Mountain Aino Karelia. Water trip on kayaks on Ladoga. Tour club "Sputnik". When and for how long

It was a meditative hike along Ladoga on inflatable kayaks (three "Pikes" and one "Scout"). We went around the perimeter of about 1/3 of the lake in the most interesting island northwestern ("Finnish") part of it. Since we did not have a goal to go around the lake for a while in a circle, we dodged, visiting beautiful islands and skerries, waving oars about 275 km. and another 20 kilometers of walking tours. We walked completely autonomously, fundamentally not going into any settlement, resting from civilization.

My most vivid impressions are delicious air. Not sea, not river, some other, your own. They wanted to breathe into all their lungs, he filled them with energy, with some kind of romantic impulses. Gentle, almost marine, lullaby waves of open Ladoga. Wave-licked granite. The still preserved military iron from the time of the war. An abundance of blueberries, blueberries, lingonberries. Rare, cautious solitary seals. Noisy seagulls. Pine forests.

The campaign was not sports, but not mattress either. With small trips to rocks, quarries, a monastery and other interesting places. Outings are half days. There were no days. The weather favored us, except sometimes it tested us with rain.

- When and for how long

Full sailing days - 14 (plus the day of arrival and slipway, plus the day of anti slipway and departure). Departure July 29th. Return home on August 15 on Monday (early in the morning to be in time for work).

- Where

Northwest Russia, near Finland.

The map is taken from the site http://maps.yandex.ru/

- Entrance / departure

By train there to Lodeynoye Pole. July 29 Friday evening.
018 MOSCOW OCT - PETROZAVOD 19:55 arrival July 30th 06:30 parking 6 min.
There, two taxis with one trailer to Salmi about 130 km.

Back August 14 (Sunday) electric train Priozersk - St. Petersburg.
08:25 everywhere daily
11:45 everywhere on weekends (we made it in time!!!)
14:20 weekend express
14:39 everywhere on weekdays
16:40 everywhere daily
18:51 everywhere daily
20:30 everywhere daily

On the way about 3 hours. Arrival at Finlandsky railway station. Metro sq. Lenin. Then the 2nd stop to the Vosstaniya square to the Moscow railway station.
We managed to see (walk to the calluses) St. Petersburg. We managed to visit Dima and Dasha
More or less comfortable trains with reserved seats go to:
N 25 departure 23.00, arrival 8.13
N 63 departure 23.35, arrival 6.35
N 101 departure 01.00, arrival 10.05
Arrived in Moscow on Monday morning (15th)

And this map is taken from the site http://maps.yandex.ru/

- Route: details

The route covers the entire most indented, insular part of the lake, coinciding with the former Finnish part of Ladoga. Judging by the reviews of others, in our campaign the main difficulty or even danger should be the wind. In our case, he did not become a danger. And as a "difficulty" the wind interfered with us only occasionally, not stopping, but only somewhat hindering the movement. As you can see from the report, we didn't stop our progress for a day because of the weather. I suspect that the wind is primarily a scary thing for frame kayakers. Our inflatables are buoyant, even upside down. It would not have been possible to drown in life jackets in the summer either. Probably from this, and even from the sea experience, we were somehow calm even in bad weather.

I believe that Ladoga is more severe in autumn or spring. Nevertheless, hiking in this part of the lake, even in the off-season, will make it possible to walk, hiding behind the islands.

If we discard the day of arrival and departure, on which we also walked on water, then on average we passed in a day 18 km. Even though sometimes they had half-days for laundry or excursions. In fact, this is 4 walks for 45-50 minutes.
But on full days, we got 3-4 walks before lunch and 2-3 after lunch. As a rule, Pike walked 30-40 minutes per walk, then landed on the island, went to discharge or graze (there were a lot of berries), then a Scout came up, who was also given time for walking. Then they all started together.

Sometimes we arranged 4 meals a day, brewing tea or cooking jelly. You say that too long and troublesome? In dry weather, 5-10 minutes after touching the shore, we already had a fire burning, there was a taganok, and a cauldron on it. After another 15-20 minutes, the water boiled.

- Campers

Walk to Valaam - 6-7 hours. Monastyrskaya Bay, Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, St. Nicholas Skete, Igumenskoye Cemetery.
The island is famous for its architectural ensemble of the Transfiguration Monastery, which has existed since the 14th century. Over the centuries, when the monastery was the only owner on the island, Valaam turned into a single landscape and architectural complex. Churches, chapels, sketes were erected, internal infrastructure was created. For all Orthodox people, Valaam is inconceivable without its ancient monastic monastery, which for centuries was the spiritual center of Orthodox Rus' and was rightfully called Northern Athos. The following have survived to this day: the Transfiguration Cathedral, the Assumption Church, a hotel, stable and water houses, buildings of the White and Red sketes.

