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Great Ladoga Lake
Great Ladoga Lake

Glamping in Karelia

New
Great Ladoga Lake
Difficulty
Difficulty levels
Easy. Passive relaxation and sightseeing — cruises for example. No physical activities. Good for older people.
Normal. Active tours. You don’t have to be a sportsman, but you need to be strong enough to ride a snowmobile or go hiking in the mountains.
Advanced. Get ready for a challenge — long trekking with a heavy backpack on the shoulders, rafting along mountain rivers.
Hard. Professional training and perfect physical fitness are required. The level involves climbing to the tops of the mountains (above 3000 meters), freeriding and North Pole diving.
Group size
from 4 to 20 person
Duration
5 days

Accommodation during the trip

4 nights

Languages

EN
guide
We update the dates and tour price.
Leave your email and we’ll notify you when get this info.

Have you ever stayed at a glamping? And at the glamping located on the island?

 

In the summer of 2021, you will have such an opportunity — the RussiaDiscovery team opens a dome glamping on the island of the largest lake in Europe, Lake Ladoga. You will enjoy secluded accommodation in cozy domed tents and 5 days of adventure: SUVs tours to the Karelian taiga, water rides and hiking on the islands of the Ladoga skerries, kayaking on the most dynamic river of the Ladoga region, as well as SUP-surfing on the lake in search of seals.

New
Great Ladoga Lake
Difficulty
Difficulty levels
Easy. Passive relaxation and sightseeing — cruises for example. No physical activities. Good for older people.
Normal. Active tours. You don’t have to be a sportsman, but you need to be strong enough to ride a snowmobile or go hiking in the mountains.
Advanced. Get ready for a challenge — long trekking with a heavy backpack on the shoulders, rafting along mountain rivers.
Hard. Professional training and perfect physical fitness are required. The level involves climbing to the tops of the mountains (above 3000 meters), freeriding and North Pole diving.
Group size
from 4 to 20 person
Duration
5 days

Accommodation during the trip

4 nights

Languages

EN
guide
We update the dates and tour price.
Leave your email and we’ll notify you when get this info.

Experiences you'll have

Glamping in the Ladoga Skerries

The Northern Ladoga region is one of the most picturesque areas of Karelia. Here you will find numerous islands and protected bays of the Ladoga skerries, rocky canyons and clamorous rapids of the Yanis River, ancient Karelian villages and the famous Valaam Archipelago.

You will stay in glamping, a domed campsite on an island in the heart of the Ladoga Skerries.

 

The program includes various daily routes to the most picturesque places of the Northern Ladoga region by jeeps, kayaks and motor boats. And in the evenings you will taste Karelian cuisine by the Сhef, admire the starry sky over Ladoga and fall asleep in cozy tents enjoying the rustling waves.

Glamping in a pine forest on the island is a great chance for a true digital-detox far away from the city hustle and bustle. Despite such secluded location in the nature, you will live in the most comfortable conditions. Enjoy breakfast and dinner in the panoramic restaurant pavilion with a view of Lake Ladoga. Chill in stylish living tents with comfortable beds and electricity. And after active day routes you will enjoy the "Karelian SPA" by visiting the bathhouse on the shore and relaxing in heated furako.

 

5 reasons to choose this journey:

  • you will live in the only dome glamping in Karelia with such a high level of comfort
  • explore the Northern Ladoga region, trying different kinds of outdoor activities: SUVs rides, rafting on the river, SUP-surfing, trekking and boat trips in the Ladoga skerries
  • observe the Ladoga ringed seal (under favorable conditions)
  • climb the highest point of the Ladoga "reef mountains" — Aino Mount, which offers a magnificent view of the vast expanses of Lake Ladoga
  • go by boat to the famous Valaam Archipelago — visit the ancient monastery, see the architectural monuments of the XIV century and get acquainted with the military history of the island

 

Photos of Ekaterina Kangina, Alyona Chudanova and Dmitry Kupratsevich

Itinerary

The journey begins in Petrozavodsk, where you need to get on your own on the first day of the program. You can also fly to Petrozavodsk by plane on the eve of the start of the tour and spend the night in a hotel (extra charge). Please, note that return tickets must be taken from Sortavala, where the route ends.

 

We are ready to help with the purchase of tickets, if necessary, leave a comment in the application.

 

Note: in case of bad weather conditions and storm in the open part of Lake Ladoga, the boat trip to Valaam Island on day 3 will be replaced by a trip to the Ruskeala Mountain Park. In the Ladoga skerries, due to the special landscape, there are no large waves, so the risk of canceling water trips on days 2 and 5 is minimal.

