Pearl necklace of Karelia

09:00 Breakfast at the hotel.

09:30-11:30 Boat tour of the Ladoga skerries with access to the largest and highest island in the Sortavala skerries system.

The Northern Ladoga region is a completely unusual, original and insanely picturesque region of Karelia.

We will take a walk through the Ladoga skerries — a unique ecosystem of huge rocks, islands of stone, madness of water and vegetation. The delight of Karelian landscapes: dissecting the water surface, we will admire the sheer cliffs and a noisy waterfall and even see the island of Valaam in the distance.

We will land on one of the islands, and also try to find the red book Ladoga seals (the best time for photo hunting is May and June).

Before sailing, our captain will tell you about safety on the water. The walks take place in a chamber atmosphere: we share our impressions, suggest camera angles and corners of the island for contemplating the beauties.

Of course, you will learn about the flora, fauna and history of Ladoga — for example, about what Peter the Great did here. You will hear the myths and legends of the region, ancient and modern.

11:45-12:45 Visit to the Kronid Gogolev Gallery.

Upon returning from the Ladoga skerries, we go on an excursion to the unique and one-of-a-kind Kronid Gogolev House Museum. It is located in an old Finnish building built in 1899. But the building is not as interesting as the creations of Kronid Gogolev.

In front of us is an exhibition of paintings made in a unique manner of wood carving. Probably, these are the very first paintings in 3D format. The theme of the Russian North, expressive nature, ordinary people, their way of life and holidays — all this is in the works of Kronid Gogolev.

13:00-13:40 Lunch. It's time to refresh ourselves — a delicious lunch is waiting for us at the Sortavala restaurant.

14:00-16:00 Excursion to the Viking fortress-museum "Bastion".

After lunch, we go to the Viking age art space "Svartbjornborg" (Svartbjornborg is the fortress of the black bear).

This is a large interactive platform where visitors are directly immersed in the era, turning from a spectator into a participant.

Here you can touch everything, absolutely any object, with your hands. Any costumes, uniforms or armor can and should be tried on and, at least for a short period of time, but feel like a brave warrior, craftsman or merchant.

At the end of the tour on the territory of the fortified settlement of the "Viking age" on the shores of Ladoga, you can see:

• fortress walls in the form of a palisade with corner and gate towers. You can walk around the entire territory of the museum along the wall, climb any tower, from where you can enjoy a panoramic view of the entire museum and the Ladoga skerries, since the museum is located on the very shore of the lake;
• a friendly Scandinavian house under an earthen roof, which presents an exposition of everyday life, costumes and weapons of the Vikings; an active blacksmith shop — an exposition of blacksmithing;
• a pier with replicas of wooden ships of the VIII–XI centuries. All models are valid and during the navigation period everyone has the opportunity to sit at the oar of a real Viking dragon boat;
• a model of the sanctuary with carved wooden sculptures;
• two playgrounds: a shooting range, with the opportunity to practice shooting with historical bows and crossbows, as well as learn how to throw combat spears and axes; and the lists — a prepared space for tournaments and funny fights (on protected weapons);
• The pearl of the museum is the long Scandinavian house — "Honey Hall" — the largest recreated Viking dwelling in Russia. The roof of the house is made in the form of an inverted drakkar. The Honey Hall houses one of Russia's richest collections of household items, costumes and weapons.

16:00-18:30 Excursion to Mount Paaso with panoramic views and to Vakkosalmi Park (Mount Kuhavuori).

And now we will go to conquer the Ladoga Mountains. Do not worry, without difficult ascents, along equipped and very picturesque stairs.

Mount Paaso is a 10th—12th century Karelian settlement discovered by Finnish archaeologist Otto Appelgren. You will admire the fantastic panoramas and find out why the ancient Karelians settled on the highest cliffs.

A wonderful addition will be a walk through Vakkosalmi Park — climbing the ancient steps to Mount Kuhavuori, you will discover an amazing view of the city.

18:30 Rest at the hotel, dinner.

In the evening, we will have dinner and a cozy hotel.

08:45 Breakfast, room release in Sortavala.

09:30 Departure to Ruskeala by bus, those who wish can take a retro train (10:05-11:20, Sortavala — Ruskeala railway station, the entire volume of services in Ruskeala is preserved (excursion, free time)).

