Mountain Park and Marble Canyon Ruskeala in Karelia - how to get there and what to see. Republic of Karelia for the weekend. Ruskeala mountain park and a waterfall from a Soviet film. Adits at the Ruskeala quarry

Ruskeala in the Republic of Karelia - this is the name of the big tourist complex.

Its name comes from the nearby village of the same name.

Another landmark is the Tohmajoka River, on the banks of which it is located.

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Marble Canyon Ruskeala (Karelia, Russia) - description

The main attraction of this place is the Marble Canyon, which is now about 500 meters long and 100 meters wide, and the depth reaches 50 meters. All its walls are dissected complexes of white marble. Once its entire territory was riddled with a whole network of mines, drifts and adits, the total length of which is several kilometers.

Now the main quarry and most of it are flooded, and the once industrial facility has become an amazing place created by the joint efforts of man and nature.

Abandoned quarries were discovered by S. Alopeus, a local local history pastor. Active development began in 1765, during the reign of Catherine II. Since such work was rarely carried out in Russia, initially "stone work" was carried out under the guidance of Italians. The extraction of stone began quickly, because at that moment several large buildings were erected in the country at once.

More than 500 people worked at the quarries at that time. Then marble rock was found here, mainly of 4 colors: gray with a green tint, white with blue and gray tint, gray with an ash tone and white with gray streaks.

St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg

Marble from the Ruskeala quarries was used as a finishing material for such well-known buildings as:

• Saint Isaac's Cathedral;
• Mikhailovsky Castle;
• in the Kazan Cathedral they laid out the floors;
• in the Hermitage and the Marble Palace he made window sills;
• in the 20th century, Karelian marble was also used to decorate the Ladozhskaya and Primorskaya metro stations in St. Petersburg.

In 1846, a processing plant was built and a lime production process was organized. At this time, the number of workers in the quarries grew to 800 people. In wartime, from 1939 to 1947, there was no mining. Resumed production did not stop until the 1990s, but on a much smaller scale.

But after the end of mining and the flooding of the main quarry with groundwater, he was not forgotten. In 1998, the Marble Canyon was identified as a site cultural heritage and taken under state protection. Since 1999 it has been part of the international tourist route called Blue Road.

It is worth noting: in 2005, with the active participation of local entrepreneurs, work was carried out to create a whole tourist complex, and in just 10 years of work it became very famous.

Marble quarry and waterfalls

The flooded quarry is an unusual and beautiful place. Marble cliffs rising above the water, surrounded by a dense forest, look very picturesque.

It is worth noting that the water here is of an unusual shade. Perhaps this is due to the marble bottom. At the same time, water is visible to a depth of 15 meters.

The area around is equipped for a comfortable stay in the park, as well as organized various pastime options. For example, boat trips are very popular. During boat trips, you can personally observe pieces of marble peeking out of the water and look into numerous grottoes.

Less popular and hiking, allowing you to enjoy views not only of the canyon, but also of the surrounding area. For convenience, several observation platforms have been installed along the perimeter of the quarry, which allow you to take the most advantageous positions for photos. Also located here brief information about attractions and famous people who visited her.

For the most adventurous lovers cable cars, bungee jumping and jumping with ropes, cables are stretched over the water surface of the Marble Lake. Another feature of the quarry is the unusual colored illumination, which you can look at in the evening. It is used both in the canyon itself and in some grottoes and caves.

The lights on the marble cliffs look very impressive. In winter, you can ride a husky dog ​​sled. They will ride adults and children on the ice of the Marble Canyon itself.

A must visit point is the Ruskeala or Tokhminsky waterfalls. They don't differ great height or spectacular, but nonetheless very picturesque. The height of the largest of those located here is no more than 4 meters.

The area is especially famous for several films that were filmed directly here and in the vicinity. One of them is “The Dawns Here Are Quiet,” in which the heroine dived from one of these waterfalls. A small museum remains of the film.

A fairy tale about Baba Yaga was filmed right there, for the shooting of which fabulous scenery was built. It was also decided to leave them, because they fit very organically into the surrounding nature.

Sights of Ruskeala

Local adits are also popular with tourists, which are nothing more than through holes in the rock. They can be both vertical and horizontal. However, almost all of them were flooded by the Finns in 1939, except for one, which was later equipped for tourists to visit.

Once upon a time, a special marble was mined here, which was used to produce lime. Trolleys were used to transport material from here. Due to the special microclimate (it is always damp here), water drips from the ceiling, and snow can be found even in summer.

Another place where adits have been preserved is the Ruskeala failure. On the ground, it is marked with a sign " underground lake”, and all because now the failure is flooded. The collapse itself occurred in the 60s - then blasting was actively used to extract the rock, which led to the formation of cracks in the rock mass. So one day, the arch of the cave just collapsed.

It is a rounded hole in the ground and has a fence. For the descent down, a special system of ropes was built. At the bottom, special bridges are organized for passage deep into the caves.

Note: in winter, visitors descend directly onto the ice and go ice skating.

The so-called Italian Canyon is also interesting to visit. Not so long ago, the Italians decided to extract marble here, but it did not work out. It turned out that high-quality material lies rather deep, and located on the surface is very fragile and is not at all suitable as a finish. The extraction of deep marble costs a lot of effort and money, which is not entirely justified.

However, in the Italian quarry one can observe a fundamentally different approach to mining using special saws. From the developments started, there were huge sections of the rock, which allow you to admire the marble in the cut in natural conditions.

A place where not many tourists reach is an abandoned marble and lime factory. Despite his lesser prominence in the park, he is of great interest. Built by the Finns in 1896, it was intended for the production of lime. For this, calcite marble was fired in special kilns, of which there were originally three. Later, the production expanded: they built 3 more furnaces and began to deal with facing stone, as well as marble chips. It closed completely in the 1990s.

Now you can wander around here and see everything well. All buildings, furnaces and even iron tracks that were used to transport rock to the processing site are well preserved.

