Republic of Karelia for the weekend. Ruskeala mountain park and a waterfall from a Soviet film. Outside the park there is also something to see. Life hacks of visiting Ruskeala mountain park in Karelia

I continue the story of our weekend trip to Karelia by car. The main purpose of the trip was the Ruskeala Marble Canyon.

I longed to visit Karelia, because I really wanted to see northern landscapes, rivers and lakes instead of the sights of Thai palm trees and beaches that were pretty greasy.

Sounds weird, doesn't it? I think many people dream of just the opposite - to soak up the warm sand away from the hustle and bustle and swim in the sea, but when the weather and landscapes outside the window hardly change for five months, you start to want something else. Like most people, I like variety.

From time to time, the guys write questions in social networks about whether I regret that I came to Russia and whether I miss Asia. Where is it! Russia has gorgeous nature, summer will come soon, so it's time to continue exploring this vast country, especially since marble quarry Ruskeala, which opened my eyes in Karelia, is perhaps one of the most striking natural attractions that I had a chance to visit this year. Russia still hides many such treasures.

Hotels and apartments in Sortavala

You can read about the beginning of the trip and organizational moments, prices in Karelia and our hotel in the post:

If you plan to spend the night in the canyon area, keep in mind that the nearest place where you can rent a hotel, apartment or hotel is the city of Sortavala, 30 km from Ruskeala.

It is better to book accommodation in advance, especially on weekends or in summer high season. We traveled to May holidays, most of the hotels in Sortavala were occupied.

You can study the prices on several search engines or at least write down the addresses of the hotels you like in order to know exactly where to go. Links to hotels in Sortavala:

So, having settled in the pre-booked Seurahuone hotel in the city of Sortavala, Marina, Kostya and Max went to the Ruskeala canyon, which is located near the village of the same name, 30 km from Sortavala. Approximately the same number of kilometers separate the deposits of marble from the Finnish border.

History of Ruskeala mountain park

mountain park Ruskeala became a tourist attraction only in 2005. It is interesting that it was created at the private expense of several entrepreneurs from the Northern Ladoga region. It took about two years and about 600 thousand rubles to equip the surroundings of the canyon and create a tourist infrastructure.

Until the second half of the 18th century, the territories near Ruskeala belonged to the Swedes, who actively mined marble from the bowels of the earth. After Northern war the lands were ceded to Russia, and the quarries were forgotten.

The Russians remembered the marble deposit in those parts under Catherine II, with whose light hand the development was resumed, and four different types of marble began to be extracted from the quarries: white with gray veins, ash-gray, white-gray-blue and gray-green.

The construction of St. Petersburg required significant amounts of materials. Blocks for cladding were taken from the marble quarries of Ruskeala St. Isaac's Cathedral, decoration of the Mikhailovsky Castle and many other buildings in St. Petersburg, Gatchina and Len. region, he also laid the floors of the Kazan Cathedral and decorated the memorial of the Brest Fortress in Belarus.

With the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939, the development in the quarry completely stopped. After the Second World War, there were feeble attempts to resume marble mining, but the aquifer was already damaged, and the water in the quarry was rising so quickly that the marble miners hurriedly abandoned tractors, cranes and other special equipment.

In 1973, marble mining was resumed in new workings created near Ruskeala. Currently, work is carried out in a limited amount due to the danger of collapse of the quarry.

Parking in the park is free, but the entrance to the park itself is paid. Tickets are sold in this wooden house:

Souvenirs (magnets, mugs and wooden items) are sold on site. There is also a cafe.

What to see in Ruskeala Mountain Park:

– Marble Canyon Ruskeala

Perhaps one of the most interesting sights of the Mountain Park can be safely called the man-made Marble Canyon. This is a giant bowl, hollowed out by human hands in a mountain layer and filled with groundwater over the years of its existence.

There is a picturesque trail along the canyon, which offers breathtaking views of the grottoes, caves, as well as the incomparable water surface. The walls of the former quarry are pierced with adits, drifts and shafts, in which marble was previously mined. Now most of the workings are flooded with water. The length of the canyon is about 450 m, width - 60-100 m, depth - 30-50 m.

There are many viewing platforms around the perimeter:

It is forbidden to enter this site, as it is gradually being destroyed. Relatively recently, 20 tons of earth and rocks fell into the water. Out of ignorance, we spent about half an hour on this site, until a guide passing by said about a possible danger.

In addition to the improved quarry, there are several other abandoned or developed quarries on the lands near Ruskeala, but we did not look for them.

— Adits at the Ruskeala quarry

In the territory mountain park there is only one adit left that can be visited without a guide, and which was not flooded by the Finns before the Soviet-Finnish war. To be honest, this is the first adit I have visited in my life.