Valaam, the islands of the Valaam archipelago (Defensive, Divny, Yemelyanovy Islands), 6-8 hours.
The Valaam archipelago consists of more than 50 islands. The largest is Valaam Island, which gave its name to the archipelago. The second largest is Skitsky Island.
Among the smaller islands: Bayevy, Krestovye, Moscow, Predtechensky, Nikonovsky, Divny, Emelyanov, Oboronny, Naked, Savvatia (Granite), Zosima, Skalisty, Onion, Ovsyany, Rzhanoy, Nikolsky. Some of the islands are connected to each other and to the island of Valaam by bridges.

Walks along the Ladoga skerries (Tamkhanka, Markatsimansaari, Honkasalo islands, Aina rock), 2 hours, 60-70km.
A legend of tragic love is associated with the rock of Aina.
The pragmatic mother wanted to marry the girl Aino, in love with the tramp and hero Väinämäinen, to a rich old man. The girl, without hesitation, ran away from home to take refuge on remote islands.
And then - according to the canonical text "Kalevala":
There was a cracked cliff,
He shone in the distant sea
And a girl swims towards him,
Strives to reach the rock.
But as soon as I stepped there,
I wanted to take a rest
On cracked stone
On a rock gleaming in the sea
How suddenly a stone fell into the water,
That rock at the bottom of the sea,
And with that stone and the girl,
With that huge block of Aina

“Island of Honkasalo” – observation mountain Vakhtimyaki (80m) – 3-4 hours.
Honka means pine in Finnish. Salo (salo) - wilderness, wilds.
The island is famous for its observation rock Vahtimaki (about 80 meters high).

"Putsari Island" - Mount of Olives, worship cross, chapel of St. Sergius, quarry, 4-6 hours. At the mouth of the “Monastyrsky” bay, on a high stone mountain called “Oleonskaya”, there is a skete with a brick church designed by the architect N.I. Barankevich. On the other side, on the mountain called "Krestovaya", a majestic stone cross with a height of 10 arshins is installed.
On the island of amazing beauty, giant granite stone ridges up to 90 meters high. This coarse-grained red granite was subsequently called "Valaam". Granite turned out to be so beautiful that it gained great popularity and began to be used not only on Valaam, but also in St. Petersburg.
On the north coast - the remains of Finnish lighthouses, on the south - the remains of Finnish defensive structures from the Second World War.

"Unknown Ruskeala" - "Mountain Park Ruskeala", with a visit to the mining and processing factory, the Italian quarry, adits and marble walls unknown (to the mass tourist), the Paaso tract, Sortavala, K. Gogolev's art exhibition, the Local History Museum of the Northern Ladoga Region. 6-8 hours.

Waterfalls of the Northern Ladoga area - hydraulic structures on the Kitinjoki River (mill, Tuokslahti dam, Pyatkakoski hydroelectric power station), Yukankoski waterfall - the highest waterfall in Karelia -12m, 6-8 hours.
At one time, various hydraulic structures were built on each river of the Northern Ladoga region, now most of them are picturesque ruins.

"Meyeri Island" - lake. Ilyalakhti - selga "Riutaviori" 80.3m - lake Sarkilampi - lake. Lavijärvi – Kuokajoki River – “Meieri Island” -12km. Pedestrian.

"Meyeri Island" - Niemelansalmi Bay - Rautalahti Bay - Nevalahtioz. Maunojärvi - Lake Hietalampi and back - 30km. Ski.

"Meyeri Island" - Sortavala - Krasnaya Gorka - Kiryevalahti - Sarkisyurya tract - Vahvayarvi lake - Yanisjarvi lake and back - 130 km. Snowmobile.

"Meyeri Island" - Mount Petsevaara (187m, the highest peak of the Northern Ladoga region) - hiking, skiing.

If you want to travel around the Northern Ladoga on your own, we will be happy to advise you on the best route options.

Ladoga skerries, the same “Island” by Pavel Lungin, an old Finnish estate. The reason for a trip to Karelia can be not only the popular Kizhi, Valaam or the marble canyon Ruskeala.

