Getting out into the air is useful at any time of the year, and you don't have to take a vacation for that. In the relative proximity to the city, there are enough places where you can spend the weekend: relax in nature, visit the local arboretum and go down into the adit of an old marble quarry, the stones of which are almost two billion years old. Or commit little trip by water to the island of Valaam, when the weather permits. The Village continues the "Weekend Itinerary" section - we choose one direction, the final destination and interesting stops along the way.
Ruskeala Natural Park seems to have been created for quiet rest and walks along steep stone slopes, although it appeared as a result of the development of a valuable stone. Isaac and Kazan cathedrals, the Hermitage and the Mikhailovsky castle are decorated with local marble. If time is enough, visit Priozersk and Sortavala, small towns in the bays Lake Ladoga... Very close is the Russian-Finnish border, from which you can continue your journey to the lake part of Suomi. In recent years, many of our compatriots have appeared here, who add Ruskeala to their trip to Valaam.
How to get there
By bus from the bus station to Sortavala
(they run twice a day, 500 rubles), by minibus - about a thousand rubles.
By train- from the Finland Station. From Sortavala by car or taxi to Ruskeala (37 kilometers, about 20-30 minutes).
By car along Priozerskoe highway (A129
to Priozersk, then Sortavala and up (A130)
to Ruskeala. The road will take 4-5 hours.
Ruskeala park and surroundings
1.
Saint Petersburg 2.
Priozersk 3.
Sortavala 4.
Ruskeala
5.
Balaam 6.
Finland
rubles- entrance to the Ruskeala park
kilometers- the length of the Tohmajoki waterfall
rubles- the cost of a set lunch
in the local Lutheran parish
years-approximate age of Ruskeala stones
meters- length of the Ruskeala quarry
kilometers- distance from Ruskeala to the border
with Finland
Priozersk
A small settlement on Vuoksa and Lake Ladoga was first mentioned in chronicles in 1295. For some time the city bore the name of Kexholm, and received its current name after the Second World War. If you are driving, then look into the ruins of the Korela fortress, see the Lutheran church (it was built by the Finnish architect Armas Lindgren) and walk to the Mowgli monument - this is the only monument to the character of Rudyard Kipling in Russia.
Sortavala
Immediately after Priozerskoe, the quality of the coating deteriorates sharply. The track running through the forest winds, but outwardly looks like a washboard. Motorists, get ready to drive at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour and remember the domestic road services with a kind word. By the way, new track Petersburg - Sortavala is under construction, it will be ready by 2016. The question of what will help her not turn into the same washboard remains open.
The city of Sortavala, like most of the border settlements, has a difficult fate. Rebuilt at the beginning of the century by leading Finnish architects (Uno Werner Ullberg, Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen, Johan Jakob Arenberg), the center of Sortavala has survived to this day, despite the bombing in 1939-1940. Then almost all the indigenous Finnish population of the city left these lands, and after the war, the Soviet authorities decided to resettle the evacuees here from the Vologda region.
Clockwise: embankment of Sortavala, Korela fortress, embankment in Priozersk
In addition to the architecture of Northern Art Nouveau, the city has the Museum of Northern Ladoga, which contains thousands of household items of the indigenous population of Karelia. There is a local arboretum eight kilometers from the city and cottage village"Winter's Dacha". Renting a six-seater house in the off-season costs from 5,900 to 10 thousand rubles.
It is worth staying in Sortavala if there is enough time and there is no rush. If hot dogs and chocolates at gas stations took too many minutes of the trip, go to Ruskeala right away.
Ruskeala
The road from Sortavala to Ruskeala takes 15-30 minutes, you can get on one of the inexpensive taxis(numbers are pasted on trees and lampposts). Or catch a car for 200-300 rubles. The bus to Ruskeala runs twice a day, its final stop is the town of Vyartsilya.
It is worth starting the inspection from the waterfalls, which are located four kilometers from Ruskeala. On the Akhvenkoski waterfall, which can be seen from the road even in the cold season, they filmed footage from the film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”. It is now impossible to reach the dilapidated Finnish hydroelectric power station, it is being repaired, but walking along the snowy pine forest always nice for a city dweller who opens Facebook and mail 45 times a day.
Moving higher, along the left side of the road you will get to the center of the Ruskeala village. Here is the most popular recreation center of the same name (2,500 rubles for two guests, 5,600 for eight). However, in Ruskeale you can rent a house and not at a tourist center, as all surfaces in the city speak about.
One of the local attractions, the Lutheran parish, looks very deplorable. The building was built in 1834, but it was supposedly burned down in 1940, and is now being restored with Finnish donations. The latter have long chosen these places for retro tourism, almost all prices are indicated both in euros and in rubles. In Sortavala and Ruskeala there are many inscriptions and signs in Finnish, the local population for the most part is fluent in two languages.