Before my career trip, I didn’t even know the word. Also, by the way, in St. Petersburg I got acquainted with the concept of “lakhta”. In general, sometimes it is useful to enrich the vocabulary to travel and change the place of residence. :)

An adit is a horizontal or inclined mine working that has access to the earth's surface. At one time, marble was mined in adits.

There is still snow at the bottom

- Ruskeala failure

The Ruskeala failure arose in the 60s of the 20th century as a result of explosions in neighboring quarries. If you go down into this hole on a special rope (the descent will cost 1000 rubles) and go through the tunnel, you can get to the marble production center. Interestingly, the ice in the corridors does not melt even in summer. Previously, it was possible to get to the main quarry through the Ruskeala dip, but now all the passages are blocked.

In winter, the thickness of the ice is about 25 cm. Brave climbers who are not afraid of the cold descend into the Ruskeala failure, spend the night there and carve figures out of ice, so that later tourists invited to the cave can admire the ice sculptures. Also in winter you can go ice skating.

We chatted with the guy who is responsible for the descent of tourists into the Ruskeala failure along a rope. He told us a story about how, on the day of our visit, one economical citizen decided to climb into the cave for free through the mine, without informing the workers of the Ruskeala park.

He went on an adventure not alone, but with a friend. Being a clever man, our citizen gave his friend the opportunity to go first. As a result, his comrade fell through the ice without even taking a few steps.

Fortunately, our adventurer extended a helping hand in time and pulled his companion by the scruff of the neck. In general, if you are not an experienced speleologist and not a novice suicide, then it is better to go down into the cave under the supervision of the mountain park staff. The guys assure that they have undergone special training and in case of danger they can save everyone.

Ruskeala failure is still covered with ice

– Italian quarry

After inspecting the Ruskeala dip, you can go along the path to the Italian quarry to see the marble in the section. Relatively recently, the Italians began to develop this part of the quarry, but the quality of the marble at the output turned out to be so low that pasta lovers abandoned their idea and left the development. The fact is that the quality of marble depends on the depth of its location, and on the surface the marble is too fragile.

What to do in Ruskeala Mountain Park:

– Diving in Ruskeala Marble Quarry

The marble quarry is very famous and popular among Russian divers (especially among caving divers and tech divers). People come to Ruskeala to dive from the clubs of St. Petersburg and Moscow, because this is the only deep reservoir in the north-west of Russia with underwater caves and excellent transparency. In the quarry, visibility reaches 12 meters, in adits it reaches 17 meters. Inspection of underwater mines is available only to experienced divers.

Equipment remained at the bottom of the quarry. The crane, cars and motorcycles were flooded by the Finns before the start of the 1939-40 war. and now rest peacefully in the depths. Several underwater routes of varying difficulty have been developed.

Official descent to the banks of the canyon

Mountain park "Ruskeala" is the main pride of Karelia. It's an amazing combination marble mountains, turquoise lakes and lush greenery. Looking around the surroundings, it is difficult to imagine that a few centuries ago this place was an ordinary adit, where marble was mined under the most difficult conditions.

Prices in the mountain park "Ruskeala" in 2019

• The cost of an individual visit for an adult is 300 rubles per person
• For students - 150 rubles per person
• For schoolchildren - 100 rubles per person
• For participants in the Great Patriotic War, blockade survivors, prisoners of concentration camps and children under 7 years old, admission is free
• For residents of the Sortavala district, a visit to the park will cost 50 rubles per person
• The cost of visiting excursion groups— from 150 rubles for schoolchildren and from 450 rubles for adults

Additional services

From May 1 to October 1, you can rent a boat on Marble Lake (for 1 hour). The cost of the trip is 600 rubles for a four-seater boat.

Diving enthusiasts will have to pay 300 rubles for the opportunity to dive from the pier once.

Tours and routes

For independent tourists There are two types of routes - short and long. You can go to them yourself or in a group of 5-20 people with a guide. The first one will pass along the "Marble Canyon" around the quarry, the second - "The road of mountain masters with a halt" and a visit to the "Italian quarry". It is also possible to go along the route "Underground Ruskeala", which will take about 1 hour.

Residents of St. Petersburg and others major cities can go to sightseeing tour in Ruskeala, having bought a ticket from local tour operators.

All excursions in the Ruskeala mountain park differ from each other in the length of the route (from 1.3 kilometers) and duration (from 1 hour).

Note! All year round the temperature in the adits is kept at + 7 degrees Celsius. Even in summer it is highly recommended to have warm clothes with you. For safety reasons, children under 3 years old are not allowed on the route.

