Unique places in Russia that you have hardly heard of: Ruskeala. Marble quarry and Ruskeala mountain park. Canyon boat trips

One of the most popular sights of Karelia - most beautiful mountain park and marble canyon Ruskeala . Sheer marble cliffs go vertically down and break into emerald green water, and a well-groomed and well-maintained path has been laid around the quarry, which offers wonderful views.

Many years ago, in the 18th century, marble was mined here, which was used to decorate many architectural structures Petersburg, Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo. In particular, marble for the construction of a magnificent St. Isaac's Cathedral, perhaps the most beautiful in St. Petersburg, was mined here. The decoration of the majestic Kazan Cathedral also did not do without Ruskeala marble, here it was used for facing the mosaic floors.
At the beginning of the 20th century, marble mining stopped, the quarries filled with water and turned into beautiful mountain lakes. It turned out to be a kind of fusion of natural sights with a living open-air mining museum.

In fact, there are several quarries here. The largest, main, is called the Great Marble Canyon. Its length is slightly less than 500 meters and its width is up to 100 meters. Near Italian Quarry and two small lakes. Under the quarries - a whole network underground tunnels- adits and drifts - with a total length of several kilometers.

Although marble canyon("Main" quarry) is a monument of industrial culture, included in the list cultural heritage Karelia, the Ruskeala Mountain Park itself, formed in 2005, is a private territory. During this time, work was carried out to improve the territory: paths were laid, fences and stairs were installed, viewing platforms, lighting is arranged, car parking is equipped. Now Ruskeala is visited by several thousand tourists a year.

You can not only take a walk around the marble canyon, but in summer you can take a fascinating boat trip here.

Swim in the grottoes. There are several of them, but the accessible grottoes are not very deep.

Seagulls nest on the ledges of rocks.On the mirror-smooth surface of the marble quarry, you can ride not only on a boat, but also on a small ferry.

A rope is stretched through the entire marble canyon, on which you can make a lightning-fast exciting (even slightly extreme) trip to the other end of the quarry :-)

Since 2013, the route of the Ruskeala mountain park has been expanded. Now you can easily walk to another interesting place, which is located near the main quarry. This is an Italian Quarry. Here you can get close to the array rock and touch with your hands the place of the marble cut.

Walking through the Ruskeala mountain park, you will also see the "underground lake" - the Ruskeala failure, you will enter the underground adit.

How else to have fun in Ruskeala?

Using climbing equipment you can go down into the cave, which was once a mine.
Not far from the small quarry there is a rope park.
It must be said that Ruskeala Park is interesting and picturesque not only in the warm season. From November to March, after dark and until the closing of the park, artistic lighting is turned on here.

Ruskeala - is it safe to travel with children?

Of course, visiting the marble canyon with children implies that they will have to be constantly monitored. The path itself, laid around the quarry, is absolutely safe:

There are no critically steep descents and ascents. But a child, left to himself, can easily climb over the railings of the fences and head to the very cliff. Be careful not to leave children unattended. Then your family holiday will remain a great event.

Is one day enough to see Ruskeala?

If you don't have any specific plans, that's definitely enough. It will most likely take a few hours. The "standard" set of activities - calmly and without haste to walk, take pictures, ride a boat - will take about 3 hours. But keep in mind that the road takes a lot of time - whether you go from St. ), and on most Karelian roads it will not be possible to accelerate much;)) Therefore, it is better, of course, to provide for an overnight stay in the vicinity of Sortavala or Lahdenpokhya.
In summer, to visit Ruskeala, if possible, choose a weekday.

So, Karelia, a country of lakes, rocks and forests, surrounded on all sides by "seas": Ladoga and Onega lake, White Sea. For residents of the European part of Russia, Karelia is practically the same as Altai for Novosibirsk, except that there are no salt lakes, and there is no such heat there.

Today I want to tell you about one of the most famous sights - Ruskeala Canyon. Now it is considered a mountain park, for the first time I got there in 2006, then everyone called this place simply Marble Canyon. I can say that for 9 years in terms of tourism, the park has undergone great changes in better side and nature remains just as beautiful.