Official website of the recreation center

All necessary information about the marble canyon Ruskeala (Karelia, Russia) can be found on the official website of the complex - http://ruskeala.info/ru. Due to the proximity of Finland and other European countries, there are also Foreign tourists, so the site can be viewed in three languages. Here you will find all the relevant information about accommodation options, prices and additional services. Before visiting the park, you can find out about possible tours and excursions, as well as book accommodation if necessary.

Address

Marble Canyon Ruskeala is located at the address: Republic of Karelia, Sortavala, next to the Ruskeala village of the same name.

How to get there

get there mountain park Ruskeala can be in several ways, leaving from St. Petersburg or.

From Petersburg There are 2 options, and the whole journey is about 300 kilometers:

1. By private car, you should move along the federal highway A129, along the Priozersky highway. Having reached the city of Sortavala, we continue moving towards Petrozavodsk. Soon you will need to turn onto the A-130 highway, to the village of Vartsila, and from there to Ruskeala.
2. By train "St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha", which departs from the station "Ladoga", to the city of Sortavala. It is worth checking the schedule in advance, since the train does not run on this route every day. There is a regular bus from Sortavala to Ruskeala village.

From Petrozavodsk:

1. By private car we are moving along the P21 highway, through Kolatselga. The distance is about 250 km. Seeing the turn to the village of Vartsila, we turn. From there we move to the village of Ruskeala.
2. By train Petrozavodsk - Sortavala we reach the final city, and from there by regular bus to the destination.

Take note: it is most convenient to travel to the park by private car, since the attraction is located near the village, where public transport is not very developed.

Another convenient option- ordering a group tour, and then the trip will be organized from St. Petersburg to the desired point and back.

Where to stay

Not far from the Ruskeala mountain park, there are not many places to stay and relax in comfortable conditions. One of the most popular, in the immediate vicinity of the Karelian sights, is the King of the Mountain guest house, formerly called the Blue Lagoon tourist center.

Guests of Ruskeala are offered comfortable and varied rooms, free parking and gazebos equipped with barbecue facilities. In addition, there is a camping site on the territory where you can set up a tent and plunge into nature. Of course, a special success is the proximity to the famous park, to which the path is only 800 meters, and the amazing landscapes around.

Marble canyon Ruskeala - the most beautiful photos

You can visit the Ruskeala mountain park at any time of the year - each of them has its own charm. In general, this is a great option to change your favorite beaches and do active species recreation. In addition, now it is one of the most popular natural and technological attractions in Karelia and throughout Russia.

Karelia is the pearl of the Russian North. Its modest beauty, bottomless lakes and relic forests leave no one indifferent. There, not far from the border with Finland, there is a unique monument of nature and at the same time a museum under open sky entitled Ruskeala.

MARBLE PANTRY

Middle of the 18th century. Newly proclaimed capital Russian state is developing rapidly. They build palaces, pave squares, lay out parks. St. Petersburg needs marble. Lots and lots of it. Preferably domestic, so that it is inexpensive and not far away.

Catherine II orders to produce " geographical research all around Russia". Soon, rich deposits of white-smoky, like St. Petersburg summer nights, marble were found.

Ruskeala (from the Karelian reskea - “brown, brown”) is a small village in the Northern Ladoga region. It would be easily lost on the map if not for unique nature and glorious history.

For centuries, these lands have been the subject of military disputes. three states and then passed to the Swedes, then to the Finns, then to the Russians. Therefore, the first developers of the Ruskeala marble quarries were the Swedes. They built the first quarries there at the end of the 17th century.

After graduation Northern war The Ladoga region remained with Russia, and the Ruskeala canyons came under the jurisdiction of Field Marshal Buturlin. The extraction of marble was temporarily abandoned.

Stone mining stopped and the old abandoned Ruskeala quarries turned into beautiful mountain lakes.

But in 1768, at the suggestion of the local pastor Samuil Alopeus, work began to boil again in Ruskeala. From all sides masons, architects and mining engineers gathered. An inconspicuous border village in just a few years became industrial center. Over the next 50 years, more than 200 thousand tons of marble were mined. Blocks of stone were loaded onto sledges pulled by 80 horses and taken to the pier. There they were transferred to small sailing ships and floated on Lake Ladoga to St. Petersburg.

The second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century can be called without exaggeration era of Ruskeala marble . This noble ash stone adorned the interiors of many metropolitan objects:

• Orlovsky Gate (Tsarskoye Selo);
• Roman fountains (Peterhof);
• columns of the Gatchina Palace;
• Chesme obelisk (Gatchina);
• facade of the Mikhailovsky Castle and others.

But the most famous building, in the decoration of which Ruskeala marble was used, is Saint Isaac's Cathedral. The architect Auguste Montferrand personally came to Ruskeala to supervise the breaking of the stone. As a result, the walls of St. Isaac's Cathedral are lined with beautiful white-gray marble about 50 centimeters thick.

In the second half of the 19th century, marble began to go out of fashion (city architects switched to granite). Active marble mining in Ruskeala has stopped. In 1896, the Finns rented the deposit: they built a marble-lime plant and produced marble chips, and with it, in turn, walls were plastered and floors were poured.

Production closed with the start of the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940. The marble quarries were flooded. According to one version - by the Finns, according to another - by Soviet aviation.

Entrance to the gallery. Photo: Tatyana Dorohova.

View of the mine from the mine. A bridge was thrown over the mine for passage.

After the Great Patriotic War Ruskeala plant resumed work. Its products (lime, crumb, crushed stone) were supplied to 10 republics and 17 regions Soviet Union. Whole marble was practically not mined. The last ones to be faced were Ladozhskaya and Primorskaya stations of the St. Petersburg metro.

In 1998 marble quarry Ruskeala is included in the list of cultural and historical heritage of Russia as a mining monument of the 18th-20th centuries. The flooded quarries became beautiful emerald lakes. In 2005, a tourist park opened there.

WHAT TO SEE IN RUSKEAL?

4 kilometers from the village of Ruskeala there is a place that is impossible to pass by when going to the marble quarry. This is the Ruskeala cascade - a chain of four small but picturesque waterfalls.

