Christmas in Karelia. Bus tour from Moscow

00:30 Boarding is possible in Tver (Globus shopping center, Oktyabrsky Avenue, 101).

Its history dates back to the time of Rurik. The first mention of the fortress is found in the Tale of Bygone Years in 862. The Ladoga fortress was of great importance, being at the intersection of the paths "from the Varangians to the Greeks." 

Monuments of different eras, starting from the XII century, have been preserved in Staraya Ladoga.

Stop at the Old Ladoga fortress (tour of the fortress, without visiting the towers).

~ 15:30 Arrival in the city of Kondopoga.

Lunch at the hotel cafe is a buffet.

New Year's entertainment program.

We go to the shore of Lake Onega (200 m from the hotel).

The carnival procession "Karjalanranta" will be greeted with national tunes that will give a cheerful mood and carry you into the cycle of dancing, fun and games. 

Santa Claus and his friend, the reindeer, will open a bag of joy, ingenuity, good luck and invite you to visit them at a "freaky party around a hot campfire." 

Karelian beauty Lumine, the granddaughter of Santa Claus, together with the characters of her favorite cartoon "Bremen Town Musicians" and guests, will go on an adventure! 

You will have to try hard to defeat the Detective in his insidious plans: solve riddles, perform the "Song of Friends", transform into winter characters! After all, his plan is this: to enchant the Snow Maiden and turn her into a Chieftainess! 

After tasting Karelian tea, we will go outside to get acquainted with funny and mischievous husky dogs. Brother Lumikelloja will "harness" the guests into a sled and teach you the correct technique of driving a sled! 

Winter "transformations" will give a lot of positive emotions, and the performance of the song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" will be unusual!

Visiting a sled dog kennel. An experienced kayak will introduce you to your pets, cute huskies, reindeer are always ready to pose for photos in pleasant company.

Accommodation at the Karelia 3* hotel.

"Karelian room". At the national master classes, we will get acquainted with the traditional culture of the northern people and the peculiarities of the region. 

Let's sit down amicably at a wide table and, under the guidance of an experienced master, prepare traditional rupittetu (gates) from rye flour. 

Let's touch the strings of the ancient Finno-Ugric kantele and get the first lessons of playing the instrument. Let the "Karelian gusli" sing about the wind, about a warm house, there will always be happiness and prosperity in it.

Tea drinking with products of our own production — wickets.

Dinner in the hotel's cafe is a buffet.

Breakfast in the hotel cafe (buffet).

A program to choose from: 

Option No. 1. "Kizhi is the eighth wonder of the world."   

07:30 We are going on a big trip to a unique natural complex, a UNESCO natural heritage monument — the famous Kizhi Island (250 km).  

The road will pass through the most original places of Zaonezhye — the northern region of Karelia, widely known for its monuments of wooden architecture, deposits of shungite and Zaonezh embroidery. 

On the way on the route:

• Shunga settlement is one of the oldest settlements in the Zaonezhye region and the birthplace of the carbon mineral shungite. The "aspid stone" owes its name to these surroundings. Since the XV century, the main land road of the North, connecting the White Sea and Lake Onega with Novgorod, passed through Shunsky Pogost;
• Tolvuya village. St. Zosima was born and grew up in these places, who later became one of the founders of the monastery on the Solovetsky Islands. Xenia Ivanovna, the mother of the future tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was also exiled here in conclusion, and Marfa was a monk.

Arrival in the town of Oyatevshchyna. Safe transfer by hovercraft to Kizhi Island (1 km/15 minutes). 

A tour of Kizhi Winter Island, a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site since 1990. 

You will learn about all its secrets when visiting the ensemble of the Kizhi churchyard, visit the estate of the Zaonezhsky peasant and one of the oldest wooden churches in Russia — the Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus, rumored to have the ability to heal all ailments. And also inspect the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord from the outside. 

The city of Medvezhegorsk (Karkhumyaki). Many popular films were shot in these places: "Love and Doves", "And trees grow on stones", "Platinum 2".

~ 21.00 Estimated time of return to the hotel.

Option No.2. "Kivach Waterfall and Bear Mountain".

08:00 Departure for the excursion program.

On the way on the route:

• The city of Medvezhegorsk. The city is located in the lip of the Povenetsky Bay, surrounded by picturesque rocks and hills. Popular films were shot in these places: "Love and Doves", "And trees grow on stones", "Platinum 2";
• Karhumaki's "castle" was a system of circular defense of the Finnish army of 1942-1944 to the west of Medvezhegorsk, which was called the "Second Mannerheim Line". A special feature of the fortification is the logically chosen line of the leading edge, corresponding to the natural rocky boundary. 
• Visit to the shop of the Karelian Patterns factory. Today it is one of the largest enterprises of folk arts and crafts in the North-West of Russia, producing linen products with traditional embroidery.

Nature reserve and waterfall "Kivach". 

"A mountain of diamonds falls from a ledge with four rocks..." — Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, the first lyric poet of Russia, wrote admiringly about him. 

A pleasant addition to the raging water element will be a grove of Karelian birch, which has become an ornament of the arboretum of the reserve. This is a mystery tree with amazing marble pattern wood. Even in the 21st century, there is debate among scientists about its origin. 

~ 14:30 Estimated time of return to the hotel.

For those who did not go on excursions, lunch is possible in the hotel cafe (buffet/cover) for an additional fee.

Dog sledding, banana riding, sledding behind a snowmobile with an instructor, a cheesecake slide is also available for an additional fee.

Christmas dinner with entertainment and a disco for an additional fee.

Breakfast in the hotel cafe (buffet).

07:30 Room check-out, boarding the bus with your belongings.

Departure to "Old Finland" (290 km). No passport or visa is required to travel to the former Suomi lands.

On the way, a stop for a photo shoot at the Akhvenkoski Waterfall (the filming location of the film "And the dawns are quiet here ..."). They are popularly called "Zhenka River", the famous scene of the lumberjacks bathing was filmed here.

The Ruskeala Mountain Park is a picturesque monument of nature and mining. Emerald-colored groundwater, bizarre outlines of steep cliffs, mysterious tunnels and grottoes. It was here that marble was mined for a long time to decorate the cathedrals and palaces of St. Petersburg.

On the way to the park, the guide will tell you about the appearance of the Marble Lake, and upon arrival you will have the opportunity to explore the land part of the park yourself. 

The total time spent in the park is 2.5 hours.

Sightseeing tour of Sortavala (Serdobol). Nicholas Roerich called it one of the few places on Earth where there is a special breath. And the most romantic of Bella Akhmadulina's poetry cycles was written here…

During the tour you will walk through the ancient streets of the city, explore the Singing Field, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built at the expense of St. Petersburg merchants Eliseev in the Russian style designed by architect N. P. Grebenka.

Departure to Moscow.

Overnight transfer.

11:40 Approximate arrival in Moscow (metro station Altufevo, at a stop near the house at the address: Altufevskoe highway 86).