Recreation center "Ruskeala"
2 500 rubles for two guests, 5 600 rubles for eight
Clockwise: Ruskeala quarry in winter, highlighting a quarry, quarry in autumn, exposition "Marble through time"
When they arrive, pilgrims stop, but the rooms are quite cozy and laconic - except for two beds and a bedside table, there is nothing there. If you're lucky, you'll get a ten-inch, three-channel TV. But guests can use the sauna, breakfast is included in the room rate (one thousand rubles). If you feel like cooking yourself, take advantage of the backyard barbecue or the local cuisine, which is also open to guests. One thing - the place is meant for family vacation, therefore, making noise after 22 p.m. is strictly prohibited.
Even if there is no desire to stop in the parish, anyone can have lunch or dinner in the fireplace room. For 100 rubles you get tea and coffee using the free refill system, assorted buns. And for 300 rubles they offer a real Buffet... Soup, main course, snacks, fruit drink, kvass and hot drinks are included. You can make an appointment in advance to stay in the Ruskeala Church by calling (814) 30–33–268 and 8 (921) 467–63–20.
After lunch, head to the marble quarry. This is an artificial lake surrounded by steep stone walls... The production of marble began here under Catherine II. When the Finns left here for last time, they cleverly connected the quarry with the Tohmajoki River, and its impressive area was flooded.
V winter time right at the entrance to the park, you can ride a husky sled for a thousand rubles, 2.5 kilometers to Lake Svetloye and back. Dogs are very sociable, and no one forbids stroking them. In summer, it is allowed to swim in the lake itself and put up a tent on the shore. So it's up to you - get down, rent a boat, look at the quarry from the water and swim into one of several caves. Souvenirs are also sold at the entrance to Ruskeala, where you can find a couple of cute ones out of hundreds of magnets with housekeepers, Russian women and birches. The entrance to the park formally costs 150 rubles, but no one checks it. But at the reception they give a map showing two routes: a short one for 1.5 kilometers and a long one for 2.5 kilometers.
Lutheran parish
1000 rubles per person. Barbecue in the backyard and the ability to use the kitchen.
100 rubles- tea
and free refill coffee, assorted buns.
300 rubles- a real buffet.
There are about ten observation decks with benches along the quarry - these are perfect place for a picnic, so stock up on food. By the way, from six o'clock in the evening on Saturdays and Sundays, Ruskeala employees turn on artificial lighting around the perimeter of the quarry, so it makes sense to walk until the evening.
If you are moving along a long route, then you will definitely stumble upon a cavern-failure, where in winter for the same thousand rubles you can go down and go ice skating (they are rented on the spot). In the evening artificial grotto illuminated with candles.
Finally, the last point on the long route along Ruskeala is the exhibition "A Stone Through Time", where blocks of marble stone two billion years old are conveniently located for viewing.
This June I managed to make a short trip across Karelia with organized tour for 5 days (review of the tour). The program was designed in such a way as to show us the most recognizable and photographed places in Karelia, which can be visited in such a short vacation. We spent the first part of the tour in the area of the Karelian city of Sortavala, near which there are such famous sights of Karelia as Ruskeala waterfalls, Valaam island with an old monastery and Ruskeala mountain park, which will be discussed today.
A bit of history
Mountain park Ruskeala is a territory with marble canyons with emerald water, adits, mines and paths with observation platforms, organized into routes for tourists. I would call this landmark an industrial-natural one, and here's why.
In the distant 17th century, the Swedes began mining here for marble, which, with northern severity, was turned into whitewash. Practical Swedes did not need pompous material for decorating buildings and pavements, they always loved brevity and practicality, so the hand did not flinch to translate goodness. However, almost a century later, our country began the extraction of marble for its intended purpose. Few people know, but many famous buildings of St. Petersburg are faced with marble from Ruskeala quarries, the main ones of which are Green and White, named after the color of the marble that is mined from them. For instance, white marble from Karelia were used in the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral, one of the facades of the Mikhailovsky Palace, the pedestal of the monument to Peter I, they were used to decorate the windows Winter Palace... The marble of the Green Mountain was useful in the construction of the Kazan Cathedral and other objects in St. Petersburg, Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo.
Marble was mined at different levels, called horizons, which are located even underground. The original horizons have not reached our time, they were replaced by later ones. I will not write about how the marble was mined, because it will be much more interesting for you to hear this story from a qualified guide in the park, who, as part of the recruited group, will tell you everything in detail.
About marble quarries it is worth saying that it is a kind of unique park, because it was created for private investment, you must agree that for Russia it is not a frequent occurrence.