A bit of history: the development of marble in this place began under Catherine II.

Ruskeala marble was used in the construction of the most beautiful and significant buildings in St. Petersburg and its palace suburbs. I'm lined Saint Isaac's Cathedral, laid out floors Kazan Cathedral, made window sills Hermitage, framed windows Marble Palace and facade Mikhailovsky Castle, as well as underground halls of the stations of the St. Petersburg metro " Primorskaya" And " Ladoga».

(quote from Wikipedia)

The park is located 30 km from the city of Sortavala, which, in turn, is located on the western shore of Lake Ladoga, 280 km from St. Petersburg. The city itself is worth a visit, it has a unique architecture for a Russian provincial city, this is all Finnish heritage. The city was transferred to the USSR only after the Great Patriotic War.

So, we are going to Ruskeala, it is easy to find it: you need to go along the road to the border checkpoint Vartisila and, after passing the village with the same name, Ruskeala, turn towards the park. There is a supermarket in the village, if anything, you can buy food, water and mosquito repellent :) .

We personally stopped not in Sortavala, but at the base farther than Ruskeala, towards the village of Kaalamo and even further, to the border. The base was located in the border zone, and in the Leningrad region and Karelia, the entrance to the border zone was Russian passports. The base is amazing, we love it. We lived in the building of an old Finnish factory, restored as a hotel.

Here is the view from our window:

So, after spending the first night, in the morning we went to the mountain park. We arrived almost at the opening, by 10 am (the park opens at 9), there were almost no people. And this is good, in the afternoon there were already queues for large boats. There are no queues to the park itself and it is unlikely to be, but it’s still more pleasant to walk around the canyon without being in a dense crowd. You can leave your car in the free parking.

View of the park from the main platform, where ticket offices, cafes and souvenirs.

Entrance to the park modern prices inexpensive: 150 rubles. adult, 100 child ticket. We also took a boat for skiing, 400 rubles. a boat, 4 people enter the boat, children are also considered, but there it will be difficult to hold a child in your arms, even a small one.

The route involves bypassing the canyon in a circle. 9 years ago, he was limited to this, but now there are interesting branches from the circle :).

So, we set off around the canyon flooded with water.

Ropes are stretched over the canyon, and those who wish to "fly" over the canyon. From time to time there is a screech. Longest ZipLine in the Northwest! 400 meters flight.

The walls of the canyon, of course, are made of marble.

These are the very boats on which we will then ride, swimming in the grottoes.

The next photo shows the grottoes themselves. Do not forget that this quarry was created by human hands, and all grottoes and adits are artificial.

On the way, we select and examine pieces of marble, many of which glisten in the sun. By the way, the word "marble" comes from the Greek "shiny stone". Although there are many marble deposits in Russia, Karelian marble was the first to be used.

And around the northern nature:

Suddenly we find a lot of pyramids. This is clearly not a local custom, brought from other parts of the country.

From the next point good view to the biggest grotto:

Here is the first exit from the path, we go down the stairs and go into one of the small old adits. You can look from above, or you can go under the mountain and look from below.

We pass by the failure" underground lake".

And again there are memos from tourists, this time inscriptions lined with stones:

Keeping direction to the Italian career. Along the way, there are beautiful blocks:

Here is the Italian quarry, a place where marble is shown on the cut, how it was mined, and what it looks like.

Huge marble walls

We returned to the path the same way. View of the quarry from the other side:

Having completed the route, we also rode a boat. I'll show you some photos from below, from the water.

In fact, it is not particularly possible to swim into the grottoes, the stone is too low above the water.

The stone here, by the way, is more colorful, pink.

Only in one grotto you can swim a little, literally start the boat and immediately return.

This is where our visit to Ruskeala Park ended, I don’t know how many km we walked, but it all took us about four hours.

Still not far away, a little closer to Sortavala, literally a kilometer from the park, in the village of Ruskeala itself, there are the so-called Ruskeala waterfalls. But in fact, these are just small rapids on the river. You won't pass by, it's so obvious there tourist place, everything is decorated, there is an arch, etc. It's free, you can jump on the rocks, along the path to the waterfall there are wooden fairy-tale heroes The kids love this place.

