Holy Triangle: Kizhi, Valaam, Solovki, 5 days

Full day tour (duration about 18 hours): Ruskeala Mountain Park + optional (for an additional fee) Valaam.

Early departure from Petrozavodsk.

Lunch box.

The crossing is about 260 km. Along the way, you will see picturesque Karelian landscapes, the smoothness of forest lakes and a magnificent panorama of Lake Ladoga framed by rocks.

On the way, you will learn many interesting stories and legends from the guide.

Stop for breakfast at a cafe.

Guided tour of the Ruskeala Mountain Park (duration 1 hour and 15 minutes). It is the most visited tourist site in Karelia at the moment. For about 300 years, marble has been mined here to decorate palaces and temples in the Northern Capital.

A marble lake was formed in a huge man-made bowl, which is now admired by numerous tourists. The rocky grotto and tunnels cut into the rocks, the Italian quarry, the Marble Square will make an indelible impression on you. There are no analogues to this unique natural object either in Russia or in Europe!

Transfer to the town of Sortavala (30 km).

For an additional fee, the Wonderful Island of Valaam tour (duration 7 hours) (book the tour in advance, when booking the tour. Payment is made on the tour to the guide). Children under 6 years old are free of charge (upon presentation of a birth certificate).

Attention! The tour takes place in favorable weather conditions and there is no storm warning!

Please note! Valaam Island is part of the Valaam Archipelago Nature Park. In accordance with the Federal Law "On the introduction of payment for visits to specially protected natural areas", you need to pay for the visit yourself in the amount of 200 rubles per person. There are preferential categories that are exempt from payment.

The program of the excursion to the Valaam Monastery: transfer by Meteor along Lake Ladoga "city of Sortavala – Valaam Island" (1 hour on the way).

Sightseeing tour of the Central estate of the Valaam Monastery. Visit the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral, where the relics of the monastery's holy founders, St. Sergius and Herman the Wonderworkers of Valaam, rest.

Lenten lunch in the monastery refectory.

The second tour (one of two options at the discretion of the Valaam Monastery): Nikolsky Skete is one of the most beautiful sketes of Valaam, or "New Jerusalem" — visit the Resurrection Skete, Gethsemane Skete, Mount of Olives and the Chapel of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Return to the city of Sortavala.

Departure of the whole group from Sortavala to Petrozavodsk.

Later return to Petrozavodsk.

Guests who will not go to Valaam Island can:

1. Stay in Ruskeala Mountain Park after the end of the tour and come to Sortavala by taxi on your own (the taxi cost is approximately 1,500 rubles).
2. Come with the group to Sortavala and take a walk around the city, visit museums and cafes in your free time.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Room release.

Departure with a guide to the north of Karelia to the White Sea (a distance of about 400 km).

Visit to the center for the production of shungite products. It is a unique mineral that is mined in Karelia. The healing properties of this stone have been known for more than 300 years ago, and in the time of Peter the Great, a decree was issued according to which every soldier was ordered to carry a piece of shungite in his backpack.

They will tell you about its properties and treat you to delicious Karelian tea. Here you will relax in a shungite cave to recharge your body with living energy, and you will be able to purchase shungite products from the manufacturer.

On the way, an excursion to the Kivach Nature Reserve.

You will admire the most famous waterfall in Karelia, praised in Russian poetry as the "northern hero". Here you will see a real Karelian birch – the famous "cinderella" of the northern forests, get acquainted with the collection of the arboretum and the museum of nature.

Lunch.

In the evening, arrival at the tourist complex "Pier" (located in the village of Rabochiostrovsk on the shore of the White Sea, 12 km from the city of Kem).

Accommodation in rooms with amenities.

Breakfast.

Boarding the ship (starts 30 minutes before departure).

08:00-10:00 Transfer by boat across the White Sea to Bolshoy Solovetsky Island (2 hours).

Arrival, transfer of things to the selected hotel: "Solovetskaya Sloboda" / "Solovki-hotel". Tourists and a guide walk from the pier to the tour desk building, from where the tour begins.

Along the way, useful information about attractions that you can visit on your own, shops and cafes.