Walk around the Ruskeala quarry
Our excursion group arrived at Ruskeala Mountain Park at around 8 pm. In summer, admission is possible until 24-00. In June, in the Russian north, there are already almost white nights, and in another season, illumination works in Ruskeala.
You can walk around Ruskeala on your own by purchasing an entrance ticket, or you can as part of an excursion group, which is led through the park by a local guide. For some reason, our travel agency could not organize an excursion for us earlier than 20-30, therefore, by agreement with all participants of the tour, we went to the territory ourselves. Why didn't you wait an extra half hour? This was the first day of our trip, many got off the train at 6 in the morning, then we visited the Alexander-Svirsky monastery in Leningrad region, drove almost 5 hours to the recreation center in the Sortavala region. We had a choice - to sit an extra hour at the base, and then go, which meant coming back later, or leave the base earlier, walk in the park ourselves and go to rest after a crazy day.
In front of the entrance to the park, there is a square with a long row of souvenir stalls and an administration building where tickets are sold. There is also an observation deck on the largest quarry of Ruskeala.
Since we arrived in the evening, we did not see straight emerald-blue water, because the sun, apparently, fell at the wrong angle. But all the same, the marble mountains, water, floating boats looked very nice, I could not wait to get into the park.
A pedestrian route has been laid around the quarry, along which we constantly meet observation decks, allowing you to approach the edge of the quarry without extreme. For the gifted, there are signs everywhere, stating that they should not throw stones down, not approach the edge and not dive down ... apparently, there were some.
I drew attention to the rather large grottoes on the opposite side of the mountain, for some reason they seemed familiar to me, although I had never been to Ruskeala.
And then Zhenya suggested to me that this was the first 3D Russian film "The Dark World", namely the scene with the lake witches, was filmed here. Here is a video for the song "Witch", you can see the landscapes of Ruskeala.
Filming location "Dark World" in Karelia
In addition to boats that can be rented at a special station, I have noticed divers in their careers. As the guide said, they really like this place, and the park allows professionals to conduct trainings. It turns out that the water in the quarry is very clean, besides, at the bottom there is a technique flooded by the Finns, with the help of which the marble was mined. And since the Karelian lakes are not rich in outlandish seabed or fairy tales about sunken ships with treasures, the exploration of the bottom of Ruskeala is extremely interesting for divers. The cost of using the diving pier is 200 rubles.
As soon as we passed one side of the quarry, we saw a pointer to an adit, into which you can freely go down without special permission... In your own words, an adit is a depression in the ground, a kind of corridor, a quarry. We decided to go down into the adit, which has been preserved for a long time, which goes 200 meters deep. It was created to deliver trolleys filled with marble from a mine along a narrow gauge railroad... At the entrance to the adit, you can see what an old trolley looks like.
To be honest, it was scary to go down, yes, I don’t like any caves and grottoes at all, but I decided to go into the adit, because I had never seen anything like it.
We walked around the quarry and quietly envied the independent tourists who sailed on boats, swam up to the grottoes, like in film shots.
We were told that research is now being carried out in the quarry to open the passage to the mountains for tourists. In a couple of years, they promise to organize excursions to grottoes, caves and other wonders of nature hidden from the eyes.
Routes in Ruskeala
Routes along Ruskeala can be found at the entrance to the park - there is a large poster.
Download a map with routes
Route around the Marble Quarry
You can restrict yourself to a walk around the Big Marble Quarry, as we did, or you can visit the factory, the neighboring lake. In general, if you are lovers of industrial tourism, then Ruskeala is just an ideal object. In any case, this place is very unusual, so I recommend allocating at least 3 hours for it, and then, as they say, how it goes.
More things to do in Ruskeale
As you already understood, it is interesting to walk around Ruskeala, first of all, to walk, depending on the degree of interest, to look at the quarry with one eye or to make a real journey into the industrial past of our country.
From entertainment Rusleala offers boating. Immediately upon entering, you will see a descent down to the boat station. There you will be dressed life jackets, and you can go sailing. I think it's very cool to swim under the huge marble rocks, look into the clear water and just enjoy nature. In addition, you can swim to the grottoes that we only saw from above. Boat rental works from May 20 to September 30, it costs 400 rubles per boat (no more than 4 people, we are not in China).
If you love to tickle your nerves, then you definitely want to ride a bungee on a short track or cross an entire career. Tarzanka is located at the exit from the Marble Quarry.
I can't say anything about reliability and safety, but it is fixed like this.
There is a trampoline at the exit for children, beer and barbecue for dads, shops for moms. They also regularly ride husky dogs, but we arrived too late.
How to get there, opening hours, cost of entry
Working hours mountain park depends on the time years.
If you walk around Ruskeala on your own, the entrance ticket will cost 150 rubles. for adults, 100 for students, 50 rubles for schoolchildren, and for children under 7 years old admission is free.
