St. Petersburg – Staraya Ladoga – Valaam – St. Petersburg on the ship Yuri Andropov

Features:

Walking tour.

DURATION: 3.5 hours

THE OBJECTS OF THE VISIT:

* The Resurrection, Gethsemane and Konevsky skeets;

* "Balaam Palestine";

* Bolshaya Nikonovskaya Bay.

Detailed description:

"Balaam Palestine"

The tour route passes through three Valaam monasteries: Voskresensky, Gethsemane and Konevsky. It is here that you can experience the harmony of wild, harsh northern nature and strict ascetic monastic life. The Resurrection and Gethsemane skeets with their peculiar architectural and landscape design form the famous "Valaam Palestine", located in the western part of the island of the same name.

The quiet corners of Valaam

Next, you will see the quiet Valaam monastery in the area of remote inland Igumen lakes and Konevsky monastery. It was here that the hermitage of the hermit of Damascus, the future famous Valaam abbot, was located. A special soothing atmosphere is always created by a smooth water surface reflecting a dense coniferous forest, wooden bridges, thick, healing, juniper-scented air.

Next, the guides will tell the amazing story of the most recent of the monasteries of "Old Valaam" – Smolensky, the consecration of which took place in the summer of 1917.

Features:

A walking tour that starts from the pier of Bolshaya Nikonovskaya Bay in the south-west of the Valaam Archipelago.

DURATION: 2-3 hours

THE OBJECTS OF THE VISIT:

* Picturesque Rocky Shore Bay

* "Nikon Fort"

* Lake Ladoga

Rocky coast

During the walking tour, you will see the picturesque Rocky Shore Bay. Professional guides will tell you about the Nikon Fort, a Finnish military fortification built during the Soviet–Finnish and World War II. In addition, you will learn more about the unique nature of Valaam, as well as see the largest lake in Europe – Ladoga.

Features:

Walking tour.

The minimum size of the group is 10 people.

The distance from the ship to the Central estate is 7 km. You can get there both on foot and by transfer.

For cruises lasting from 5 days, the transfer is included in the price. If the duration of the cruise is less than 5 days, a walking tour to the central estate is offered. At the request of the tourist, you can purchase a transfer ticket for an additional fee directly on board the ship.

DURATION: 3-4 hours

THE OBJECTS OF THE VISIT:

* The central estate of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery;

* Mount Tabor;

* Marble Znamenskaya Chapel;

* The holy gates of the monastery, decorated with the Peter and Paul Gate Church;

* Assumption Refectory Church is the oldest surviving church on the island;

* The main functioning temple of the monastery is the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral.

Detailed description:

The men's monastery

Your journey through the central estate of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery will begin from the pier of the Monastery Bay. During the tour, you will hear the history of the monastery and see the picturesque narrow bay that goes deep into the island.

Ancient granite steps

A wide granite staircase, built in the middle of the XIX century, rises from the pier to the foot of Mount Tabor. There are 62 authentic granite steps preserved here, fastened with powerful forged brackets.

The path to the red rocks

There is a beautiful monastery garden on the territory of the estate, which enchants with delicate shades both during the flowering season and in the quiet golden autumn. Above the garden, along a patterned cast-iron lattice running along the edge of the cliff, there is a path to the high red rocks. It was from here that the monks of old Valaam admired the gloomy, reflecting reddish rocks, waters of the Monastery Bay, meeting or escorting pilgrims.

Former Romanov royal cells

Next, you will go to the marble Znamenskaya Chapel and the Holy Gates of the monastery, decorated with the Peter and Paul Gate Church. Adjacent to the walls of the church were the "Royal Cells" – the chambers in which members of the Romanov family stayed when visiting Valaam.

In addition, you will see the monastery square, the architectural ensemble of which was formed from the end of the XVIII to the beginning of the XX century:

• The Church of Peter and Paul
• The Assumption Refectory Church is the oldest surviving one on the island
• Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Life-giving Spring"
• Church of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God
• cell buildings
• outbuildings

Relics of the Holy Valaam Wonderworkers

A special place during the tour is given to visiting the main functioning temple of the monastery – the majestic Transfiguration Cathedral. The relics of the holy founders of the monastery, St. Sergius and Herman of Valaam, the Wonderworkers, rest here. Professional guides will tell the story of the saints, as well as show the decoration of the Transfiguration Cathedral.

At the Old Fraternal Cemetery, guests will get acquainted with the amazing fates of Valaam ascetics of former times.

Souvenirs
Icons and candles can be bought in the icon and souvenir shops of the monastery.

Features:

Transfer to the Monastery Bay is a great alternative to a walking trip from the ship to the Central estate

DURATION: 30 minutes each way

Important. It is recommended for excursions

• comfortable shoes
• insect repellent
• closed clothes
• headdress (including a headscarf for women)
• sunglasses
• drinking water

From the pier in the village of Hiidenselga, you will take comfortable buses to the village of Ruskeala, where the largest and most famous marble factories of Karelia have been operating since the XVIII century. Ruskeala village is located 30 km north of Sortavala, 20 km from the state border with Finland. Along the way, you will get acquainted with the history of this picturesque area, which was mastered during the Viking campaigns.

Upon arrival, you will go on a walking tour of the park, which has a very rare status for Russia – at the same time a monument of nature and a monument of industrial culture. You will be able to take the route of the extended tour "The Road of the Mountain Masters", hear the history of local mining and marble mining, told by our guides, see an underground tunnel, an abandoned marble factory and a wonderful Italian quarry. And also visit all the most picturesque and well-equipped observation decks, admire the grand Marble Canyon with the purest emerald water. In addition, the guides will tell you which famous sights are decorated with Ruskeala marble in the color of white nights with greenish flashes similar to the northern lights. At the end of the tour in the park you will have free time, you can relax, take a walk, visit the locations that are located on its territory.

At the end of the tour, you will return to the pier in the village of Hiidenselga on comfortable buses.

The excursion program "Along the path of Holy Russia" introduces more than a thousand years of the city's history, monuments of archeology and architecture.

The journey begins on the southern outskirts of Ladoga, where the Old Doge St. Nicholas Monastery, reopened in 2002, is located. Legend relates the foundation of the monastery to the XIII century and connects it with the name of Alexander Nevsky. Today, you can see the monuments of the XIII-XIX centuries, visit the current church of St. John Chrysostom, venerate the relics of St. Peter the Great. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, brought to the monastery after its renewal.

The walking route is a walk along Varyazhskaya Street, which is accompanied by a guide's story about the settlement of the central part of modern Old Ladoga, the preserved merchant houses of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries and the display of the monument to Princes Rurik and Oleg, installed in 2015.

The acquaintance with the history of the city continues at the exposition "Archeology of Ladoga". The presented finds tell about the life, appearance, and occupations of the townspeople of the IX-XVII centuries; they allow us to trace changes in costume, weapons, and everyday objects from the Viking Age to the Time of Troubles. The halls showcase finds obtained as a result of archaeological research in Ladoga during the 20th century.

During the walking tour, you will visit the Ladoga Fortress, get acquainted with the history and architecture of the complex, which is more than 1000 years old. You will learn about the main construction stages of the fortress and its reconstruction. You will visit the fortress yard, see fragments of fortifications of the XII-XVI centuries: parts of the fortress spinning wheel, a trading arch, towers.

The meeting place of the group is in front of the fortress.

At the end of the program, an independent return to the ship is provided.