I will also say about souvenirs. There are many stalls near the park in the parking lot, marble souvenirs in in large numbers and very expensive. A small figurine is about 300 r, a little more - 600-1000. Magnets 300 r, not marble 150 r (this is expensive for Russian magnets, I'm an expert :)). So, if you want a souvenir, prepare more money. I don’t know if it is possible to buy figurines from Ruskeala marble somewhere else. The souvenir workshop itself is located on the route, you can go there and even seem to get to the master class.

There is such a man-made natural place in Karelia, if you are nearby, do not pass by :)

25.07.15,
Natalya Ocheva,
Saint Petersburg

Marble Canyon Ruskeala

Currently, some of the quarries are abandoned and flooded, and some continue to be used for industrial stone extraction. One of the quarries, now called mountain park Ruskeala, equipped for tourists to visit - pedestrian paths are cleared and fenced around, parking is equipped, right in the quarry you can rent a boat and enjoy the view from the water to the marble walls, which are more than 20 meters high.

The banks of the quarries are heavily overgrown with trees and shrubs, so it is rather difficult to see them in their entirety at once. But from the steep banks, the most picturesque views of the flooded quarries open from certain angles. In one of the walls of the quarry there is a marble grotto - the "visiting card" of Ruskeala. You can get into the grotto only from the water, sailing on a boat.

The quarries differ from each other not only in the type of coast, but also in the color of the water - in one quarry it is gray, in another it is blue, and mostly green. Currently, it is not possible to pump water out of the quarries.

Ruskeala Marble Canyon: Ruskeala Mountain Park

Now " Ruskeala mountain park already known and gained well-deserved popularity. It is visited by tens of thousands of tourists a year.
Creation of a monument of industrial culture "Marble fragments of Ruskeala XVII - early. XX centuries. in the form of a mountain park - positive and rarely found in modern Russia an example of private investment in a cultural heritage site. Here it was possible to create a very rare symbiosis of a natural attraction and a full-scale museum of mining of past centuries. There was an unprecedented, now it is a natural ensemble, beautiful at any time of the year.
Along the left bank of the Tokhmajoki river, three quarries were formed in the process of marble extraction, connected by adits. Stone mining stopped and the old abandoned Ruskeala quarries turned into beautiful mountain lakes - white marble bowls filled with the purest bluish-green water. Long-idle mines and adits have become like mysterious caves and grottoes.

Main attraction mountain park is the Marble Canyon - a monument of industrial culture (mining) of the late XVIII - early XX centuries, officially included in the list of cultural heritage of Russia in 1998. A similar monument, which is a man-made "bowl" in a continuous array of marbles, cut through by a system of mines, adits and drifts, there are no more in Europe. From here, blocks were obtained for facing many architectural creations of St. Petersburg, including the majestic St. Isaac's Cathedral. Ruskeala marble of the color of white nights, with greenish, similar to northern lights flashes mined to decorate a variety of architectural structures. Grayish-green and light-gray Ruskeala marble decorates the halls of the Leningrad metro stations "Primorskaya" and "Ladoga")

Marble Canyon Ruskeala: Facts

This is the oldest of the Ruskeala quarries. Its length is 450 m, width 60-100 m, depth 30-50 m. It is flooded to the level of the upper underground horizon. The Finns flooded the quarry before the start of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-40. Most adits of the first third of the last century are under water. Only one of them is located above the water level. This adit was passed in the bowels of the mountain in the 30s of the XX century. was inside transport route for trolleys with marble. It connects with shaft No. 2, through which marble and workers were delivered. It goes deep into the mountain for 200 meters. A mound has been preserved inside railway for wagons.

Externally Marble Canyon Ruskeala makes a colossal impression: gray-white rocks break off in turquoise lake with heavily indented banks, and go to a depth of many meters.
Here, on the canyon, there is a pier and you can rent a boat to contemplate the canyon from the water. Some of the boulders hang above the water at a negative angle, and you can swim into the grottoes that have formed in sheer cliffs and admire the play of light on the marble ceiling. The grottoes look very beautiful, the white marble of the vaults and walls is wonderfully reflected in calm water.

