part of local accounts of the island.

Getting there

Shikotan Island has no bridges or public roads connecting it to the mainland: it can only be reached by sea or by flying to Kunashir Island (Yuzhno-Kurilsk) and continuing from there by boat or flight. One landmark along the way to the bay is Mount Gorobets, 219 meters high, known locally as Tankovaya Sopka ("Tank Hill"); from it the bay is about 4.5 kilometers away one way. Approaching the shore directly is difficult because of an overhanging cliff and a boggy stretch of ground, so the usual way down to the water follows the left bank of the Gorobets River, which shares the bay's name. It is worth planning the route in advance and allowing several hours for the hike on foot.