Paanayarvi Trails

We wake up to the sounds of wild nature, have breakfast and prepare a snack: brew tea in thermoses and make sandwiches.

Today we will look at the Paanajarvi National Park from the water during a boat trip on Lake Paanajarvi. 

Lake Paanajarvi is of tectonic origin, it is the deepest among the lakes of Russia, Finland and Sweden. The maximum depth is 128 meters. And its length is about 25 km, and its width is slightly less than 1.5 km. The water in it is crystal clear.

By the way, you can also fish here (in specially designated areas). To do this, you only need to get permission, and you have a chance to catch grayling, pike, perch and other underwater inhabitants.

During the walk, we will see the sites of former Finnish settlements, as well as enjoy the extraordinary beauty of this place. 

The most impressive thing on the route is the sheer 60—meter rock Ruskeakallio ("Brown Rock"). We will definitely stop to watch. 

At the end of this route, we dock near the mouth of the Myantyujoki River. 

There is another equipped parking lot where you can take a break and have a snack. 

After a short pause, we go upstream along the picturesque path to the Myantyukoski waterfall.

The height of this handsome man reaches almost 9 meters, the water falls in five steps — it is very impressive.

Now it becomes clear why the waterfall has always attracted the attention of photographers and artists. And it attracts to this day. 

We take pictures, recharge with energy. 

We return to our parking place. 

We collect our things, clean up the garbage, if necessary, and move to the parking lot in the Vartiolampi tract.

We have breakfast and go on a light hike to Kivakkakoski Waterfall (from Finnish "threshold of the stone woman") along the prepared path. 

The route is simple and does not require special physical activity. The entire route will take us 3 hours (total mileage is 9 km).

We will start in the place where the village of Vartiolampi used to be. All that remains of the village is an open space and various types of meadow grasses, which were brought here by farmers. 

In the middle of the Vartiolampi tract, where we stopped yesterday, an old Karelian house was restored — an exposition of Karelian life of the last century was opened in it. 

The route to Kivakkakoski runs along the Olanga River. 

While we are walking, you can occasionally go out to the beautiful ancient rocks to admire the picturesque scenery. Mount Kivakka looks especially beautiful from this shore.

Three branches of the Olanga River connect in front of the waterfall, and a huge mass of water, clamped by the banks, collapses down from 12 meters. 

We will hear the voice of Kivakkakoski Waterfall long before we see it firsthand. This great power of water does not let go for a long time! You can always watch the water changes and listen to the songs of the water. 

We return to the camp by lunch.

We have breakfast at the camp. 

Today we will climb Mount Kivakkatunturi, or Kivakka. "Kivakka" means "stone guardian" in Sami. 

The way to the mountain is 5 km along a beautiful trail. 

After 200 meters, the route crosses the Paloyoki River, which flows out of Lake Kivakkalampi, skirts the Kivakka rock massif from the south and flows into Lake Pyaozero. 

During the ascent, there is a change of vegetation from taiga to birch woodlands and mountain tundra at the top of the mountain. The approximate lifting time is 2 hours. 

At the top, we see a landscape that takes our breath away. And the familiar hum, do you hear? It may seem like a forest is making noise, but there is no forest at the very top. This is our friend — Kivakkakoski Waterfall. You can see it from here too! 

Squinting from the northern sun, inhaling the purest air soaked in northern mosses, admiring the beauty of nature and letting go of our worries.

We return to the equipped forest parking lot, have lunch and go to the village. Pyaozersky. We have time to buy food for the return trip and souvenirs.

At 23:30 we leave in the direction of Louhi village (110 km, 2.5–3 hours on the way) to go home from there. 

On the way, we remember how our trip went, we complain about how quickly time flew by and we take each other's word that next year we will all go together to conquer other routes.