The Tohmajoki ("mad river") flows into Ladoga lake and has many rapids and rifts, the largest of them form waterfalls. The largest one is called Ahvenkoski, which in Finnish means "perch threshold". To say that the place is beautiful is an understatement. What is worth only the fact that one of the scenes of the film "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was filmed there.

Tohmajoki river.

This waterfall is clearly visible from the highway leading to Ruskeala. Next to it there is a parking lot, a gazebo and a souvenir shop. Ruskeala waterfalls - perfect place to rest on the way to the mountain park "Ruskeala" and take some photos.

Ruskeala waterfall Akhvenkoski.

But the pearl of Ruskeala is, of course, the Marble Canyon. It is part of the Ruskeala mountain park (more about it a little later) and is a huge stone bowl filled with bluish-emerald water.

Marble Canyon.

The length of the Marble Canyon is 460 meters, the width is up to 100 meters, the depth in some places reaches 50 meters. This is the very place where they took marble for St. Isaac's Cathedral and other St. Petersburg architectural monuments.

The canyon makes a huge impression! Sheer silvery marble cliffs that go deep into the clear waters, grottoes and galleries - all this creates the feeling that you are in fairyland, and a dwarf with a pick at the ready will look out of the mine.

Water is particularly striking. The quarry is fed by clean groundwater, there are no algae at the bottom. Therefore, its transparency reaches 15-18 meters, in some places you can even see the equipment left at the bottom of the quarry.

The Marble Canyon is flooded to the upper underground horizon (there were seven in total: three underground and four above ground).

A horizon is a layer within a rock.

Most of the galleries are under water. Only one of them, in the northwestern part of the mountain park, has remained above the water level and is open to the public. It is believed that the Finns broke through it in the 1930s in order to transport trolleys with marble from mine No. 2. The mine itself is about a third flooded, and ice is visible at its bottom, which does not melt even in summer.

An adit is a horizontal or inclined mine working that has access to the earth's surface.

Another attraction of the Ruskeala mountain park is the Ruskeala failure. This is a collapsed vault of underground workings. According to the memories local residents, it was formed in the 1960s after a strong explosion in a quarry. As a result, a huge hole about 30 meters wide was formed on the surface of the earth.

A feature of the failure is its microclimate. In the far parts of the working, the ice never melts, where bizarre icicles hang from the walls. But directly at the site of the failure in the warm season, small lake. Therefore, in order to get deep into the working, you must first go down to the boat on a rope, and then get to the ice “floor” on it. In winter, everything is easier: you immediately descend onto strong ice.

Ruskeala failure. Photo: Vladimir Kirichenko.

The ice inside the working does not melt even in summer. Photo: Vladimir Kirichenko.

On this interesting places in the mountain park "Ruskeala" do not end there. On its territory there is also the so-called italian quarry. Until the 1970s, block marble was mined there according to Italian technology (hence the name) using foreign machines. The color and texture of marble are clearly visible here, and the method of its extraction can be traced. It, like bread, was cut into large layers using wire saws, layer by layer.

Italian Quarry.

Ruskeala sights are a rare symbiosis natural object and an industrial open-air museum. Looking at all these beauties, you involuntarily think: "How rich our planet is, how much it can give us."

WHAT TO DO IN RUSKEAL?

As already mentioned, in 2005 the Marble Canyon, as well as the Ruskeala failure and the Italian quarry, became part of the Ruskeala mountain park.

Scheme of the mountain park "Ruskeala"

The park was created by the efforts of private companies that united, allocated money and put these objects in order. They took out garbage and scrap metal, laid convenient paths, and built viewing platforms. Lighting was carried out along the perimeter of the canyon - now at night the marble rocks shine with multi-colored tints. The only pity is that artistic lighting works only in winter (from November to March) and only on Fridays and Saturdays.

We also created the infrastructure. They built a parking lot, cafes, toilets, souvenir shops and a pier where you can rent a boat. Boat trip along the Marble Canyon is considered the most exciting: you can swim in the grottoes, swim up to the adits and feed the ducks.

The park is open all year round, only the mode changes from season to season. After the Ruskeala sights were ennobled, the entrance to the park, of course, became paid - 150 rubles per person. Boat rental, guide and other services also cost money (detailed price list here).

But the park offers its visitors a lot of entertainment. Those who like to tickle their nerves will appreciate them:

1. Jump from a 24-meter cliff Marble Canyon. Of course, with insurance. Height free fall at the same time it is 8 meters.

2. Rope bridge walk : three ropes are stretched through the canyon at a height of 24 meters - you go one at a time, you hold on to two.

3. trolls - this is a high-speed descent on a roller along an obliquely stretched rope straight to the surface of the Marble Lake.

Another popular way to spend time in the park is diving . As you remember, the Ruskeala marble canyon has three underwater horizons. Flooded mines, connected by adits, like a mysterious labyrinth. Diving lovers can feel like real explorers and see what is hidden in the ancient quarries.

But perhaps the most exciting adventure in the mountain park is descent into failure . To do this, you need to have special equipment and permission from the directorate of the institution. In addition, descent on a rope to a depth of 16 meters is a very risky activity, so it must be done in the presence of professionals. Even if you are not a fan of extreme sports, the views that open up inside the failure are worth it to overcome your fears. In winter, it is like the residence of the Snow Queen!

Of the quieter winter activities - riding a husky (those very fluffy cuties) and taking pictures with them. Also in the park and its surroundings, various recreational activities: concerts, folklore holidays, historical installations, competitions and more.

Observation deck. Photo: Andrey Kirnov.

Pier and rope rides. Photo: Andrey Kirnov.

It is better to come to Ruskeala for a couple of days. Moreover, there will be no problems with accommodation. Near the park there are two recreation centers and a tourist complex. In addition, in the summer, many prefer to break camping and rest on the march.

But at the camp sites you will find not only comfortable beds, barbecues and equipped baths, but also additional entertainment. So, you can rent an ATV and ride around the area, you can buy a jeep tour or go on a rafting .

Rafting- This sports alloy By mountain river on six-, four- or two-seater inflatable vessels.

Rafting is carried out along the Tohmajoki River - you can not only see the Ruskeala waterfalls, but also feel their strength.