We will go to one of the main pearls of Karelia — marble canyon Ruskeala.

Everyone can go there by retro train! Ruskeala Express is a steam—powered retro train running on the Sortavala — Ruskeala Mountain Park — Sortavala route. The interior of the wagons is made in the original design of the Nikolaevsky Express, in the style of the late XIX – early XX century.

Important! Tickets for the retro train are not included in the price of the tour and are purchased independently at 10:05 on the Sortavala — Ruskeala route. You must purchase tickets yourself, in advance, on the Russian Railways website. Those who do not want to ride a retro train — we go with a guide and part of the group by bus to Ruskeala.

10:45 Arrival at Ruskeala, sightseeing tour (1.5 hours). Free time.

Just 40 minutes and here it is — a unique quarry, which, according to one version, was flooded by the Finns with water from nearby rivers. After all, it was the Finns who rented this quarry for many years, mined marble here. Who would have thought that thousands of tourists would come here years later. There is really something to see here.

Marble Canyon Ruskeala is a Karelian brand of modern times. Ten years ago, desolation reigned here. Now, an amazing natural object opens up to our eyes. There is everything for a tourist here! Gorgeous views, trails, caves.

We are also waiting for a walking tour of the marble canyon (1.5 hours).

The 1.5-kilometer-long ecotrope around Ruskeala has many panoramic platforms from which you can enjoy views of this unique place. In addition, you can move away from the main trail a little and go into the depth of a through cave (tunnel). Here you will discover the real secrets of the canyon, its heart. You can also look at the deposits of the "Italian" quarry

14:15 Lunch. Today we will eat at the Lutheran Church. The Karelians and Finns living on this land will hospitably welcome and feed us, after which we will move on.

14:45 Visit to the Tokhmin waterfalls.

It's time to go towards Petrozavodsk. On the way, not far from Ruskeala, we will see the Tokhmin or Ruskeala waterfalls. The famous Soviet film "And the dawns are quiet here..." was shot here. A mandatory souvenir photo is a very picturesque place. For those who wish, there is a newly opened ecological trail with bridges suspended directly above the waterfalls.

18:45 Arrival for dinner in the northern Sami plague.

After an active excursion program, you need to eat. Today we will have dinner in a real northern Sami plague. Karelian cuisine, a lively fire, warm conversations and memories of the past days in the middle of a pine forest.

20:30 Check-in at the hotel in Petrozavodsk, rest.

Good morning! We have breakfast at the hotel.

08:30 Departure for a sightseeing tour of Petrozavodsk.

Welcome to the capital of Karelia — the city of Petrozavodsk. The port of the five seas, located on the shore of the second largest freshwater body in Europe — Lake Onega.

A real European city, with a national Karelo-Finnish flavor, the same age as St. Petersburg, cozy, beautiful, with its own unique history. It was founded in 1703 by Peter I, as the city was founded by Catherine II in 1777.

Guns for the Russian army were cast here, cast-iron decorations of St. Petersburg were made here, the famous Onezhets tractors were built here. It is not for nothing that the word factory is in the name of the city. But the capital of Karelia is also a place of beauty and unbridled nature — sometimes harsh northern, then calm, Scandinavian-weighted.

"Journey through the centuries" is our program of exploring Petrozavodsk. Where to begin? Of course, from the Museum of Industrial History. In this amazing place you can see the path of the city and its enterprises, starting from the Petrovsky factory founded by Peter the Great to the present day.

We will go through several epochs: "The Land awakened by Peter", "The Era of Catherine the Great" and touch the Orthodox Petrozavodsk by visiting the cathedral of the city — the temple of Alexander Nevsky.

12:00 Lunch.

12:30-18:30 Excursion to Sheltozero with a concert of the national ensemble.

And after that, a trip to the Veps awaits us. There is such a small but very proud people in Karelia. It is one of the smallest indigenous peoples of Russia. There are only about six thousand people of this nationality left throughout Russia. Moreover, half of the Veps live in Karelia.

What happened to the culture of this people? To find out, we will take a look at the Sheltozer Veps Ethnographic Museum. Its founder, Rurik Lonin, collected the rich heritage of the Veps bit by bit.