There are also dry adits, but it is strictly forbidden for tourists to enter them without an accompanying geologist. The hotter it is outside, the deader the cold marble gallery, and the deeper into the layer, the more perceptible the eternal dankness. It seems even warmer in the granite crypt. What was it like working here? According to the quarry management, in the years of the highest quarry utilization, mining was carried out all year round, and drilling was not interrupted even at night.
Around the main, most famous and visited quarry, there are several others, abandoned or being developed at the moment. The quarries differ from each other not only in the type of shores, but also in the color of the water - in one quarry it is gray, in another it is blue, and in the “main” it is bluish-green.
The walls of the quarries have weathered and darkened during the time during which they have not been mined, however, on the freshly chipped pieces of marble encountered, their true color can be seen. The painting of stone in the old "block" quarry, where marble was mined in large blocks, is especially pronounced.
Speleological commission of the St. Petersburg city branch of the Russian geographical society developed a multi-year expeditionary project - "Underground Karelia". The main objects of research by speleologists in 2010 were the Ruskeala mountain park and the so-called Ruskeala (Marble) failure, which is located not far from the main excursion route mountain park.

Winter in the mountain park is no less attractive. Marble Lake is covered with ice, through which you can easily get to the mysterious adits and grottoes, one of which is called "Musical" due to its unusual acoustic properties. "Ruskeala failure" turns into an ice castle with columns of the most bizarre shapes.
At nightfall, the majestic canyon is lit up with bright colors of artistic lighting.
Divers are very fond of training in Ruskeala - they swim to remote corners of the quarry so as not to interfere with the bulk of visitors. There are several flooded quarries here, they are connected by adits, which also ended up in the water, and since there were three underground mining horizons in Ruskeala, one can imagine what tempting labyrinths await diving enthusiasts. Equipment remained at the bottom of the canyon - a crane, cars, motorcycles - which attracts techno diving enthusiasts. The water there is clear, almost without turbidity and without aquatic vegetation, only leaves from the surrounding birches can fly in autumn.
The purity of the water is also maintained by the personnel of the mountain park - employees on boats periodically float on the lake and clean up the ubiquitous plastic bottles, papers and similar evidence of human presence. However, we must pay tribute to the visitors: they are so imbued with the majestic beauty of the flooded quarry, quite worthy of being called mountain lake that practically do not litter.

Attractions in Ruskeala Mountain Park

In addition to the ancient marble quarries in the adjacent territory of the Mining Park, there are other historical objects. interesting appearance the old administrative building, made entirely of Ruskeala marble, in the style of classicism. An example of 19th century industrial architecture is lime kilns with conical brick chimneys. Of interest is the active quarry, where you can see the process of mining large blocks of marble. Unfortunately, today these objects are not included in the territory of the mountain park and are not adapted for tourists.
Although the Marble Canyon is undoubtedly the main attraction of Ruskeala, taking literally one step away from the trail laid out for tourists, you can find many picturesque rocks and stones.
The natural environment of the canyon largely consists of representatives of the animal and plant worlds, listed in the "Red Book" of Karelia and Russia. On the territory of the Mountain Park, exotic mosses, lichens, orchid plants, and shrubs listed in the Red Book have been preserved; there are rare species of reptiles, amphibians, bats.
There is a well-equipped tourist path and fences around the Marble Canyon, several viewing platforms have been specially arranged along the edge of the canyon. On one of the slopes there is a closed emergency staircase that goes straight to the water's edge. Marble Canyon is ready to receive guests

RUSKEAL WATERFALLS

RUSKEAL FAILURE
Talking about Ruskeala, of course, one cannot fail to mention the mysterious ice sinkhole located on the border of the territories of the mountain park and the operating marble factory.
According to the memories local residents, the failure was formed in the sixties of the last century after strong explosions in a nearby quarry. The roof of the old semi-flooded adits could not stand it and fell into the water. An impressive oval hole about 20 by 30 meters opened up on the surface. It leads approximately to the center of the working, the perimeter of which today can be estimated at about half a kilometer. This underground rounded zone was connected by dry adits with the main part of the current mountain park, but all of them are now covered with rubble.

