To Karelia by retro train

1 day:

06:15 - Departure by train "Swallow".

Landing place: St. Petersburg, Finland Station.

10:20 – Transfer to the “Retrotrain” in the city of Sortavala

In high season, it is advisable to purchase tickets for the "Retrotrain" in advance, as they are quickly sold out.

If there are no tickets for your dates or you do not want to go by Retrotrain, our guide will meet you at Sortavala station and take you to Ruskeala Mountain Park by bus.

10:40 – Departure on the “Retrotrain” to the mountain park “Ruskeala”

11:35 – Arrival at Ruskeala Station. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by a guide who will accompany you throughout the day.

12:00 - Ruskeala Mountain Park.

Excursion and free time Mountain Park Ruskeala is the main attraction of Karelia.

A licensed local guide will not only tell you the history of the place, but also give you full information about what else to do in the park.

In addition to the tour, you will have about an hour of free time in which you can:

• Take a walk around the Marble Canyon. If you move away from the excursion route, you can stumble upon all sorts of interesting and beautiful places: Montferranovo Lake, Italian quarry and stone garden, Bright Lake with “wild” paths, an abandoned marble factory, marble cliffs, observation platforms, grottoes and galleries.
• Try active entertainment in the mountain park. All year round there is a trolley track over the marble canyon. The longest in the Northwest, by the way. Almost 400 meters of adrenaline flight at an altitude of 30 meters. From May to October, boat rental works on Lake Marmara, and quite inexpensive.
• Visit souvenir rows and cozy cafes. You can have a snack in one of the three cafes of the park, walk along the souvenir rows, where the works of Karelian masters from wood, linen and stone are sold.

14:30 – Ruskeal waterfalls Akhvenkoski (or Ruskeal waterfalls) on the river Tohmajoki.

It is a cascade of several waterfalls with granite ledges, forming a beautiful landscape surrounded by a coniferous forest.

Once these places served as natural scenery for several feature films, the most famous of which is the military drama “And the Dawns Here Are Quiet...”

Now the territory of waterfalls and the surrounding forest has been ennobled.

There is a paid ecological route and a suspended rope bridge over the waterfall. So if you want, you can walk over the water in search of beautiful shots on your camera.

15:30 – Interactive tour of the Museum of Living History and Viking Village Bastion or Svartbjornborg (Black Bear Fortress) is a museum of living history dedicated to the Viking era.

You will be given an interactive tour of the reconstructed settlement of ancient sailors.

In this museum, all exhibits can be used, none of them are under glass. You will see a camp of sailors, a forge, a pottery workshop, residential houses and a small mint.

You will be invited to a sacred place – a temple, and also show the first reconstruction of a real “long” Viking house with a roof in the form of an inverted drakkar!

On the territory of the museum you can try varieties of Hop Honey, honey, which is cooked here according to ancient recipes. Or sbiten - an old honey soft drink.

17:30 - City of Sortavala. Hotel check-in.

Free time you will find a comfortable hotel on the shore of Lake Ladoga in the cozy city of Sortavala.

Day 2:

08:00 - Breakfast at the hotel.

Go to the attractions according to the selected program.

This tour is unique in that you can choose the type of holiday convenient for you.

To choose from:

• Visit the Devil's Mountain (Hiidenwuori Mountain): from the absolutely bare top of the mountain you can see stunning views of the Ladoga skerries, and in clear weather you can even see the domes of the island of Valaam.
  The climb is led by a local guide who knows the only accessible way to the top and will tell you many interesting facts and myths about these places.
  You will also see the colorful bay of Kiryavalahti and walk with a fascinating sightseeing tour of the city of Sortavala, accompanied by our guide.
• White Bridges: one of the most beautiful places in Karelia.
  You will be waiting for a trip by specialized transport to the waterfalls, which are considered one of the highest in Karelia. You will see the waterfalls of Upper and Lower Koyrinoya, White Bridges and White Bridges 2, each of which is unique in its own way.
  And at the end of the tour you can visit the abandoned deposit of semi-precious stone "garnet" and personally get a souvenir!
  The approximate time of the excursion is from 09:00 to 14:00.
• Trip to Valaam: the shrine and place of pilgrimage of many believers is known not only for its religious attractions, but also for its architectural ensemble.
  You can spend a whole day on the island accompanied by a local guide, exploring the architectural ensemble of the Valaam monastery from the Skete of All Saints, the Transfiguration Cathedral, the Garden of Gethsemane and before the concert of chants.
  The approximate time of the excursion is from 09:00 to 16:00 or from 11:00 to 18:00 (depending on the occupancy of the Meteors). The exact departure time will be indicated in the voucher, which will be issued by the guide on the bus.

14:00 – Lunch in Sortavala (independent)

You will be brought to the city of Sortavala as soon as your chosen program ends. Cafes and restaurants in the city center offer tourist groups complex lunches at a price in the range of 350-450 rubles. Participation in lunch at will.

14:30 – Visit to the Kronid Gogol Museum.

15:30 – Brand store of Karelian balms and tinctures On the way we will make a small stop in the store of real Karelian balms and tinctures.

Karelia is also known for its fish delicacies - the trout store will give you the opportunity to purchase these gifts of nature as souvenirs to your family and friends.

16:00 – Author’s excursion “The Ancient City of Sortavala” The history of these places begins with the first settlements of ancient tribes, continues as an outpost of the Novgorod Republic, a Swedish city and a Russian county city with a Karelo-Finnish population.

After lunch, you will start a walking tour. It will pass under the inspection of Sortavala architecture, which is called the “encyclopedia of northern modernity”.

17:00 – Visit to the nature park “Vakkosalmi” and Kuhavuori Mountain One of the most beautiful natural places in Sortavala.

At the foot is the open-air concert hall "Singing Field", known for its excellent acoustics. And after the park we will visit another observation deck – Mount Kuhavuori, a corner of untouched northern nature with stunning panoramic views of the city of Sortavala and Lake Ladoga.

After the excursions, you independently get to the railway station in Sortavala, from where the Lastochka leaves to St. Petersburg. 18:42 – Departure to St. Petersburg by train “Swallow”

22:43 – Arrival at Finland Station