In a word, you will not be bored in Ruskeala. From this place you will take away a lot of picturesque photos and no less vivid impressions.

HOW TO GET TO RUSKEALA?

The village of Ruskeala is located in the Sortavalsky district of the Republic of Karelia, 37 kilometers from the regional center and 20 kilometers from the Russian-Finnish border. You can get to the Marble Canyon and other attractions three ways.

By private car

From St. Petersburg, the route runs along the A129 highway, through the cities of Priozersk and Sortavala. Having reached the last one, you need to turn onto the A130 highway. The distance from St. Petersburg to Ruskeala is about 300 kilometers.

From Petrozavodsk to Ruskeala, the M18 highway (another name is R-21) leads first, from which, in the area of ​​​​the city of Pryazha, you need to turn to the villages of Lyaskelya and Helyulya (road M130).

Driving directions.

By bus

From Petrozavodsk to Sortavala run every day intercity buses. The timetable can be found here. In turn, from Sortavala to Ruskeala can be reached by shuttle bus. Also from Sortavala to the Marble Canyon can be reached by taxi for a few hundred rubles. With a taxi driver, you can agree on the day and time when he will return for you.

By train

Train 350A "St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha" runs from St. Petersburg to the city of Sortavala. 23 hours - and you are there. Too bad the train doesn't run every day. Study the schedule. How to get from Sortavala to Ruskeala - see above.

It is also possible to get by train, but you will have to make several changes.

The railway route is considered the most inconvenient and time-consuming.

WHY SHOULD YOU SEE RUSKEALA?

This is a must see! Because Ruskeala is a beautiful mountain park with a system of underground caves, Marble Canyon, waterfalls and recreation centers. This is a tourist complex where you can spend an active weekend with the whole family at any time.

Marble Canyon is so beautiful that even norwegian fjords. Sheer silvery walls embrace a transparent emerald lake, adits caves can be seen. It seems as if he was in a fairy tale and everything around has special magical properties.

But most importantly, Ruskeala is an industrial monument, through which you can trace the history of mining from the 18th to the 20th century. For centuries, workers with the hardest work have been extracting marble, which adorned luxurious palaces Petersburg.

• Based on materials from the LifeHacker portal

• 18 November, 2014

"Ruskeala" (see photo below) is a mountain park located in Karelia near the city of Sortavala. It was created in 2005.

Story

The marble canyon "Ruskeala" (Karelia) began to be developed as early as the 17th century. The work in those days was carried out by the Swedes. The extracted marble was used for the construction of foundations and in order to make building lime.

Special attention was paid to the marble canyon "Ruskeala" in those days when palaces and cathedrals began to be built in St. Petersburg and its environs. The valuable stone mined in these places was highly valued by architects. Marble slabs were used to decorate their buildings by Montferrand and Rinaldi. This magnificent stone was faced with the Kazan and St. Isaac's Cathedrals, Mikhailovsky Castle, etc.

Before the start of the Russian-Finnish war, the quarries where the valuable stone was mined were flooded by the Finns. According to one version, this was done in order to harm the Soviet troops.

The marble canyon "Ruskeala" is still used today. Material was mined here, which was used for lining the Ladozhskaya and Primorskaya stations of the St. Petersburg Metro.

Exploitation of the surrounding deposits continues today. The former scale, of course, no longer exists, but there is a constant extraction and sale of crushed marble.

Attractions

mountain park"Ruskeala" - a marble canyon, which is a real museum of mining, as well as a natural heritage. These places amaze with their beauty. The former quarries today are delightful. They resemble marble bowls that have been filled with bluish-green waters. Nearby adits look like mysterious caves.

Marble canyon "Ruskeala" in 1998 received new status. It was recognized as part of the Russian cultural heritage.

marble quarry

The place where valuable building material was mined in the past is one of the attractions of the Ruskeala mountain park. Today the quarry is filled with crystal-clear, emerald-colored water. The splendor of its patterned shores with sheer cliffs pleases the eye. In a former quarry, you can find places where marble shines through right through the water.

There are a number of viewing platforms around the perimeter of the stone quarrying site. From them you can admire the picturesque views. Viewed from these sites are brick ovens built before the 1917 revolution. They were used to obtain lime, which was produced by burning marble chips. The pipes of these furnaces are laid out in the shape of a cone and resemble minarets or ancient towers. It can be seen from the observation decks and the old administrative building. It is notable for the fact that it is laid out entirely of marble.

If you want to admire the landscapes of the local nature from the water, you can rent a boat on the pier. Then you can swim into the grottoes located in the sheer cliffs. Such a journey will leave an indelible impression, surprising with the play of light that is observed on the marble ceiling. Even at night, the marble canyon "Ruskeala" will delight you with bright colors. This is due to the artificial lighting arranged here.

Waterfall

Travelers seeking to get to the marble canyon "Ruskeala" (Karelia, Russia) will have to overcome the path along the banks of the Tokhmajoki River. Here, at the Ahvenkoski waterfall, it is worth stopping and admiring the opening landscapes. In order for travelers to relax and gain strength, benches are specially installed on the banks of the river.

Additionally, you can visit the destroyed Finnish power plant. It is located on the Tohmajoki River, just downstream from the waterfall.

Description of the canyon

There is more than one marble quarry in Ruskeal. But on the territory of the mountain park is the most beautiful of them. After the place was cultivated, a guard began to be on duty at the entrance. On the territory of the mountain park a large number of stalls offering souvenirs to visitors. Here you can walk along neat paths sprinkled with marble chips, near which there are signposts and fences. Such changes cannot but rejoice. They testify that the Ruskeala marble canyon (see photo below) is under supervision and will retain its condition for many years.

Excursions

The area of ​​the mountain park is relatively small. Its width is only 100 m, and its length is 450 m. In this regard, excursions conducted in "Ruskeala" (marble canyon) do not take much time.

Several more quarries are located around the park. Interestingly, the color of the water they are filled with is different everywhere. So, in the main quarry, you can admire the emerald greenish tint. The water in adjacent marble bowls is blue or gray with a bluish tint. There is no mystery in this. The shade of the liquid depends on the color of the marble lying here. There are also unflooded adits in the canyon. However, it should be borne in mind that in order to get into them, you must use the services of an escort. You should not do this on your own.

