How to travel around Karelia without a tour: public transport and on-site excursions. Traveling through Karelia on your own Visit the Valaam Monastery

The article talks about how to organize your independent travel in Karelia: when to go, what to see and how to get there.

Russia, next to Finland, is rich in natural beauties and cultural heritage Republic of Karelia. The region attracts travelers with its pristine purity. It is ideal for both quiet, have a relaxing holiday, and for active pastime with a constant change of environment. Hunting for birds and animals, along wild rivers, skiing and dog sledding, fishing, excursions - all this awaits curious tourists in Karelia.

Please note: 2 useful feedback O independent trip to Karelia

  • about Karelia
  • : pros and cons
  • About the main attractions, and the


How to get to Karelia?

In the northwest
There are 4 options for how to get to the republic:

  • By train.
    Direct routes are provided between Petrozavodsk and Moscow or St. Petersburg. If there are no direct flights from other cities in Russia, you can always take a ticket with transfers.
  • By bus.
    The option is most suitable for residents of St. Petersburg. Flights to Petrozavodsk.
  • By plane.
    Near the village of Besovets, 12 km from Petrozavodsk there is main airport Karelia. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advance.
  • By car.
    An excellent option for traveling around Karelia in terms of economy and freedom of movement. Suitable for large families and companies. It is worth considering that many roads in the republic are dirt roads.

Choose a tour to Karelia

When you don’t have time to plan a trip to Karelia on your own, you can contact the guys from Alem-Tur. This is a tour operator we have verified. They have been working since 2002 and know all the most beautiful places republics. All tours are turnkey: accommodation + transfer + excursions. In general, we recommend it. Look at what tours to Karelia they offer now.


What to see in Karelia?

The republic is concentrated huge amount cultural monuments. The most interesting attractions for tourists:

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  • Valaam, Solovki – popular islands, which have preserved ancient monasteries and churches, many of which are UNESCO heritage. The islands are also attractive for their natural beauty: dense forests with slender spruce trees, rocky, steep banks, and clean river water. You can read more about it in a separate article.
  • Architectural Museum of Kizhi. On the island right below open air collected samples of the life of the peoples who lived on these lands many centuries ago. During the excursion, travelers will learn many legends and customs of the local residents.
  • White Sea petroglyphs. On the islands of Karelia, archaeologists have discovered about three dozen ancient sites, as well as images and compositions carved on rocks dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. It is recommended to view the drawings accompanied by a guide.
  • Ruskeala marble canyon. It was here that marble was taken for the St. Petersburg palaces. The canyon is surrounded by ancient trees, which makes it more beautiful and majestic.
  • Waterfalls Girvas and Kivach. The first is unique for its location on the volcano, and the second for its size.
  • Kuzova Archipelago. At 16 uninhabited islands Rare birds and animals huddle. Interesting place for visiting naturalists.


How to get around Karelia?

Least popular in the republic railway transport. Because main task Karelia - to preserve the pristine beauty of nature; new rails are not laid. Oktyabrskaya is relevant for travelers railway. You can use it to get to Onega and Kandalaksha Bays White Sea, Lake Onega. Branch lines have also been laid to Yushkozero, Belomorsk, and Sortavala.

To get acquainted with all the beauties of Karelia, it is recommended to travel by your own car or rent transport on the spot. Moving on federal highway M-18 "Kola", you can turn onto any secondary road, which will certainly lead to one of the lakes of the region.

Karelia has marine and river shipping company. The water communication system here is well developed, so travelers can easily move along the White Sea coast, along the Neva and Svir rivers, lakes Ladoga, Onega, and the White Sea-Baltic Canal.


Karelia has everything for lovers hiking: thick coniferous forests, hundreds of square kilometers of swamps and swamps, which are so interesting to overcome, and, of course, reservoirs. It’s not for nothing that this region is called “the land of a thousand lakes.” There are more than 60 thousand of them here. Among them there are small ones that can be walked around in a circle in 10 minutes, and the most large lakes in Europe - Ladoga and Onega.

A tour to Karelia is worth buying if only to breathe in the cleanest air, filled with the aromas of pine needles and algae, and admire the fantastic beautiful scenery. For our part, we promise an interesting, sightseeing route and good company.

Popular tour destinations in Karelia

There are many places in the region worthy of attention tourists. We try to cover them all, so every year we add new hikes in Karelia. But these destinations are popular at any time of the year among all categories of travelers - both beginners and experienced tourists.