Day 1 The ancient Kinerma village and Yukankoski waterfall

After the meeting at the Petrozavodsk railway station, you will travel to Sortavala by expeditionary SUVs, visiting the iconic natural and historical sites of the Northern Ladoga region along the way.

 

The first stop on the route you will make in the ancient Karelian village of Kinerma. Here a guided tour and lunch with national cuisine in the old house-museum is waiting for you. Kinerma is a monument of folk wooden architecture of the Karelian natives —Livviks and is included in the Association of the most beautiful villages in Russia. It was founded more than 440 years ago. You will walk through the quiet village streets among the old Karelian houses, visit the chapel of Our Lady of Smolensk with the iconostasis of the XVIII century and get acquainted with the peasant life.

 

Then you will continue your journey and go to the picturesque Yukankoski waterfall on the Kulismayoki River. It is also called "Belye mosty" (Rus. for "White Bridges"). This is the highest waterfall in the south of Karelia (19 m high). The road to the waterfall will pass through the Karelian taiga. On the way there will be a special off-road track, which, if desired, you can drive by yourself.

 

In the evening you will arrive at the city pier of Sortavala, from where you will go by motor boat to the island located in the heart of the Ladoga skerries (15-20 minutes on the way). This is a picturesque archipelago in the north of Lake Ladoga, consisting of many small rocky islands separated by straits.

 

Here you will be accommodated in glamping and have a welcome dinner with Karelian cuisine from the Chef. You will spend the night in cozy domed tents surrounded by a pine forest.

Day 2 SUP-surfing on Ladoga Lake

After breakfast in glamping you will enjoy a lecture or a movie in the panoramic tent about the Ladoga Ringed Seal. This is a unique endemic of Lake Ladoga, listed in the Red Data Book of Russia. In summer, the animals prefer to stay in the sparsely populated northern areas of the lake, where there are a lot of islands, rocks and stone capes.

 

Then you will take SUP-boards (inflatable boards with a paddle), so that if desired you can swim in the narrow straits of Lake Ladoga in search of seals. Even if you have never tried SUP-surfing before, after the instructor's explanations, you will definitely succeed with it.

 

After that, you will go by motor boats to the Karnetsaari Island , where you will climb Mount Aino — the highest point of the Ladoga skerries. It offers a magnificent view of the vast expanses of Ladoga and the Valaam Archipelago. On the route you will have a picnic outdoor. In the evening you will return to glamping, have dinner and relax in the bathhouse.

Day 3 Tour to Valaam Island Rafting on the Yanis

If the weather is good today you will go by speed boat to famous Valaam island, located in the northern part of Lake Ladoga. Here during the private tour you will get acquainted with the architectural monuments and the history of the Valaam Archipelago. In Monastyrskaya Bay you will visit the ancient Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. See its central estate and the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral — a monument of Russian architecture of the XIV century.

After lunch in the monastery refectory you will enjoy a boat tour around Valaam Archipelago with a visit to the nearby islands. You will see the Gethsemane skete in the secluded Nikonovskaya Bay and make a landing on the Oboronny island. There are Finnish defensive fortifications from the "Winter war" have been preserved: an artillery tower, underground casemates and a secret descent to Ladoga, cut through the rock.

 

After the tour you will return by boat to glamping, where you will have a dinner from the Chef

Day 4 River and trekking route

Today you will have a busy day. After breakfast in glamping you will  take a walk along the forest ecological trail. It runs through the entire island from south to north (about 3 km, 1.5 hours). On this route you will see giant fir trees, picturesque marshes covered with moss, and the foundations of old Finnish farms.

 

Having finished hiking, you will get to the mainland by motor boat (15-20 minutes on the way). There you will transfer to minibuses and get to the place, from which you will start rafting down the Yanis river (30-40 minutes on the way).

 

Before going on the route, you will pick up equipment, pass safety instructions and arrange training sessions on the water. During the rafting you will pass several rapids of the 2nd and 3rd difficulty categories, see Finnish hydroelectric power plants and explore the picturesque Hemyakoski canyon (the length of the rafting is 8-9 km, 2.5-3 hours).

 

After completing the rafting, you will have picnic. Further you will be taken back to the glamping is located, where you will have a farewell dinner. Than you will be taken back to Sortavala for the evening train to Moscow.

Day 5 A boat trip to the Ladoga Skerries

After breakfast in glamping, you will go on a circular motor boats trip among the Ladoga skerries. One of the main features of the Ladoga skerries is the so-called "reef mountains". These are mountains that break into the lake with steep cliffs up to 80 meters high.