Walks outside the park

The so-called Italian quarries come close to the marble canyon. They can clearly observe evenly cut layers amazing stone. This spectacle is not limited to the mountain. Near the quarry there is a large number of abandoned marble blocks that were rejected at one time. The adits got their name due to the fact that the first developments on them were carried out according to Italian technologies with the involvement of specialists from this country.

Here you can also admire the marble pool, which is carved directly into the layers.

Diving

Diving enthusiasts who managed to visit the marble canyon "Ruskeala" are also satisfied. This place is a real paradise for divers. They are attracted by flooded quarries, which are connected to each other by adits. The majority of visitors do not see the underground horizons of numerous tunnels, in which marble was mined at one time.

The bottom of the main canyon is also of interest to divers. Here is an abandoned technique that was used to extract marble. The attractiveness of the place increases the transparency of the water, due to its low temperature. The fact is that cold springs hit in a career. That is why the water in it is constantly updated.

reservoirs

In "Ruskeala" there are flooded boats. The main one, which is located on the territory of a mountain park, rents out boats. On the banks of the remaining quarries, you can find several places for recreation with a tent. However, you should not count on privacy, as these places are very popular with tourists.

Not far from the park flows a river called Tohmajoki. On its banks you can also find several places for setting up a tent. However, there is a lot of rubbish here.

Visitor impressions

Those tourists who examined the marble canyon "Ruskeala" leave reviews about it as great location recreation. In this regard, the mountain park is very popular. In summer, it is best to come here on a weekday. Only in this case will it be possible to avoid pandemonium. You can visit the mountain park in the early morning, when most of the visitors have not yet arrived.

Difficulties

The marble canyon "Ruskeala" is located at a considerable distance from St. Petersburg. That is why a day trip is very tiring, especially for the driver. In addition, starting from Priozersk, the road is very winding and dangerous.

Caution does not hurt when using mobile communication. There is a border not far from the canyon, as a result of which there is a constant connection of unsolicited Finnish roaming (SMS messages are received from the mobile operator).

It should also be taken into account that the banks of the quarry are sheer steep cliffs. Climbing is prohibited here. There are signs posted all over the place. If you rent a boat, then you should not swim close to the rock. Sometimes stones fall from the tops.

Paid services

There is a small fee for walking around the park. Boat rental is paid. In winter, a skating rink is arranged in the canyon. Skates can be rented here.

Road

So, you have chosen the marble canyon "Ruskeala" as a place of rest. How to get to it? It is possible to do this by public transport, but it is difficult. To do this, from St. Petersburg you have to get to the town of Sortovala. In this locality northern capital walk Shuttle Buses and trains. The next point of the route is the village of Ruskeala. You can get here by bus, which runs twice a day. Its route runs from Sortovala to Vartsila through Ruskeala. A distance of twenty-five kilometers can also be covered by taxi.

There is another option. In St. Petersburg, you need to take a train to Kostomuksha. The distance from this station to the park is eight kilometers. The train arrives in Kostomuksha at one in the morning and at four in the morning. Arriving on it, you can become the first visitors to the park.

It is much easier to get to the marble canyon by private car. At the same time, the route from St. Petersburg will run along the A-129 highway to Sortovala. Having reached this settlement, it is necessary to turn north to the village of Ruskevala. On the map, this is the A-130 highway. Not far from the village there is a sign in the direction of the mountain park. The car can be left on the side of the road or in the free parking of the complex. It should be borne in mind that this route is not close. From St. Petersburg to the destination is almost three hundred and thirty kilometers.

Categories of excursions

Has "Ruskeala" (marble canyon) official website (base-ruskeala. rf). On it you can find a lot of useful information for tourists. There is also an opportunity to get acquainted with the categories of excursions offered in the mountain park. Among them are a weekend hike and a long walk, as well as a weekend itinerary.

Where can you stay?

In the village of Ruskeala there is a recreation center of the same name. It works year-round and is designed for ninety visitors. The recreation center has rooms of varying degrees of comfort. There are rooms for newlyweds and couples with babies.

On the territory you can have a picnic with barbecue. For guests there is a bathhouse built on the shore of the lake.

For vacationers, excursions to the marble canyon, to waterfalls or to Lake Valaam are arranged. For those who come by their own car, there is a guarded parking lot. There is a rental center at the recreation center "Ruskeala" that provides sports equipment - footballs and volleyballs, bicycles, skis and skates. Picnic equipment is also provided here.

Conclusion

Marble canyon "Ruskeala" is popular all year round. There are many interesting places and amazing views. So, when visiting the mountain park and its environs, do not forget to take your camera with you. According to most tourists, the marble canyon is one of the most interesting places in Karelia.

This June I managed to make short trip in Karelia as part of organized tour for 5 days (tour review). The program was designed in such a way as to show us the most recognizable and photographed places in Karelia that can be visited for such short vacation. We spent the first part of the tour in the area Karelian city Sortavala, next to which there are such famous sights of Karelia as the Ruskeala waterfalls, the island of Valaam with an ancient monastery and the Ruskeala mountain park, which will be discussed today.

A bit of history

The Ruskeala mountain park is a territory where marble canyons with emerald water, adits, mines and paths with viewing platforms are located, organized into routes for tourists. I would call this attraction industrial-natural, and here's why.
Back in the 17th century, the Swedes began mining marble here, which, with northern severity, was turned into whitewash. Practical Swedes did not need pompous material to decorate buildings and pavements, they always loved conciseness and practicality, so the hand did not flinch to translate good. However, almost a century later, our country began mining marble for its intended purpose. Few people know, but many famous buildings Petersburg are lined with marble from the Ruskeala quarries, the main of which are Green and White, named after the color of the marble that is mined from them. For example, white marble from Karelia was used in the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, one of the facades of the Mikhailovsky Palace, the pedestal of the monument to Peter I, they decorated the windows Winter Palace. The marble of the Green Mountain was useful in the construction of the Kazan Cathedral and other objects in St. Petersburg, Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo.