The museum is located in an old peasant house on a hill. The beautiful house has two floors: rooms, halls, a barnyard, a stable, a porch, a kitchen - everything is lovingly recreated from objects collected by Lonin.

After the tour of the museum, we will have a performance by the Vepsian Folk Choir — Vepsian folk songs will be performed live for us, and we will also see and maybe even participate in modern songs and dances based on traditional folk models.

18:30 Return to Petrozavodsk, free time, rest.

In the evening, you can walk around Petrozavodsk. By the way, don't accidentally skip until morning. White nights are whiter here than in St. Petersburg. It is bright here around the clock for almost half of the summer.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:30 Gathering at the river station (20 minutes walk from the hotel). It is from here that in a little over an hour the high-speed "Comet" — a hydrofoil vessel — will take you to the fabulous Zaonezhye — perhaps the most picturesque part of Lake Onega.

10:00 Departure to Kizhi.

11:30-15:30 Excursion and free time on Kizhi.

The tour price includes a visit to the main exposition of the Kizhi Museum, namely, an inspection of the appearance of all monuments on the island, as well as a visit to the interiors of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the house of Oshevnev from D. Oshevnevo or Elizarov's house from D. The middle (by the decision of the guide, in the summer).

The Kizhi Museum-Reserve, located on the island, is the center of the traditional peasant culture of the Russian North, one of the largest and most famous open—air museum reserves in Russia.

For many years, scientists and masters of wooden architecture have been carefully and painstakingly collecting architectural monuments, icon paintings and household items that were created in Karelian, Vepsian and Russian villages for centuries.

Chapels and peasant houses were transported here from all over Karelia. But the main treasure is the Kizhi churchyard, consisting of the Transfiguration, Intercession Churches and the bell tower — it has been standing here for more than 300 years.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world come to the museum to admire the ensemble of wooden churches of the XVIII century — a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site.

Since we have only 4 hours of time on the island, we advise you to take a light snack with you — sandwiches, fruits, cookies.

You can freely walk around the island, ride bicycles or horses, find a beautiful place with a view of the panorama of the island and relax. And later we will set off on our way back.

17:00 Arrival at Petrozavodsk river station, independent walk to the hotel.

18:00 Late lunch at the hotel.

19:00 Evening master class on wickets. Wickets are a national Karelian dish. Wickets are baked from rye unleavened dough with fillings.

During the master class, you will learn about the peculiarities of the national Karelian cuisine, learn how to cook wickets yourself, and you will also be able to eat your pies with Karelian tea at the end of the master class. Culinary secrets can be brought with you — they will be useful to you on cold winter evenings.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Departure for the tour.

Visit the Zaitsev Valley, Sampo Mountain, the first Russian resort of Marcial Waters, the ancient volcano Girvas.

We will visit the five largest attractions near Petrozavodsk:

• The picturesque Sampo Mountain;
• the first Russian resort "Marcial Waters", founded by Peter the Great;
• the ancient volcano Por-porog;
• the famous Kivach waterfall.

Mount Sampo is a rocky hill, about 40 meters high. There are hiking trails with signs on its slopes and stairs with railings. Thus, the ascent to the top is quite comfortable.

There is an observation deck at the height, which offers magnificent landscapes. A century-old forest is rustling below and the most beautiful Conchesero stretches out.

Ahead of us lies the first Russian resort, called Marcial Waters.

It is better to drink medicinal water from the springs immediately, because the local mineral water is not stored for a long time. After a fairly short time, a precipitate appears in it, and it loses its medicinal properties.

We will definitely combine the tasting of marcial water with a tour of local attractions.

We will definitely visit the museum, which includes the Caretaker's House, the Church of the Apostle Peter and the pavilions above the ore mining site and the former source of healing water.

The temple is the only building that has been preserved since Peter the Great. Moreover, it was built according to the project and handwritten drawings of Tsar Peter. The interior and exterior of the church have been preserved intact since it was built in 1721.

Our way lies to the remains of an ancient volcano, or rather to the town of Porog. This is a dried-up waterfall. This was how it became after the waters of the Suna were diverted for the needs of the Palaeozersk hydroelectric power station.

The places around the Threshold are very picturesque: reddish granite rocks are framed by quiet backwaters, small waterfalls, abandoned trays for rafting forests. It was here that the famous imperial photographer Prokudin-Gorsky took a photo with the inscription "Eliza" on the stone.

