Karelia: Kizhi — Valaam — Kivach

Early gathering of the group, breakfast with yourself in the lunch boxes.

06:30 – 10:30 We take a bus to the Northern Ladoga region – to the city of Sortavala (250 km). 

We are going to have a simple and very picturesque trip to West Karelia. Along the way you will see beautiful lakes, dense forests, ancient Karelian villages, cliffs and bays. 

11:00 – 12:00 From the pier in Sortavala, you will take a meteor to Valaam Island. 

Lake Ladoga will amaze you with its vast expanses, depth and grandeur. 

12:00 – 13:30 Two walking tours are waiting for you. The first tour will start right from the pier of the Monastery Bay. Here you will see a beautiful stone chapel, built in the late 19th century from red brick. 

An ancient 62-step pilgrimage staircase will take you up Mount Tabor to the Valaam Monastery. Along the way, you will see the monastery garden surrounded by greenery, where fruit trees and berry bushes grow. The Transfiguration Cathedral with its famous sky-blue domes is the center of the ensemble of the Central Estate. 

After passing through the Holy Gates, you will enter the territory of the monastery. You will learn about the history and architecture of this place, and also visit the Transfiguration Cathedral, where the relics of the founders of the monastery, Herman and Sergius of Valaam, rest.

13:30 – 14:30 Lunch in the refectory. 

15:00 – 16:30 Then you will cross by meteor to Nikon Bay, this part of the island is called "New Jerusalem". The architectural and semantic center of this area is the Voskresensky Skete. 

You will see a strict two-storey temple made of red Valaam brick, built in the early 20th century, as well as cell and household buildings. 

You will walk along the main monastery road through a beautiful dense forest to the cozy Gethsemane Hermitage and Gethsemane Garden. Slowly, enjoying nature and breathing in the purest air, you will climb Mount Olivet, from where you can enjoy beautiful, poetic views of Lake Ladoga. 

The Valaam Monastery Pilgrimage Service reserves the right to replace the "New Jerusalem" tour with the "Nikolsky Hermitage" tour due to technical reasons/weather conditions.

17:00 – 18:00 Return trip by Meteor to Sortavala.

18:00 – 22:00 Return to Petrozavodsk at the hotel.

07:00 – 09:00 Room release after breakfast. An eventful day in nature awaits you. 

09:00 – 11:00 Short drive to the north and the first stop is the Marcial Waters resort. 

This is the first Russian resort founded by Peter the Great on the basis of ferruginous mineral springs. The tsar himself visited and was treated here 4 times. In the middle of the last century, a museum dedicated to the history of the resort was opened. You will visit the Church of St. Peter the Apostle of the 18th century, the caretaker's house with a unique historical exposition and taste the water from three healing springs.

11:00 – 13:00 Drive to the Kivach Nature Reserve. 

Kivach Waterfall is the most famous waterfall in Karelia, it has long become a local calling card and attracts thousands of tourists every year. 

People flock to Kivach to appreciate its power and strength, because it is the second largest flat waterfall in Europe. 

To hear the age-old movement of stormy water and learn the beautiful legend of the waterfall. In the reserve you will see the famous Karelian birch and visit the small but cozy "Nature Museum".

13:30 – 14:30 Lunch in a cozy forest cafe near the reserve.

15:30 – 16:30 On the way back to Petrozavodsk, we will stop at the Shungite Center. 

Shungite is a unique mineral that is mined in Karelia. 

You will learn about its properties, see the stone processing process, and after the tea party you will be able to purchase souvenirs.

17:00 Transfer to the railway station, the end of the program.