Marble was mined at different levels, called horizons, which are located even underground. The original horizons did not reach our time, they were replaced by later ones. I will not write about how the marble was mined, because it will be much more interesting for you to hear this story from a qualified guide in the park, who, as part of the recruited group, will tell you everything in detail.
It is worth saying about marble quarries that a kind of unique park, because it was created with private investment, you must admit that for Russia it is not a frequent occurrence.

Walk around the Ruskeala quarry

Our excursion group arrived at the Ruskeala mountain park around 8 pm. In summer, admission is possible until 24-00. In June, in the Russian north, the nights are almost white, and in another season, the backlight works in Ruskeala.

You can walk around Ruskeala on your own by buying an entrance ticket, or you can excursion group led by a local guide in the park. For some reason, our travel agency could not organize an excursion for us earlier than 20-30, so by agreement with all the participants of the tour, we went to the territory ourselves. Why didn't they wait an extra half hour? It was the first day of our trip, many got off the train at 6 am, then we visited the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery in Leningrad region, drove almost 5 hours to the recreation center in the Sortavala area. We had a choice - to sit an extra hour at the base, and then go, which meant returning back later, or leave the base earlier, take a walk in the park ourselves and go to rest after a crazy day.

In front of the entrance to the park there is a square with a long row of souvenir tents and an administration building where tickets are sold. There is also an observation deck at the largest Ruskeala quarry.

Since we arrived in the evening, we didn’t see emerald-blue water, because the sun, apparently, fell at the wrong angle. But still, marble mountains, water, floating boats looked very nice, I was already impatient to get into the park.

Around the quarry laid walking route, along which observation platforms are constantly encountered, allowing you to approach the edge of the quarry without extreme sports. For the especially gifted, signs are placed everywhere, stating that do not throw stones down, do not approach the edge and do not dive down ... apparently, there were such.

I drew attention to the rather large grottoes on opposite side mountains, for some reason they seemed familiar to me, although I had never been to Ruskeala.

And then Zhenya suggested to me that this is the first 3D Russian film "The Dark World", namely the scene with the lake witches, was filmed here. Here is a video for the song "Witch", you can see the landscapes of Ruskeala.

Filming location "Dark World" in Karelia

In addition to boats that can be rented at a special station, I noticed divers in their careers. As the guide said, they really like this place, and the park allows professionals to train. It turns out that the water in the quarry is very clean, besides, at the bottom lies the equipment flooded by the Finns, with the help of which marble was mined. And since Karelian lakes are not rich in outlandish seabed or tales of sunken ships with treasures, the exploration of the bottom of Ruskeala is extremely interesting for divers. The cost of using the pier for diving is 200 rubles.

As soon as we passed one side of the quarry, we saw a pointer to an adit, into which you can freely go down without special permission. In your own words, the adit is a recess in the ground, a kind of corridor, a quarry. We decided to go down to the adit, which has been preserved for a long time, which goes 200 meters deep. It was created to deliver trolleys with marble from the mine along the narrow-gauge railway. At the entrance to the adit, you can see what an old trolley looks like.

To be honest, going down was scary, and I don’t like all sorts of caves and grottoes at all, but I decided to go into the adit, because I had never seen anything like it.

We walked around the quarry and quietly envied independent tourists, who sailed on boats, swam up to the grottoes, as in frames from the film.

We were told that research is now being carried out in the quarry to open a passage inside the mountains for tourists. In a couple of years, they promise to organize excursions to grottoes, caves and other wonders of nature hidden from the eyes.

Routes in Ruskeala

Routes along Ruskeala can be found at the entrance to the park - a large poster hangs.

Download map with routes

Route around the Marble Quarry

You can limit yourself to a walk around the Big Marble Quarry, as we did, or you can visit the factory, the neighboring lake. In general, if you are lovers of industrial tourism, then Ruskeala is just an ideal object. In any case, this place is very unusual, so I recommend allocating at least 3 hours for it, and then, as they say, as it goes.

What else can you do in Ruskeala

As you already understood, Ruskeala is interesting, first of all, to walk on foot, depending on the degree of interest, take a look at the quarry with one eye or make a real journey into the industrial past of our country.

From entertainment Rusleala offers boating. Immediately upon entering, you will see a descent down to the boat station. There you will be put on life jackets, and you can go swimming. I think it's very cool to swim under the huge marble rocks, to look into clean water and just enjoy nature. In addition, you can swim up to the grottoes, which we saw only from above. Boat rental is open from May 20 to September 30, it costs 400 rubles per boat (no more than 4 people, we are not in China).

If you like to tickle your nerves, then you definitely want to ride on the torso on a bungee shortcut or cross the entire quarry. The bungee is located at the exit of the Marble Quarry.

I can’t say anything about reliability and safety, but it’s fixed like this.

There is a trampoline for children at the exit, beer with barbecue for dads, shops for moms. They also regularly ride husky dogs there, but we arrived too late.

How to get there, opening hours, entrance fee

The opening hours of the mountain park depend on the time of the year.

If you walk around Ruskeala on your own, then the entrance ticket will cost 150 rubles. for adults, 100 for students, 50 rubles for schoolchildren, and for children under 7 years old, admission is free.

A tour of the park costs 250 rubles. for a short route lasting 1 hour and 350 rubles. for a 1.5 hour walk.

And if you decide to create and celebrate a wedding not in Thailand, but in Karelia, then the mountain park will give you a boat ride ... and let all the guests wait. ?

Get to Ruskeala by car not difficult, here is her address. Free parking is available near the entrance.

On one's own, i.e. by public transport, you can also get to the marble quarries.

From St. Petersburg, you need to take train No. 350 St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha, having bought a ticket to the Kaalamo station. Next, take a taxi to the park (drive about 5 km).

You can get from Petrozavodsk to Ruskeala by train No. 680-Ch Petrozavodsk-Sortavala, get off at Kaalamo station. Travel time from 19-20 to 06-06. You can also get there by bus or minibus (NUMBERS), which go to Sortavala, although the travel time will be from 5 to 8 hours.