 

You will visit the Toulon Island (Tulolansaari), which is one of the largest on Lake Ladoga. Until 1940, there were several villages here, in one of which the famous Russian artist Nikolai Roerich lived and worked in the summer of 1918. You will also visit the abandoned Finnish stone quarries. Granite extracted here was used to decorate the palaces and temples of St. Petersburg.

 

During a boat trip you will also see several lighthouses and even a rock that was depicted on a 500-mark bill that was in use in the XIX century.

 

After returning to glamping you will have dinner. Then you will be taken to Sortavala for the evening train to Moscow.

New
Great Ladoga Lake
Difficulty
Difficulty levels
Easy. Passive relaxation and sightseeing — cruises for example. No physical activities. Good for older people.
Normal. Active tours. You don’t have to be a sportsman, but you need to be strong enough to ride a snowmobile or go hiking in the mountains.
Advanced. Get ready for a challenge — long trekking with a heavy backpack on the shoulders, rafting along mountain rivers.
Hard. Professional training and perfect physical fitness are required. The level involves climbing to the tops of the mountains (above 3000 meters), freeriding and North Pole diving.
Group size
from 4 to 20 person
Duration
5 days

Accommodation during the trip

4 nights

Languages

EN
guide
We update the dates and tour price.
Leave your email and we’ll notify you when get this info.

Accommodation during the trip

You will stay at glamping — the cozy domed campsite with a high level of comfort located right on the shore of Lake Ladoga. Glamping is located on Havus Island, surrounded by a picturesque pine forest and Ladoga Skerries. 

 

On the territory of glamping there are:

  • panoramic domed restaurant, where every day you will be served breakfast and dinner. Inside the tent, there are a dining and tea area (always available for guests), as well as a lounge area with a fireplace, board games and a large screen for watching movies on a projector.
  • 10 cozy domed tents designed for two people. Each of them has two comfortable lower beds (800x2000) and an additional bed upstairs — a double bed (1400x2000) with bed linen and towels, bedside tables, a table with armchairs, a wardrobe, as well as sockets and a bio toilet
  • a washing area, showers on the shore of Lake Ladoga and Japanese furako (a heated outdoor wooden bathtub)
  • campfire area with fire bowl and seating
  • pier for boats
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Common questions

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Who will be my guide +

During this tour, a whole team of specialists will work with you:

  • professional local guide who will meet you at the train station in Petrozavodsk and will be with the group throughout the trip
  • experienced drivers and captains will drive the SUVs on forest roads,as well as motor boats on Lake Ladoga
  • professional instructors will provide training concerned safe SUP- surfing and kayaking during water routes
  • Chef in glamping will prepare for you delicious and nutritious breakfasts and dinners with Karelian cuisine
Meals +

The program price includes three meals a day. You will have breakfast and dinner in glamping. Lunch on the first day will be organized in the ancient Karelian house-museum in Kinerma village. Lunch on day 3 will be served in the monastery refectory on the Valaam island. During the active routes on days 2, 4 and 5 you will enjoy a hot lunch outdoors.

 

The menu will include a variety of Karelian cuisine: red fish of different cooking methods, "lohikeitto"— cream fish soup, "kalitki" — open pies stuffed with millet, fish and berries, as well as cranberries in sugar, tinctures and jam from northern berries.

Can I participate in the tour +

No special training is required to participate in the tour. You will enjoy simple hiking routes (2-3 km), kayaking on the Yanis River (8-9 km), as well as SUVs rides and motor boat rides on Lake Ladoga.

What transport is used on the route +

On the route from Petrozavodsk to Sortavala, four-wheel-drive SUVs fully prepared for off-road driving will be used (boarding for 3 people + 1 driver).

 

Water trips on Lake Ladoga will take place on high-speed closed boats (boarding for 5-6 people) and inflatable motor boats "Admiral" with an Yamaha/Tohatsu outboard motor with a capacity of 15 hp.

 

Rafting on the Yanis River will be orginixed on inflatable kayaks "Waterfly" (up to 2-3 people), made of durable PVC material. They are well suited for beginners, as they have high stability and good handling facility on the rapids. During the rafting, participants will be provided with paddles, life jackets and helmets. You will be taken to the starting point of the rafting by minibus.

Mobile connection and Wi-Fi +

A stable signal throughout the entire route will be from the Russian mobile operator "Megafon". Other operators can "catch" only in places. Please inform your family and friends about this on the eve of your trip.

What will the weather be like +

From the end of May to the middle of July there is the period of white nights in Karelia, when the evening twilight almost merges with the morning.

 

The end of June — mid-August is the warmest time on Lake Ladoga. The average temperature is +16-17°C, during the day the air can warm up to +20°C and above. The water temperature also varies between +13-18°C. On Lake Ladoga, there are often strong winds, but thanks to this, there are almost no mosquitoes and midges in the summer.