14:15 Lunch.

14:45-16:15 Nodding.

Karelia, the land of thousands of lakes and rivers, is famous for its waterfalls. There are many of them here, but perhaps the most famous is Kivach.

It is considered the decoration and pride of the region, because this waterfall is the second largest on the plains of Europe. It breaks down in foam streams and overcomes four ledges, with a total height of almost 11 meters.

Kivach is a must—visit place for all tourists coming to Karelia. There are a lot of interesting things here. Hiking trails with shaded gazebos, cafes, souvenir shops, an arboretum and a nature museum are equipped for guests.

17:30 Arrival in Petrozavodsk.

It's time to buy souvenirs, and at the same time have a snack in the restaurant of Karelian national cuisine.

Breakfast at the hotel.

07:30 Departure to the city of Kem, a tour of Medvezhegorsk, a visit to the workshop of Karelian embroidery, one of the locks of the White Sea-Baltic Canal.

We are waiting for a big move to the north of Karelia — to the White Sea. We are going almost through the whole of Karelia.

On the way, we will stop in Medvezhegorsk and take a short sightseeing tour of this city, including the building of the museum of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. It was here that the heart of the great and terrible construction of the XX century used to be — the BBK. The museum building itself seems to have absorbed this era and looks as beautiful as it is menacing.

To understand Solovki, we must visit Sandarmokh, a forest tract 12 km from Medvezhegorsk, where over 9,500 people of 58 nationalities were shot and buried on an area of 10 hectares during the Great Terror of 1937-1938. This is one of the largest graves of victims of Stalin's repressions in the North-West of Russia.

12:30 Lunch.

15:30 Arrival at the Karelian Petroglyphs, UNESCO site, excursion.

The next stop is the Belomorsky petroglyphs. This unique archaeological complex is a whole gallery of ancient paintings made in rock art. The age of the drawings is 4.5–5.5 thousand years.

Petroglyphs have been found in the lower reaches of the Vyg River, on the islands of Shoirukshin, Erpin Pudas, Bolshoy Malinin and others.

In total, 39 groups were found here, including more than 2,000 individual figures. Images of people and animals, hunting scenes, battles and ritual processions are clearly visible. Here is the oldest image of a man on skis in Europe.

20:30 Check-in at the hotel in Kemi, dinner.

Important! For those who continue their trip to Solovki, we will offer to take their free time on excursions with the local Solovetsky guide Yuri Ogurtsov, the only Solovetsky Old Believer guide who has lived on Solovki all his life.

Yuri offers a unique author's program: Sekirnaya Gora — Savvatievo skete — Jung Alley — Red Lake Dam (with swimming) — Isakovo skete.

The cost is 1500 rubles per person, no advance booking is required: our guide on the bus, on the way to Kem, will immediately sign up everyone.

Breakfast at the hotel.

The White Sea, hello! Here we are.

08:00 Departure by boat to Solovki.

Look, there are sea ducks, and these are polar terns. And who is this — is it really a seal? If you're lucky, you can also see the famous Belomorian belugas — huge polar dolphins. Their length can reach six meters — it's an amazing sight!

10:00 Arrival at Solovki, excursion to the Kremlin, lunch, check-in at the hotel; free time.

We stared at the beauty and did not notice how we arrived on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island. Especially for us, a sightseeing tour of the Solovetsky Kremlin, acquaintance with its history and architecture, a visit to the territory of the central complex of the monastery, operating temples, monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The view of the Solovetsky Kremlin reflected in the waters of the Bay of Prosperity or Holy Lake is one of the most replicated and loved by tourists. It has been decorating the reverse of the Russian 500-ruble banknote since 1998.

The first wooden temples of the Solovetsky Kremlin were built on the island in the 1430s by monks Savvati and Herman, who sailed to Solovki on an ordinary boat to establish a monastery here.

According to the occupied territory, the Solovetsky Kremlin belongs to the largest monasteries in Russia.

We check into the hotel and have lunch.

If desired, you can visit the maritime museum, which will tell you about the development of the sea expanses of the Russian North.

In addition, there is a single tourist center on the island, where you can purchase additional excursions to the Solovetsky Islands.