The easiest way to get to Reskeala or the city of Sortavala. At the bus station, look at the bus schedule to Vartsila, it stops near the park, though it runs very rarely. If you are in Sortavala, then it is most convenient to take a taxi (about 450 rubles one way), and you can immediately arrange to be waited for and brought back. This option will cost you about 1000 rubles, but it all depends on the particular taxi driver, your art of trading and the time you want to spend in the park.

From Moscow to Ruskeala, you guessed it, you can get through St. Petersburg or Petrozavodsk.

Perhaps the information on how to get to Ruskeala is scary, but you need to understand that it makes no sense to go to Karelia on Ruskeala. It is necessary to develop a route that includes the city of Sortavala and its environs, visit Ruskeala, Ruskeala waterfalls, swim to Valaam, fish, walk in nature, and there are many things to do in this area of ​​Karelia.

Where to stay

In the area where Ruskeala is located, there are several recreation centers where you can comfortably stay. This will allow you to combine outdoor recreation with visiting attractions located nearby.

I lived at the recreation center "Black Stones" and I can safely recommend it. The base is located about 30 minutes drive to the mountain park.

Recreation center "Black Stones"

Approximately the same distance is country club Gardarika, who can be booked on booking.com .

In close proximity to the marble quarries is the recreation center "Ruskeala". On the Ruskeala website you can read about the route to the base, a private bus and transfer. A little further, on the lake, there is a Janisyarvi base.

If you like city breaks, I recommend book one of the hotels in Sortavala. It will be extremely convenient for you to travel around this part of Karelia from it, you may even meet some taxi driver who will become your driver and pleasant companion.

All articles in Karelia

Selection of hotels in Karelia

Flights to Karelia

Ruskeala mountain park in Karelia amazing place. This is a unique attraction not only in Karelia, but throughout Europe. More than 50 thousand tourists visit the Ruskeala park and quarry every year. The quarries created by human hands, where marble was mined until the 19th century, attract and beckon with their beauty, fresh clean air of the Ladoga region.

Abandoned quarry turned into an interesting one tourist facility mountain park Ruskeala in 2005, thanks to the efforts of several enthusiasts. For 200 rubles you can get around along the tourist routes. Paying more, you can take a boat or try yourself in an extreme sport. I recommend mountain park Ruskeala to visit in Karelia. It is also interesting to know what is popular in the Ruskeala area: hotels, prices and recreation centers.

The month of June turned out to be rich in travel. I visited Bangkok, then Pattaya, then Moscow, then I went to St. Petersburg and visited Karelia. To be honest, going there, I had no idea what the Ruskeala mountain park was and how mesmerizingly beautiful it was. But I saw this place and was completely delighted. After visiting I learned enough interesting materials about in Karelia, and now I can tell you.

Location of Ruskeala mountain park in Karelia

Main landmark marble canyon Ruskeala in Karelia it is the city of Sortavala. Sortavala is located about 30 km from career Ruskeala and is known for being the starting point to Valaam for thousands of thousands of travelers from all over the world. Valaam is perhaps the most famous island on Lake Ladoga.

The island is similar to the island city of Sviyazhsk near Kazan with its numerous monasteries and churches. You can get there only by water - a round trip ticket starts from 2000 rubles per person. But Ruskeala marble quarry in Karelia also an interesting attraction, even more accessible and not overloaded with crowds of tourists that can overshadow any, even the most interesting trip.

Ruskeala Quarry. Found this cute card:

Unusual discoveries in Ruskeala park, which are not written about anywhere

The first thing that surprised me was that mountain park Ruskeala private, created with the money of investors in 2015. In total, about 600 thousand rubles were spent. By my Moscow standards, they even met the budget. At the same time, paths, observation platforms, illumination of the marble quarry were equipped in the Ruskeala mountain park, extreme rope descents were organized. The park is being watched and it shows. And it’s not a pity even to give money for the entrance. In the park marble quarry Ruskeala perfect cleanliness, the water is clear, but this is of course more natural feature, but at least nothing floats in the water: no leaves, no bottles.

The park is equipped with all kinds of maps and signs, and in general makes a good impression.

Entrance to the marble canyon Ruskeala in Karelia

Entrance to the paid, as I said, and at the same time, the organizers also turned out to be not fools. As I noticed, every day in the Ruskeala mountain park they give out bracelets of different colors. The colors seem to be repeated, but for 2 days in a row you won’t be able to visit one bracelet at a time. And we wanted 🙂 Yesterday we had blue bracelets, the next day they sold yellow ones, and there are also orange ones for sure.

Entrance fee to Ruskeala park in Karelia

Now for the cost of visiting. mountain park Ruskeala in 2017. I read the articles of my blogger friends literally in February 2017, the entrance to the Ruskeala mountain park was 150 rubles. I visited in June 2017, the entrance is already 200 rubles. But it's worth it, of course. Well, a picture with an input cost for clarity. Discounts for schoolchildren, students, residents of the Sortavala region. Children, veterans of the Second World War and residents of besieged Leningrad - free of charge.

The entrance to marble canyon Ruskeala in Karelia as follows. Recently they put up a sign for tourists "Visit center".

Lots inside useful information about the mountain park Ruskeala.

You can also take a map of the Ruskeala marble quarry in Karelia, all sorts of advertising brochures, read for general development.

A bit of history of the mountain park Ruskeala in Karelia

The territory of the current park and marble quarry Ruskeala in Karelia was Swedish until 1721. The Swedes mined marble in small quantities. After the Great Northern War, when the territory of the Ruskeala marble quarry became Russian, the extraction of industrial marble here began in the 1760s. Marble from Ruskeala was used to decorate St. Isaac's Cathedral, Mikhailovsky Castle, Maly Marble Palace and Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

As I already said, the main attraction of the Ruskeala mountain park is the marble quarry. This is a huge area of ​​marble production, with adits and equipment, flooded with water. The view here is really beautiful, I was completely delighted, although, perhaps, it is already difficult to surprise me with something. Transparent water, with visibility up to 15-18 meters, small blue boats on the water, sheer marble cliffs, everything is very very beautiful and majestic.