Do you have hundreds of amazing photos taken during your trip to Valaam in your photo album? Have you managed to take more than one spectacular selfie against the backdrop of the rapid Kivach waterfall? And have you already managed to make a trip along the marble canyon of Ruskeala with the whole family? We bet we can surprise you! Woman’s Day has found five more places in Karelia worth visiting to…

Make a wish

Karelia is an amazing land covered with ancient traditions and legends. Here, wherever you step, it's an epic place. Here, for example, is the Aino rock on the island of Kaarnesaari (Crow Gates) in Lake Ladoga. Named in honor of a young girl with whom an old magician and the protagonist of the Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala" Väinämeinen fell in love. The young beauty did not want to marry him and threw herself off a cliff. At the same time, the cliff split, and the girl turned into a goldfish. Now Aino, like Pushkin's heroine, fulfills the wishes of anyone. True, for this you will have to climb to the top of the cliff, taking a stone with you from the shore.

Ladoga estate photo

Mount Sampo, located on the banks of the picturesque Koncheozero, also fulfills the most secret dreams and desires. In fact, Sampo is a miracle mill, a source of happiness and abundance. She ground literally everything: gold, salt, bread. And in such quantities that there was enough for everyone. But the same Väinämeinen decided to steal the mill, and take it and break it. And what about the mountain, you ask? In the late 50s, it was in these places that the Soviet-Finnish film "Sampo" based on "Kalevala" was filmed. Since then, the mountain has been called that - Sampo. And since the mill fulfilled any desire, the mountain named after it is considered a place of power. Popular rumor says that in order for a wish to come true, you need to tie a thread or ribbon to a pine tree growing on top. But the locals assure that the wish will come true even without this ritual.

Where: Kaarnesaari island. Ladoga skerries, eastern side of the Honkasalonselkä strait, near the southwestern tip of Oryatsaari Island; Mount Sampo. Kondopoga district of the Republic of Karelia, 2.3 km from the village of Kosalma.

How to get there: Kaarnesaari island. By car or bus No. 807 St. Petersburg - Petrozavodsk to the stop "Sortavala", then - by boat or boat; Mount Sampo. From Petrozavodsk by buses No. 128, 138 to the stop "Tourbaza Sampo", then follow the signs.

Climb the "Roof of Ladoga"

No, of course, Lake Ladoga was not covered with a dome, as in the famous thriller by Stephen King. It's just that the locals call the island of Honkasalo. The point, of course, is not in the impenetrable coniferous thickets, but in the mountain. From the 80-meter Vakhtimyaki - the most famous island object - a gorgeous panoramic view of the skerries and open Ladoga opens up. From its top you can even see the Valaam archipelago! It is not surprising that in ancient times the mountain served as a guard post. By the way, Honkasalo is just one of more than six hundred rocky islands on Ladoga, the so-called Ladoga Skerries.

Where: Sortavalsky district of the Republic of Karelia, Ladoga skerries, the northern part of Lake Ladoga.

How to get there: by car or bus No. 807 St. Petersburg - Petrozavodsk to the stop "Sortavala", then - by boat or boat.

Settle in a 19th-century Finnish manor

Ladoga estate photo

In 1892, the wealthy Finnish landowner Oscar Petrus Nissinen and his Russian wife Verochka (nee Lisitsyna) founded the large estate Niemelyanhovi 16 kilometers from Sortavala. A beautiful two-story residential building with a tower, a pigsty, a modern stone barn for 70 cows and a stable for 15 horses, an elevator and an oil mill, training workshops - an ideal farm!

After the war, the estate was slowly but surely destroyed until it fell into good hands a few years ago. And now, on the site of the old estate, a premium-class hotel complex Ladozhskaya Usadba has appeared. Historic buildings were restored literally stone by stone - on some of them you can still see the markings drawn with oil paint. In the building of the granary there is a museum of the history of the Nissinen family and their estates.

And new buildings - 17 cottages and townhouses - fit perfectly into the landscape. Accommodation here will certainly be appreciated by lovers of cottage holidays in Finland. Each of the houses is designed for 6 people and is equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable stay: separate rooms and bathrooms, a large hall, a full kitchen, a large terrace.

You can safely come here with children: for kids they will provide a crib or a playpen, a high chair and even a children's stool for morning procedures. If necessary, the child can be left in the children's room, where the children will be entertained by a qualified teacher. And there are slides, swings, a trampoline on the playground. You can work out on sports equipment, or you can imagine yourself as a great artist and create your own unique work of art.

Those who appreciate healthy rest in luxurious surroundings will like the sauna complex with pontoons going into the waters of Lake Ladoga, and the entertainment complex with bowling, billiards and slot machines. By the way, it is also located in the historic building of the stables.

And from here you can go on excursions: the Valaam archipelago, Marble Canyon, Ruskeala waterfalls and even Aino rock!