  • Lake Ladoga. This is a real haven for both hikers and rafting enthusiasts. We travel around Ladoga on canoes and kayaks, admiring the magnificent nature of the skerries, studying the flora and fauna of coniferous forests. Shores Lake Ladoga famous cleanest beaches, where it’s convenient to set up camp and enjoy sunsets and sunrises over the endless water surface. If this is your first time vacationing in Karelia, we recommend going here.
  • Coast of the White Sea. Best place in order to temporarily escape from the tenacious clutches of civilization. Coastal landscapes fascinate with their laconic, “cool” beauty. Waves crash on moss-covered rocks, the light sand of the beach turns into the dark edge of the forest and there is no trace of human activity around. There are no endless cafes, shopping tents, attractions and other tourist “action”, as in seaside resorts.
  • Valaam Island. A legendary place on the map of Russia. Here is the famous Valaam Monastery, founded more than a thousand years ago, and villages in which time seems to have stood still.
  • Kizhi Island. Its main attraction is the museum-reserve of the same name. Here, as if in a kaleidoscope, a panorama of ancient Karelia unfolds. A visit to the museum will give you an idea of ​​how people lived here one hundred, three hundred and even a thousand years ago.

Other popular destinations in Karelia in 2019 include water tours along the Shuya and Suna rivers, trekking to the Vottovaara and Nuorinen mountains. In total, our catalog contains more than 50 trips in this region.

Types of hikes

  • On foot. The name speaks for itself - tourists travel on foot. A separate type of such tours are self-accompanied travel, where participants travel light and their luggage is carried by escort cars.
  • Aquatic. Tourists conquer reservoirs on kayaks and kayaks. However, water tours in Karelia are not complete without relaxation on the shore and excursions to attractions.

At the beginning of August, we decided to go to Karelia, especially since for some time we were allowed to stay for free at a camp site in Sinevo (Karelian Isthmus). Accordingly, our journey began precisely from this point, 140 km from St. Petersburg. I will post the places we visited in chronological order.

  1. Priozersk

The town itself is small and not particularly interesting. Only the 14th century Korela fortress (formerly Kögsogolm) is worth a visit. You can walk around the territory and explore several halls in 30-40 minutes.

Admission is 100 rubles, for students (we have been using expired tickets for several years now, collecting discounts) - 30 rubles.



  1. Ruskeala

One of the places we definitely had to see was Marble Canyon. Now this point is fully equipped for tourists, and of course everything is paid. Entrance is 200 rubles, for 440 you can rent a boat, and for another 1000 wooden ones you can jump with a rope or ride a zip line. It's called wonderful place Now - mountain park Ruskeala)
We visited on student tickets for 150 rubles, and even the crowds of tourists did not overshadow this walk, since the views that opened up to our eyes were mesmerizing and outweighed all the negatives. Definitely a must-visit point in Karelia)
On the way we stopped at the Ruskeala waterfalls, they are located not far from the Marble Canyon. Quite small, but also picturesque)





  1. White Bridges Waterfall.

The height is 19 meters, and it is located in the forest)
The map told us that there was a road right up to the waterfall that we could take. Having turned off the highway, there was supposed to be another 10 km of travel... along a forest path with huge hummocks and holes filled with water. Almost the entire way we dragged ourselves at the speed of a walking person, 2 km before the goal we couldn’t stand it, we abandoned the car, changed our boots and walked. Vasya rubbed his feet with new boots, we were a little tired from the hour-long walk through the forest, but the goal was worth it)


  1. Petrozavodsk

Hello civilization! :)

The only one large city in the area, we stopped at Lenta and stocked up on provisions. Among the must-see places, the embankment is worth mentioning.


  1. Mount Sampo.

Not far from Petrozavodsk, just 40 km, there is the so-called Sampo Mountain. We thought it was really a mountain that we would have to climb high and would have to drive off-road to reach, but in reality it turned out to be a small hill not far from the highway. It offers excellent views of the tops of pine trees and lakes. This is a place of power, where it is customary to tie ribbons and make wishes, which is what we did.



  1. Marcial waters.

First Russian resort With healing water. There are four springs here, the water from each cures different ailments and has different tastes. You need to drink it from a straw, as it can damage your tooth enamel. They say that there is no point in taking it with you, since after a while it loses its healing properties. We took it, but after a few hours we poured it out - it became even nastier, and it seemed that the teeth were covered with a yellow coating from the iron it contained.


  1. Girvas

Girvas is a paleovolcano located near the village of the same name, in the bed of the Suna River. Now only its petrified streams are visible. When the floodgates open, in place ancient volcano a waterfall forms, but we didn’t see this spectacle.
We were more amazed by the natural monument we accidentally encountered on the way - the Girva flood of a tributary of the Suna River. The water flows with enormous power, forming a graceful waterfall. We threw branches into it, checking the speed of the running water)

 

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