According to some reports, a Finnish diver a couple of years ago found a passable underwater connection between the sinkhole and the main pit. Unfortunately, all this information is not accumulated and analyzed in one speleological center, so it is still very difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.
The main feature of the failure is a special microclimate. Due to the cold bag effect, the ice in the far parts of the working never melts. You can walk on it with caution even in summer. Another thing is the place of failure itself. In winter, cold accumulates through it, but in summer, warm air, melt and rain water gradually melt the lake in shape, repeating the inlet. Beginning in June, explorers must first rappel into a rubber boat and then disembark from it onto the melting ice.
For experienced speleologists, a 12-meter-deep plumb line is not a serious obstacle, but in combination with water and ice, this descent can be pretty nerve-wracking. It is not easy to experience this, but it is interesting.

REST IN RUSKEAL PARK
During your stay in Ruskeala, you can not only relax in nature with boating, fishing, mushrooms and berries, but also plunge into the history of mining, see the ruins of an old marble factory. The Tohmajoki River, on which Ruskeala stands, traditionally attracts rafting enthusiasts. In spring and summer they float along its stormy rapids.
You will have the opportunity to visit the Ahvenkoski waterfall (Ahven koski - translated from Finnish as "Perch Threshold"), where the famous film directed by Stanislav Rostotsky "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was filmed, swim in the very "Zhenka River". Surprisingly picturesque nature invariably attracts the creators of modern films with its mysterious beauty and some kind of mysterious power. In 2010, the fantasy film The Dark World was filmed here. A little further down the river is the Ryumyakoski waterfall, where the buildings of the old Finnish hydroelectric power station have been preserved.
Our highlight is the Ruskeala Mountain Park.
Unique in Europe, the only one in Russia, the first in Karelia.
The Ruskeala mountain park is one of the most amazing places in the Northern Ladoga region, a unique complex monument of nature and the history of mining. The pearl of the Mountain Park is the Marble Canyon. The banks of the canyon, rising steeply above the emerald surface of the water, are riddled with surface and underwater adits, drifts and shafts. On the water in a rowing boat you can get into the mysterious and alluring grottoes and adits. Underwater labyrinths are available only to divers.
Guests of the park get a special impression when they get acquainted with the revived characters of folk mythology: Slavic, Karelian and Scandinavian. At nightfall, the majestic canyon is lit up with bright colors of artistic lighting.
Fans of stronger impressions in Ruskeala will have the opportunity to visit underground and underwater labyrinths mountain galleries and grottoes, winter period organized a descent to the "Ruskeala failure", which turns into an ice palace with columns of bizarre shapes, in the summer - a flight over the marble canyon.
For guests tourist bases they will offer excursions to the city of Serdobol, now Sortavala, with its peculiar Finnish architecture, to the museum of the Northern Ladoga region and the museum of carvings of the famous Russian artist Kronid Gogolev, the Valaam Monastery and others interesting places.
If you are going to spend your vacation outside the city, visit our amazing region. Weekends and holidays in Ruskeala will be remembered for a long time by you, your friends and relatives. Guests who visit Ruskeala for the first time leave strongly impressed and come to us again and again, bringing their friends and acquaintances with them.

Where is the marble canyon Ruskeala

The village of Ruskeala is located 37 km northwest of the city of Sortavala, which is located on the northern shore of Lake Ladoga in the Republic of Karelia. Coordinates 61°56? N, 30°35? o.d. The federal international highway to Finland passes through Ruskeala (from Ruskeala 20 km to border crossing"Vartsilya").

