Protected Karelia. Combined tour

We wake up, warm up, have breakfast and hit the road again. 

Now our group consists of several experienced crews, because yesterday we passed the test of the first thresholds of this journey.

Today's route: por. Pavlovsky — por. Kolupaevsky — por. Curve-3 — pore. Marine — O. Deer, 29 km.

We pass the Pavlovsky rapids (2 k.s.), Kolupaevsky (2-3 k.s.) and Krivoy (3 k.s.). The Keret River ends with the Sea threshold (2 k.s.). 

Fish nets, fish pens and metal cables are installed in front of it across the river of the local fisheries, so we unload the catamarans, carry them along the shore and return to the water to roll down the threshold of the Sea directly into the bay of the White Sea.

Here it is, the sea. The northern nature enchants with tides, sea smell, surf, winds and calm, islands, stone foreheads, salt water.

If we have time, we will dock to the shore for lunch. 

We will spend the night on one of the islands of the White Sea — Oleniy. 

The road to it already lies through the White Sea, so we gather after lunch, stock up on fresh water and keep warm so as not to freeze during the transition.

Here we have dinner and relax after a busy day. Today we can stay late by the night campfire, because tomorrow we have a day off. 

Today we have a day at the White Sea.

What do we usually do during the day?! We rest, of course. 

You can go explore the island where we stopped: on foot by land or on catamarans by water. 

The underwater world of the White Sea is rich and peculiar.

The surface of the rocks is covered with soft corals and sea anemones, starfish, ophiura, crabs and shrimps crawl between the stones. 

Of the fish, there are catfish, sea bass, flounder, kerchak, beldyuga, maslyuk and pinogor fish. 

To spy on life underwater, it is not even necessary to have special equipment, since the water here is very transparent — no one will hide from our inquisitive gaze.

We definitely swim, sunbathe, arrange high-speed races in the sea, build sand castles and take test photos to remember our adventure. 

We can go in search of berries to cook compote, add to tea, or just eat.

And we heat the bathhouse.

After breakfast, we collect all the equipment, load the catamarans and set off by sea to the village of Nizhnyaya Pulonga. 

Here, on the shore, we are greeted by an ancient Pomeranian ship, the karbas. We take pictures for memory.

We disassemble catamarans, load into buses. It's time to move on — to the village of Pyaozersky. The journey will take about 3 hours (160 km).

Before setting foot on the territory of the Paanajarvi National Park, we will go to the visitor center to register. 

Here, in the visitor center, there is also a museum, which we will definitely look into. 

Wildlife is represented in all its glory in the Paanajarvi National Park: high mountains, clear rivers and deep lakes, as well as rare species of animals and plants listed in the Red Book.

It is for these reasons that the park itself is divided into several zones: there is no access to two of them, but the third — recreational — is organized for tourists. 

However, there are also strict rules related to everyday life that must be followed. 

All this is done in order to protect and preserve Red Book plants and animals and natural landscapes. 

We continue our journey, we go to the shore of Lake Paanajarvi on the territory of the national park itself. 

The entire national park was named after this lake. 

We are accommodated in a tent camp in a specially equipped parking lot.

We've had enough moving for today, we're settling in, cooking dinner and relaxing after a busy day of moving.

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 national park "Paanajarvi" 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. 

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 set up camp, cook dinner.

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 kinds 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 free time before dinner.

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.

Departure by night trains. We recommend train No. 15A.