It is also interesting that the entrance to the Ruskeala mountain park is from the side where the view of the marble quarry is the most beautiful. After going to the end of the short tourist route, you can go back along the other part of the quarry. And the view there is no longer the same, the rocks are more gentle and overgrown with moss.

Around marble quarry Ruskeala in Karelia paths and viewing platforms are equipped, but I would not advise staying on them for a long time, because there was already a precedent when blocks of marble broke off and fell down. They can even be seen through the crystal clear water. Even at the bottom of the quarry there is equipment, it’s just that everything was flooded suddenly when the Finns left these lands.

Another place in the Ruskeala mountain park in Karelia that I want to talk about is the so-called Ruskeala failure. It was formed as a result of explosions in neighboring adits and fascinates with its scale, depth and eternal people at the bottom, which does not melt even in summer. You can go down there, and in winter even go ice skating.

All quarries in Ruskeala are separated by adits, which are almost all filled with water. However, there is one that you can get into. And it looks like gnomes worked there 🙂 Because with my beautiful height of 175 cm, I couldn’t calmly pass. There are "places for headbutting," as the tour guides joke. The hall is cool and the lights are flickering. Looks like one of the bulbs just burned out. However, it was very colorful, walking through the cave in marble rock by flashing lights.

The adit comes to the surface and if you raise your head up, then people are walking there. And this is the top view.

If you move away from the beaten paths, you can find quite interesting places in the Ruskeala mountain park. One of them is an Italian quarry. It is not related to the Italians and pasta has never been here. Just marble was mined using Italian technology. But the marble was not of very high quality, crumbled, and soon the quarry was closed. Blocks of marble still stand in this place. And on it you can see the stripes that have remained since the time of its extraction.

If you go beyond the Italian quarry marble canyon Ruskeala in Karelia, then you can see another quarry where they don’t lead hiking trails and equipped paths. You need to get to the quarry along a pile of stones.

But the view from it is fantastic. The abyss is behind us. I'm scared. I'm on the left 🙂

Ruskeala hotels prices and recreation centers

I’ll tell you separately where to stay if you go on vacation to Karelia and want to visit Ruskeala itself has a recreation center, but it is quite expensive, due to its good location next to the Ruskeala mountain park. Therefore, the most optimal housing in terms of price and quality is the city of Sortavala. In Sortavala there is a choice of accommodation for different categories of tourists. Not so big, but still there. The direction is developing, the Finns are actively visiting the city, so a certain tourist infrastructure is being created for them.

Prices are quite affordable, and for lovers of economy and nature, there is an opportunity to simply put up a tent. So, Ruskeala - hotels, prices and recreation centers in the Sortavala area, from where you can easily get to Ruskeala marble quarry in Karelia. Here, as elsewhere, there are offers for budget tourists, as well as for those who are not going to save money. Prices for hotels and recreation centers in Karelia near Ruskeala start from 1,500 rubles for two. Below is a selection of several options for recreation in Karelia near the marble canyon. You can view prices, as well as book hotels and recreation centers using widgets.

The nearest hotels and recreation centers to Ruskeala

Inexpensive hotels and recreation centers near Ruskeala (in Sortavala)

The best hotels and recreation centers near Ruskeala

Most best hotels and recreation centers near Ruskeala are located on the island of Riekkalansaari near Sortavala:

For a complete picture, I am also attaching a map of Ruskeala with the nearest hotels.

Shops in the mountain park Ruskeala

Near the park there are cute souvenir shops with all sorts of garbage. A bunch of memorabilia, marble items, amulets, amulets, magnets, bags of herbs and other crap.

If you want to eat after long walks By marble quarry Ruskeala in Karelia, then there is only fast food here. You can buy the famous Karelian wicket (with cheese and cheese or with potatoes and red fish), hot corn is sold on the street, and fish is fried. After several hours of walks in the Ruskeala mountain park, you will be so hungry that you will no longer care what you eat 🙂

So, today I talked about the Ruskeala mountain park, the main attraction of which is the Ruskeala marble quarry in Karelia. In addition, there is also an Italian quarry, an abandoned quarry (I’ll tell you about it another time), adits, and Akhvenkoski waterfalls, which is often called the Ruskeala waterfall. This place is known for the fact that the film "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was filmed there. But more about that in future articles.

Life hacks of visiting Ruskeala mountain park in Karelia

Many seek to get to Karelia and the Ruskeala mountain park, most tourists choose Saturday. Naturally, Saturdays from 13 to 18 are the busiest peak times in Marble Canyon. If you want to truly enjoy privacy with amazing nature Karelia, calmly go boating in the canyon, try everything possible entertainment and attractions and avoid long queues and crowds of tourists - I suggest you go to Karelia on weekdays or on Sunday.

So, what can you do in the Ruskeala mountain park on weekdays and Sundays, without queues and rush?

1. Guided tour of the park, visiting abandoned quarries and the ruins of an old marble factory that have survived to this day.
2. Jump from the 24-meter cliff of the Maramor Canyon. Of course, with insurance. The height of free fall in this case is 8 meters.
3. Passage along the rope bridge: three ropes are stretched across the canyon at a height of 24 meters - you walk one at a time, you hold on to two.
4. High-speed descent along an obliquely stretched cable straight to the surface of the Marble Lake. This is the longest troll in Europe!
5. Rope park for younger children. Trains agility and endurance.
6. Fascinating and romantic boat trip through the marble canyon. You will be able to swim in all corners of the canyon and in underwater grottoes (from the moment the ice melts from the lake).
7. Photographing and communicating with husky dogs.
8. Rent of standard and small (for children) snowmobiles (in winter).
9. Riding on an inflatable banana behind a snowmobile (in winter).
10. Driving around Ruskeala in jeeps (by appointment).
11. Dog sledding.
13. Workshops on making souvenirs in the souvenir workshop.
14. Rental of sports equipment (cheesecakes, skis, skates, bicycles).

That's all for now. Soon I will tell you more about Karelia, because I have visited and seen a lot of things. She didn’t tell everything about Thailand, and there will be several articles about Crimea soon. In general, subscribe to updates and share the article in in social networks. +100500 to karma guaranteed 🙂