Hotels and recreation centers

In the immediate vicinity of Ruskeala there are many places where you can stay overnight or just relax. One of the nearest recreation centers is "Ruskeala". The complex is located on the shore of the lake, not far from the town of Sortavala, just two kilometers from the famous marble canyon. There are also hotels and guest houses near the park.

points of attraction

The main asset of the park is the combination of marble rocks that come to the surface, with the greenery of the surrounding vegetation and the turquoise of lake water. Marble hills have different colors - white, black, bluish, the colors are constantly alternating, so that the emerging picture seems a bit fantastic.

The water-filled marble quarry in Korelskaya Ruskeala is a lake, over which rise 25-meter marble rocks, going deep under the emerald water. Rows of slender firs rise directly above the marble.

The canyon is made up of rock workings that create amazing arches, marble-columned halls, and caves that are man-made but look natural. Only a small part of them is accessible for human visits. Most of the grottoes are closed for safety reasons and inaccessibility. Some can only be seen by scuba diving.

You can enter the adits dungeon in the northern part of the canyon. Here are the most frequently photographed cliffs - Ivan da Marya and Catherine II. But the most unusual sensations remain from walking along the underground lake on pontoons.

The marble quarry in Ruskeala is also called "Italian quarries", this name came from the first developers of this place. Here you can see smooth cuts of marble, huge stone blocks, a marble pool filled with water, brick kilns.

Ruskeala Mountain Park: Google Panoramas

Karelia has unique place- Marble Canyon (Ruskeala mountain park), in general, Karelia is interesting for its natural beauty. If you have never been to the Republic, then you should definitely go here.

The marble deposit in the Ruskeala region was discovered in 1765 and was used until 1939. A beautiful stone with numerous shades was used in the construction of Isakievsky and Kazan Cathedrals. Now the Ruskeala mountain park pleases tourists with its marble steep banks, well-groomed path around the canyon, the opportunity to go boating on the azure lake.

Address and opening hours of Ruskeala mountain park

Navigator coordinates: 61.936192, 30.589610

Opening hours depend on the season:

• Winter (from November 1 to February 28): from 10.00 to 19.00

In winter, every Friday and Saturday, the artistic illumination of the entire Marble Canyon is open.

• Spring (from March 1 to April 30): from 10.00 to 21.00
• Summer (from May 1 to August 31): from 09.00 to 24.00
• Autumn (from September 1 to October 31): from 10.00 to 21.00

How to get to Ruskeala marble canyon

By car

There are 2 options:

• through Priozersk along the A129 highway. Before turning to Kuznechnoye (outside the city of Priozersk) the road is excellent, then from the border of Karelia to Sortovala the coverage is good, from Sortavala to Ruskeala the road is a bit broken.
• along the E105 highway in the direction of Petrozavodsk (the road is gorgeous, but the ride is much longer)

by train

from the Ladoga railway station the train "St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha" goes. Need a Sortovala station

Where to stay in Ruskeala

We stayed at the Ruskeala recreation center, which is a five-minute walk from the Marble Canyon.

On the territory there are all the accessories for barbecue, you can rent a sauna near a small pond. It is advisable to book the time in advance by phone, as there are many people who want to, and there is only one bathhouse.

You can also book a room in the nearest city — Sortavala. If a trip to Karelia is planned during the high season, weekends or holidays, then it is better to look for a room in advance, after all, there are not so many of them in the whole town. Links to hotels in Sortavala:

• Hotels in Sortavala on Hotellook.com
• Hotels in Sortavala on Booking.com
• Private house or apartment on Airbnb (via this link you will receive 21 euros as a gift for your first booking)

What to see in Ruskeala and surroundings

It is very beautiful in here - marble canyon will not leave anyone indifferent. We visited the park during the "golden" autumn. gray marble, turquoise lake and golden trees around - a complete delight.

A trail is equipped around the canyon, where there are observation platforms with gorgeous views on the water surface, grottoes, caves and, of course, marble rocks.

Be sure to take a boat and swim in Marble Canyon Lake.

For lovers of extreme sports created trolls across the lake.

Adits at the Ruskeala quarry

An adit is a horizontal or inclined mine working that has direct access to the earth's surface. In simple terms, an adit is a mine where marble was mined.

In Ruskeala, there is only one adit left, which is open to the public.

The Ruskeala failure was formed due to explosions in neighboring quarries, with the help of which they simplified the extraction of marble. The collapsed part of the rock revealed the interweaving of a large number of flooded adits.

In summer and winter, those who wish can go down a special rope and find themselves in the very center of marble mining.

The Ruskeala Gap is carefully monitored: here you can find carved figurines and interior items made of ice.

Italian Quarry

The path along the Marble Lake, which I mentioned earlier, will lead to the Italian Quarry. The Italian quarry is the last place in Ruskeala where marble was mined.