Where: Republic of Karelia, 16 km from the city of Sortavala.

How to get there: by car. It is possible to order a transfer from St. Petersburg, Sortavala and Petrozavodsk.

Descend into the crater of an ancient volcano

Those who expect to see the volcano in its classic form - a high mountain with a crater in the middle, will be disappointed. Although the Girvas volcano, located 50 km from Kondopoga, is the real one. And one of the most ancient on Earth. According to scientists, the last eruption of Girvas occurred more than two billion years ago!

But time and glaciers did not spare this ancient giant. Not surprisingly, its existence became known only in the 60s of the last century. So, if it were not for the construction of a hydroelectric power station that began in those years, due to which the water level in the Suna River dropped significantly, we would not see such beauty.

Karelia is a land of not only beautiful nature, but also ancient legends. Leaving the island of Honkasalo, we headed across the Honkasalonselkä strait to the island of Orjatsaari.

Near Orjatsaari there is a small Kaarnetsaari island, which means "Raven Island" in Finnish. It is famous for two natural attractions. First - Mount Aino, one of the highest points of the Ladoga skerries, from where you can see the Valaam Monastery and hear the bells. Second - rock "Raven Gate", which is cut by a huge crack littered with stone blocks.

Rock "Crow's Gate"

The Crow Gate rock is located on the side facing the island of Orjatsaari.

Rocks of the Raven Gate

A sad legend is associated with this rock, described in the Karelian-Finnish epic Kalevala. Aino (“The Only One”) is a collective image of a girl who was married to the unloved and preferred death. In the Kalevala, she is described as the sister of the arrogant and cocky Laplander Joukahainen from Pohjola. Jukahainen decided to compete with the old rune-singer Väinemöinen from Kalevala. But is it possible to win in singing Väinämöinen himself! And the old man sang a prophetic rune, from which the impudent Laplander plunged into the ground.

Said young Joukahainen:
“Oh you, wise Väinämöinen!
Eternal soothsayer!
Turn back the spell
Leave my life dear
Let me out of here!
Tightened the swamp of my legs,
The sand hurts my eyes!
If you take the spell
You turn back your evil conspiracy,
I will give you a sister, Aino,
Daughter of a beloved mother.
Let your home sweep
Keeps the floors clean
There will be tubs to wash and soar,
Will wash your clothes
Weave golden blankets
Bake honey cakes.

Aino's mother was overjoyed when she heard the news. Marrying her daughter to Väinämöinen was her secret dream. Aino, not wanting to marry an old man, ran away from home to a distant sea to hide from her unloved one.

There was a cracked cliff,
He shone in the distant sea
And a girl swims towards him,
Strives to reach the rock.
But as soon as I stepped there,
I wanted to take a rest
On cracked stone
On a rock gleaming in the sea
How suddenly a stone fell into the water,
That rock at the bottom of the sea,
And with that stone and the girl,
With that huge block of Aino.

After falling off a cliff into the sea, Aino turned into a fish. Her tears made the sea salty. Väinämöinen, who blamed himself for the girl's death, went fishing, but she constantly slipped out of the singer's hands, never giving in to him. Väinämöinen suffered for a long time, the beautiful land of Kalevala no longer pleased him. On the advice of his mother, he went to the country of the North, Pohyolu, to marry the beautiful Maiden of the North, the daughter of the evil old woman Loukha, the mistress of Pohyoly. Louhi agreed to the marriage, but on the condition that Väinämöinen forge the magical Sampo windmill for her. However, this is another story, which you can read about in the article.

The Raven Gate is a cone-shaped rock that has moved away from the island of Kaarnetsaari as a result of a strong earthquake that occurred several thousand years ago. A cave is hidden inside the blockage of stones. They say that in the 16th century, the local population hid in it from the Swedes, and in the 18th century, young people took refuge from military service.

"Raven Gate"

It is said that many people died at the Raven Gate. Someone, inspired by the example of Aino, threw himself into the water from a height because of unhappy love. And others fell down due to their own stupidity. What kind of inscriptions on the rock - only God knows. Maybe just autographs. Or maybe the names of the dead.

Nicholas Roerich visited the island of Kaarnetsaari several times. Here he painted his painting "Forthcoming" ("Stylites").

Nicholas Roerich "Ecstasy". 1918. Tempera on canvas 151x118 cm. Located in Brandeis University, Rose Art Museum. USA. Waltham. In the catalog of paintings by N.K. Roerich, Bendyurin V., the name “Upcoming (Stylites)” is indicated. Bottom left monogram: 19 РНХ 18.