How to get to Ruskeala
By car from St. Petersburg (via Priozersk)
In any case (if not from Finland) you will have to go through the city of Sortavala. From St. Petersburg along the federal highway A129 (Priozerskoe highway) to the city of Priozersk and further to the city of Sortavala. In the city of Sortavala, you need to move along main road towards Petrozavodsk. At the 10th kilometer from Sortavala there will be a turn to the village of Vartsila, highway A-130. Thus you get to the village of Ruskeala. Petersburg to Ruskeala - 290 km. The road after Priozersk is very winding, there is a small section of the grader. Travel time is 4 to 5 hours.
The way from Sortavala to Ruskeala is 37 kilometers, about 20-30 minutes drive.
On the way, before reaching Reskeala 3 km on the right you pass picturesque waterfall Ahvenkoski, where the film "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was filmed. If the purpose of your one-day trip is "Ruskeala Mountain Park", then, having reached the village of Ruskeala ( main track), go to the T-junction, after the crossroads, after crossing the bridge, you must turn left (there is a sign). A short dirt road (about 1 km) will lead you to the Ruskeala mountain park. There is a car park here.
And if you expect a multi-day vacation, you can stay at the Ruskeala base or at the hotel of the Lutheran parish. In this case, at the T-shaped intersection, before the bridge, turn left, direction - to the village of Kaalamo. Further 500 meters after the fork, on the left you will see the building of the Lutheran parish. After 2 km you will see a sign [Ruskeala Recreation Center] on the right. Not far from Ruskeala, towards the Finnish border, there are also the Janisyarvi recreation center and the Black Stones recreation center.

By car from Petrozavodsk
From Petrozavodsk via Pryazha, Kolatselga and Lyaskel (P21), 250 km. It is necessary to move from the city of Petrozavodsk in the direction of the village of Vartsila. On the highway A-130 you get to the village of Ruskeala. Travel time is 5 to 6 hours.

By train from St. Petersburg
The easiest way to get to Sortavala from St. Petersburg is by train "St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha" (from the Ladoga station, leaves at about 18:00, arrives in Sortavala late in the evening, at 23:00). The train does not run every day. Long-distance train schedule.
It is possible to travel to the Ruskeala tourist center to the Kaalamo station with a further transfer to the base (2-3 km). From St. Petersburg to Kaalamo station (journey time 6 hours). From "Ladoga" station, train number 350, route "St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha". The train does not run every day. Departs from St. Petersburg around 18:00, arrives in Kaalamo around 00:00. Next - transfer to the base (approximately 2-3 km). The transfer must be agreed with the administration of the base! Tel. + 7-921-453-06-78.

Travel from St. Petersburg by train.
From St. Petersburg to the station Kuznechnoye and then by train Kuznechnoye-Sortavala. Departure of the electric train from the Finland Station at 16.00. At Kuznechnoye station, transfer to the agreed train to Sortavala station. Arrival in Sortavala at 23.20. From Art. Blacksmith also runs the morning train at 8.30 o'clock. Train at 5.00 from the railway station. Sosnovo. (There is no electric train from St. Petersburg for this train). The Kuznechnoye-Sortavala train does not run every day. Schedule suburban trains Here.

By train from Petrozavodsk
Train No. 680-Ch Petrozavodsk - Sortavala (via Kaalamo). Arrival in Sortavala at 7.00 am. Train No. 680-Ch Petrozavodsk - Sortavala (via Kaalamo) to the station. Caalamo. Departure from Petrozavodsk at 19.20, arrival in Kaalamo at 6.06. Then a transfer is organized to the base "Ruskeala" (approximately 2-3 km). The transfer must be agreed with the administration of the base! Tel. + 7-921-453-06-78.

By bus from Petrozavodsk
There are buses from Petrozavodsk to Sortavala (via Olonets, 8 hours on the way) and fixed-route taxis(on the way about 5 hours on an extremely scenic road).

From Sortavala to Ruskeala
A bus runs from Sortavala twice a day to Vartsila, which stops in Ruskeala. Taxi: the cost of a taxi from Sortavala to Ruskeala is 400 rubles. for the car. You can immediately agree on the return back to Sortavala. Do not be too lazy to take the mobile number from the driver in order to return without any problems.

Ruskeala mountain park Karelia is an 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 extreme form sports. 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, the Small 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. Going to the end of the short tourist route, you can go back to another 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 clean 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 a long walk in 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 b weekdays or 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. Height free fall at the same time it 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. Downhill along an obliquely stretched cable straight to the surface of 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 shop.
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 🙂