Bike in Karelia gives the unique opportunity to discover well-hidden wooden architecture gems and peaceful landscapes of Karelia.
We will cycle up and down the hills, along meandering dirt roads, through the woods, past the tiny hidden churches and traditional Karelian houses, along lake shores, and in the end of the trip, the main pearl of Karelia – UNESCO heritage site Kizhi island, with its unique wooden multi-domed church - is awaiting us.
Day 1
9 am – arrive in Petrozavodsk by overnight train* from Moscow (or at 06.50 from St Petersburg). Meeting at the railway station by the guide, breakfast in a city cafe.
Transfer by bus to Sopokha village (75 km, 1.5 h). Safety briefing, getting equipped and outfitted. Start the first day with an easy radial biking trip from Sopokha village to the 10 meters high waterfall Kivach and back to Sopokha (16 km).
Continue the trip along the paved road from Sopokha to Palieozero lake (28 km). Lunch as a light snack in the field.
Dinner cooked over camp fire by activity instructor, overnight in tents
Day distance: biking 44 km (forest/dirt track, asphalt)
Day 2
After breakfast, walk around Girvas – what was 3 bln years ago a volcano, before winds and time did its work. Continue biking along the dirt roads from Palieozero, past the picturesque Karelian villages Tivdia and Rigoselga to the scenic Poroshozero lake. Dinner cooked over camp fire by activity instructor, overnight in tents
Day distance: biking 35 km (dirt track, asphalt)
Day 3
After breakfast, make your way by bike from Poroshozero lake to Kedrozero village and further to the scenic lake Vikshezero. Lunch as a light snack on the way.
Dinner cooked over camp fire by activity instructor, overnight in tents
Day distance: biking 60 km (dirt track)
Day 4
Breakfast. Continue biking along dirt road, through the forest from lake Vikshezero to the hidden villages Maiozero and Unitsa (with its old lovely church), to the lakes Ladmozero and Myagrozero. Enjoy the peacefulness of Karelian nature and villages. Lunch as a light snack on the way.
Dinner cooked over camp fire by activity instructor, overnight in tents
Day distance: biking 62 km (dirt track)
Day 5
After breakfast, bike unhurriedly along dirt and forest roads from Myagrozero lake to the holy mineral spring 3 Ivana, and further past the lake Seletskoe to Bolshoe Lelikozero village. Day distance: biking 34 km (forest, dirt tracks)
Day 6
Breakfast. Continue biking to get to Yuzhniy dvor village, where you can visit the abandoned impressive Nikolskaya church (17c.) whose belfry tower is a good viewpoint for the scenic surrounding area. Bike further to Lipovitsa village and Oyatevschina village. Lunch as a light snack on the way
Get accommodated in one of the hospitable guesthouses in the village. Enjoy good Russian banya (traditional steam sauna). Dinner and night in the guesthouse.
Day distance: biking 45 km (forest, dirt tracks)
Day 7
After breakfast, transfer by boat to Kizhi island, an open-air wooden architecture museum, UNESCO Heritage site. Guided tour around the island to see the traditional masterpieces from different regions of Karelia collected in one place (wooden multi-domed church, traditional houses and other wooden structures). Transfer to Petrozavodsk either by hydrofoil or by mini-bus from Velikaya Guba village. Transfer to the railway station for those who leave for Moscow by train at 19.00.
Free time for walks in the city center with a guide for those who leave for St Petersburg by train at 23.00.
See also the tour By bike to the Arctic ocean (Kola Peninsula) at http://www.russiadiscovery.com/tours/8964.html
