(Source: https://photocentra.ru/work/545065)

The Republic of Karelia has much to offer its guests. In  summer – hiking, kayaking and rafting; fishing and hunting. And in  winter – dog sledding, driving snowmobiles, skiing and hiking. In general, all kinds of the so called "active rest".

Visiting this amazing northern region, you can see:

•     Lake Ladoga - the largest lake in Europe.
•     Kivach - the highest flat waterfall in Europe (about 11 m).
•     The first records of the Russian epic (XIX century).
•     The first records of the runes of the epic "Kalevala" (XIX century).
•     The oldest resort in Russia - "Marcial Waters" (1718).
•     The largest cluster of rock paintings in Europe - more than 3000 images (IV millennium BC)

The archaeological complex "White Sea Petroglyphs" includes drawings on rocks and more than 30 found sites of an ancient man, dating from the period III - II thousand BC. Petroglyphs of the White Sea on the islands of Shoyrukshin, Erpin Pudas, Bolshoy Malinin and others have more than 2,000 separate figures and occupy the fourth place in Northern Europe by the number of images. They are located on an area of almost 2 square kilometers.

On the rocks of the White Sea, there are expressive compositions of scenes of hunting and images of boats. Here you can see the most ancient image of a man on skis in Europe.

Kizhi

Kizhi Museum-Reserve is an island of attractions, which is located on the island of the same name, 68 km away from Petrozavodsk. Petrozavodsk is a very nice town, but for a couple of hours you will bypass it and inspect all the sights.

The journey from  Petrozavodsk to the island of Kizhi takes 1 hour and 15 minutes in one direction by hydrofoil vessels "Comet" or "Meteor". From January to April, when Onega Lake is covered with a thick layer of ice, you can get to Kizhi Island by boat on an "air cushion" or by off-road vehicles. In most cases you will be offered ready tours with an excursion. If you are not a big fan of ready tours, then boat  tickets to the island must be booked in advance.

The Petrozavodsk - Kizhi (or Kizhi – Petrozavodsk) fare (one way): adults - 1250 rubles, children from 5 to 12 years - 625 rubles.

Balaam

From St. Petersburg and Moscow you can get to the island of Valaam by a cruise ship. As a rule, navigation starts in late May - early June and ends in late September - October. In winter time they  organize ski and snowmobile tours, as well as helicopter tours from the city of Petrozavodsk. You can book an excursion to Valaam in the tourist companies of Petrozavodsk, as well as visit Valaam Island on your own.

As a bonus, you will get the opportunity to get to the Solovetsky Islands in the shortest possible way. Administratively, Solovki are not the part of the Republic of Karelia. But a significant number of the tourist routes in Karelia includes a visit to Solovki.

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