Accommodation at the selected hotel after the end of the excursion program.

10:30 Sightseeing walking tour of the Solovetsky Kremlin (duration 3 hours).

During the tour, you will see the unique architectural ensemble of the Solovetsky Monastery, active temples and monuments, and objects of the monastery's economic activities. You will learn about the history of the Solovetsky Monastery, which mirrors the history of Russia. All temples and monuments are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

13:30 Lunch.

Optional for an additional fee (payment on tour to the guide): Guided tour "Sights of Bolshoy Zayatsky Island" (duration 3 hours). Boat trip to Zayatsky Island (travel time 45 minutes).

You will visit the largest pagan sanctuary of the II-I millennia BC, stone labyrinths, a complex of religious and funerary structures, Russia's first stone harbor, and the monuments of St. Andrew's Skete.

In your free time, we suggest taking a walk to the Cape of Labyrinths. This is a picturesque natural area on the shore of the White Sea. There are reconstructed stone labyrinths and the famous Solovetsky "dancing" birches.

Breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast, room release (check–out time is before 10:00).

You take your belongings to the hotel's luggage room (free service).

Optional for an additional fee (booking excursions in advance, when booking a tour, the number of seats is limited. Payment is made on the tour to the guide).

In one day, you can catch 2 of the suggested excursions.

1. Walking tour "The history of the Solovetsky special purpose camp. 1923-1939." (duration — 2.5 hours).

On this tour, visitors will learn about the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp, the stages of the camp's development and its transformation into the Solovetsky Special Purpose Prison in 1937, as well as learn about the fate of prisoners.

They will visit a new exhibition about the camp and a monument to Solovetsky prisoners.

2. Boat trip along the Long Bay (duration — 4-5 hours).

An exciting ecological boat trip along the Long Bay – the "inner sea" of Solovki, where even in stormy weather there are rarely waves. Driven by a fresh salty wind, a carbine boat with a motor will run past sandy beaches, countless islands and rocky ridges crashing into the water. One of them has a bird family, and the other one seems to have a seal basking in the sun.

Shallow depths allow you to see the underwater world: starfish are buried in the sandy bottom, translucent ultramarine jellyfish hover in the water, algae sway and stretch somewhere along with the sea currents. The price of the tour includes a bus transfer to Long Bay and back, as well as a tasting of White Sea mussels – perhaps you are lucky enough to find a real White Sea pearl in one of them.

Don't forget to bring a light snack and drinks.

3. Boat trip "Cape Beluzhy" (duration 2 hours).

Often, for tourists who find themselves on Solovki, the most desirable thing is to see belugas – northern white whales.

The peaceful inhabitants of the Arctic Ocean come to the White Sea in the summer. They do not swim close, appear on the surface for a short time and then swim quite a long distance.

But there is a special place on Solovki – Cape Beluzhy – a sea trip here will be remembered by every minute. The cape water area is one of the few places on the planet where you can observe whales in the wild.

From the beginning of June to the middle of August, during low tide at sea, whale mating games, birth and upbringing of cubs take place here.

There is also a station of oceanographers who have the opportunity to observe these beautiful creatures every day.

Bring good weather and intention with you, don't make any noise, and you may be able to see a beluga literally at arm's length, feel the power and beauty of these amazing marine mammals.

Water excursions are conducted in favorable weather conditions and in the absence of a storm warning.

Transfer from the hotel to the pier.

19:30 Departure from Solovki back.

21:30 Arrival at the port in the village of Rabochiostrovsk.

Transfer to the railway station in Kem.

Departure by night trains (for example: No. 225A, No. 293A).

Please note:

1. For participants of the tour from St. Petersburg, departure from Solovki at 16:00 to train No. 011A is possible (seats for the flight at 16 are agreed with the manager in advance, before the start of the tour).
2. For tourists from Moscow: You can book an additional day at the tourist complex "Pier" after returning from Solovki. A free transfer to the Kem Railway Station will be arranged for you the next morning. Morning trains to Moscow: No. 015 (~ at 06:19) or No. 091 (~ at 10:06). The application and payment are additional. nights are required in advance when booking the tour!