Now there is an exposition "The path of a stone through time." It is amazing how evenly the stone is cut. The feeling that these are slices of cheese, not marble.

Do you know why the quarry was named "Italian"? It was because of these very machines that could cut stone perfectly like this, and they were made according to Italian technology.

Marble-lime plant in Ruskeala

The entrance to the territory of the plant seems to be closed, as our guide told us (I advise you to take a tour, it is inexpensive, but it is really interesting to listen). But we managed to walk near the plant and take pictures of it.

The Finns built the factory in 1896. First, lime was created here by firing calcite marble in a special kiln. Then they began to produce facing stone, white and gray marble chips.

The marble mined at the quarry was delivered to the factory with the help of a suspended railway. The plant completed its activities in 1990.

Filming location of the film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” – Ruskeala waterfalls

“And the dawns here are quiet…” I remember how in a literature lesson in high school, we were shown this film. Everyone sobbed, and the boys were stronger than the girls. It was very interesting for me to visit the same waterfall. Finding this place is very easy. There are many tourists here, so there are corresponding signs on the road. From the Marble Quarry to the waterfalls about 2-3 km

We need Ruskeala waterfalls - Waterfall on the river Tohmajoki

Address: 86К-332, Ruskeala, Rep. Karelia, 186759

Ruskeala waterfalls coordinates for the navigator:

61°54"58"N 30°37"38"E

Now there is paid equipped parking, gazebos, souvenir shops, cafes and much more.

Things to do in Ruskeala Mountain Park

Diving in the marble quarry of Ruskeala

Ruskeala is a very favorite place of entertainment among divers, because at the bottom of Marble Lake you can see a lot of interesting things. For example, underwater caves and mines. A large number of different equipment flooded by the Finns before the war.

The organizers can offer you routes with varying degrees of difficulty.

Rope descent and bungee jumping on Ruskeala

For daredevils, they came up with the attraction "Jump over the canyon." There are no such queues as for a boat, but nevertheless this service is popular.

Canyon boat trips

The boat can be rented for 1 hour / 400 rubles. Maximum 4 people per boat. Life jackets are provided for everyone. Boat rental is open from 18 May to 30 September.

In high season, you may have to defend big queue behind the boat. However, it's worth it. After all, you can swim on your own on the lake and swim into the grottoes, examining them from the inside.

Dog sledding

Walking on Siberian Husky is relevant in winter. The cost is 1000 rubles / adults and 800 rubles / children.

Huskies are incredibly beautiful dogs with unforgettable blue eyes I even want to take a picture with them

We were in Ruskeala in autumn, but I really want to go there also in winter, as our guide praised the artistic lighting, and even on dog sledding I have never ridden in my life.

Marble Canyon Ruskeala- filled with the purest groundwater, a former quarry for the extraction of various types of marbles. At present, the length of the quarry from north to south is 460 meters, the width is up to 100 meters. The combination of the nature of Karelia and human activities have given the quarry a surprisingly picturesque look that attracts travelers not only from Karelia, but also from St. Petersburg, Moscow and other places.

The picturesque marble quarries of Ruskeala have long served as a source of marble for the cathedrals and palaces of St. Petersburg and other cities. St. Isaac's Cathedral is lined with it, the floors of Kazansky Cathedral are laid out, window sills of the Hermitage are made, windows are framed Marble Palace and the facade of the Mikhailovsky Castle, as well as the underground halls of the St. Petersburg metro stations "Primorskaya" and "Ladoga".

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 is a marble grotto - " business card» Ruskealy. 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 investing private funds in an object cultural heritage. 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 galleries began to look like mysterious caves and grottoes.

The main attraction of the Mountain Park is the Marble Canyon - a monument of industrial culture (mining) of the late 18th - early 20th centuries, officially included in the list of cultural heritage of Russia in 1998. A similar monument, which is a man-made "bowl" in a solid array of marbles, cut by a system of mines, adits and drifts, no longer exists 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 caught in flashes 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. Inside there was a 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. Inside it, an embankment of a railway for trolleys has been preserved.

Externally Marble Canyon Ruskeala makes a tremendous impression: gray-white rocks break off into a turquoise lake with heavily indented shores, 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, white marble vaults and walls are 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 more, abandoned or being developed in given time. 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.
Ruskeala Mountain Park is one of the amazing places Northern Priladozhye, a one-of-a-kind 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 carved paintings of the famous Russian artist Kronid Gogolev, Valaam monastery and other 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 Petersburg to federal highway A129 (Priozerskoe highway) to Priozersk and further to 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 assume multi-day vacation, then you can stay at the base of Ruskeala 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. Local train schedule 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.