 

At the beginning of the season, there are a lot of strawberries on the Ladoga islands, and at the end of summer, the shores are covered with cranberries, blueberries and  cloudberries cranberries.

What to bring with me +

Personal belongings and equipment:

  • documents in sealed packaging: passport, medical policy
  • backpack or travel bag
  • sunglasses and sunscreen and after sunburn
  • individual first aid kit
  • personal hygienic kit
  • bathing accessories

 

Clothing and shoes:

  • comfortable clothing sets for different weather conditions, including shorts and T-shirts
  • 2 pairs of comfortable shoes, including rubber boots
  • a cap or a panama hat, or, according to the weather, a sports hat
  • a set of socks and underwear
  • neoprene shorts, socks and gloves (preferably, but not necessarily)
  • sports pants made of quick-drying fabric
  • shoes for rafting (for example, sneakers or sandals)
  • light bolognese suit (for protection from wind and moisture). You can use raincoats made of dense materials.
  • bandana (under the helmet)
Alternative program to Ruskeala Mountain Park +

On day 3 in case of bad weather and a storm on Ladoga, instead of going to the island of Valaam, you will go on an excursion to Ruskeala Mountain Park.

 

After breakfast in glamping, you will pack your bags and take the speedboats to Sortavala. There you will change to minibuses and go to Ruskeala Mountain Park (30 minutes on the way). Here a walk through the Italian Quarry and an underground tour of the abandoned tunnels is waiting for you.

 

Ruskeala marble quarry is a monument of Russian cultural heritage. The quarry was developt here in 1765. The walls of the famous St. Isaac's Cathedral, Ladozhskaya and Primorskaya metro stations in St. Petersburg are decorated with Ruskeala marble.

 

The quarry is a huge system of underground tunnels connected by vertical shafts. Most of them were flooded after the World War II, and the quarry turned into a surprisingly beautiful lake with a turquoise water, the transparency of which reaches 15-18 meters.

 

After a tour to Ruskeala Mountain Park you will have lunch in a cafe of national cuisine and move to the village of Puikolla. Here you will visit an unusual place — the so called "garden of stones". The owner has been collecting a unique stones of varied types and forms for 30 years. After the tour you will be transferred to glamping to have dinner. Then you will be taken to the Sortavala train station for the evening train to Moscow.

Booking

New

Great Ladoga Lake

Difficulty
Difficulty levels
Easy. Passive relaxation and sightseeing — cruises for example. No physical activities. Good for older people.
Normal. Active tours. You don’t have to be a sportsman, but you need to be strong enough to ride a snowmobile or go hiking in the mountains.
Advanced. Get ready for a challenge — long trekking with a heavy backpack on the shoulders, rafting along mountain rivers.
Hard. Professional training and perfect physical fitness are required. The level involves climbing to the tops of the mountains (above 3000 meters), freeriding and North Pole diving.
Group size
from 4 to 20 person
Duration
5 days

Accommodation during the trip

4 nights

Languages

EN
guide
900 EUR
What's included in the price:
  • accommodation in twin domed tents in glamping (4 nights)

  • three meals a day with traditional Karelian cuisine

  • services of experienced guides, instructors, captains and chefs

  • all transfers as per program

  • transport services along the route (minibuses, expedition SUVs, motorboats and speedboats)

  • rent of equipment for rafting (kayaks, paddles, helmets, life jackets, sealed packages)

  • guided tours and active programs

  • entrance fees for sightseeing sites

Extra charge:
  • railway tickets to Petrozavodsk and from Sortavala (starting at 48 EURO per person for a round-trip ticket)

  • hotel accommodation in Petrozavodsk in case of arrival on the eve of the start of the program

  • single accommodation in glamping

  • English speaking interpreter's service (+510 EURO per group)

In the price:
Included Extra charge
  • accommodation in twin domed tents in glamping (4 nights)

  • three meals a day with traditional Karelian cuisine

  • services of experienced guides, instructors, captains and chefs

  • all transfers as per program

  • transport services along the route (minibuses, expedition SUVs, motorboats and speedboats)

  • rent of equipment for rafting (kayaks, paddles, helmets, life jackets, sealed packages)

  • guided tours and active programs

  • entrance fees for sightseeing sites

  • railway tickets to Petrozavodsk and from Sortavala (starting at 48 EURO per person for a round-trip ticket)

  • hotel accommodation in Petrozavodsk in case of arrival on the eve of the start of the program

  • single accommodation in glamping

  • English speaking interpreter's service (+510 EURO per group)

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