A tour of the park costs 250 rubles. for a short route lasting 1 hour and 350 rubles. for a walk for 1.5 hours.
And if you decide to be creative and celebrate your wedding not in Thailand, but in Karelia, then the mountain park will give you a boat trip ... and let all the guests wait. ?
Get to Ruskeala by car not difficult, here is her address. Free parking near the entrance is available.
On one's own, i.e. on public transport, you can also get to the marble quarries.
From St. Petersburg you need to take train # 350 St. Petersburg - Kostomuksha, having bought a ticket to the Kaalamo station. Next, take a taxi to the park (drive about 5 km).
You can get from Petrozavodsk to Ruskeala by train # 680-Ch Petrozavodsk-Sortavala, get off at the Kaalamo station. Travel time from 19-20 to 06-06. You can also get to Sortavala by bus or minibus (NUMBERS), although the travel time will be from 5 to 8 hours.
The easiest way to get to Reskeala or the city of Sortavala. At the bus station, check the bus schedule to Vyartsilä, it stops near the park, although it runs very rarely. If you are in Sortavala, then the most convenient way is to take a taxi (about 450 rubles one way), moreover, you can immediately agree to be waited for and brought back. This option will cost you about 1000 rubles, but it all depends on the specific taxi driver, your art of trading and the time you want to spend in the park.
From Moscow to Ruskeala, you guessed it, you can get through St. Petersburg or Petrozavodsk.
Perhaps the information on how to get to Ruskeala is scary, but you need to understand that it makes no sense to go to Karelia to Ruskeala. It is necessary to develop a route in which to include the city of Sortavala and its environs, visit Ruskeala, Ruskeala waterfalls, swim on Valaam, fish, walk in nature, and there are many things to do in this region of Karelia.
Where to stay
In the area where Ruskeala is located, there are several recreation centers where you can comfortably stay. This will allow you to combine outdoor recreation with visits to nearby attractions.
I lived at the recreation center "Black stones" and I can safely recommend it. The base is located about 30 minutes drive to the mountain park.
Recreation center "Black stones"
About the same distance is country club Gardarika, which can be booked on booking.com .
The recreation center "Ruskeala" is located in close proximity to the marble quarries. On Ruskeala's website you can read about the route to the base, private bus and transfer. A little further, on the lake, there is the Janisjärvi base.
If you like rest in the city more, then I recommend book one of the hotels in Sortavala... From it it will be extremely convenient for you to travel around this part of Karelia, perhaps even meet some taxi driver who will become your driver and a pleasant companion.
All articles in the direction of Karelia
Selection of hotels in Karelia
Flights to Karelia
This post is a continuation of an article about our trip to the Marble Canyon. Start with a story about the road to Ruskeala, arrival at the Korelu fortress and Ruskeala waterfalls, read.
After driving a couple of kilometers from the waterfalls, we saw the village of Ruskeala itself.
It is difficult to skip the turn to the village, there is a large green sign right on it, which says that you have reached the Gorny Park.
Well, here we are! Here it is - the beautiful Marble Canyon, which even in the photo impresses with its beauty and majesty, what can we say about the real picture.
Now I'm not talking so much about the magnitude, because there are much larger-scale canyons in the world, but about the totality of the atmosphere, nature, strict vertical cliffs and history. I could not tear myself away when I looked at the steep slope, illuminated by the rays of the sun.
When we arrived, it was already evening. The clock was a little over four o'clock, and there was not much time left for a walk, since we still had a way back. But there was still enough time before closing. Since September, the park has switched to the autumn mode of operation - until 21.00. In summer it worked until midnight, and in winter it will only work until 19.00.
My companions distracted me from contemplation, and we went to buy tickets. Admission to the park for adults without benefits costs 150 rubles. The ticket office is located to the right of the entrance and is a small wooden building in the same style as the rest of the buildings in the area in front of the park. And there are plenty of them: these are houses with souvenirs, and cafes, and even a toilet - everything looks like a small log street. Most of souvenirs, by the way, is made of marble quarried here.
What to do in Ruskeala Park.
In general, it can be seen that the infrastructure of the park is actively developing, therefore, for an additional fee, various excursions and entertainment for tourists are organized here. Hiking and water routes have been developed. They can be passed both independently and as part of an excursion group.
The hiking route is a walk around the canyon with a tour of the available attractions, including a descent into a dry adit - a horizontal excavation that has an exit to the surface of the earth.
The rest of the adits were flooded long ago and can only be reached by water, while inside they are accessible only to divers.
(Took from the website ruskeala.info) Boat rentals are organized for boat trips. There is a small boat station... The boat trip costs 400 rubles and is designed for one hour. Moving closer to the right bank, you can approach the marble wall, swim into the marble grotto.
Previously, to get the opportunity to take a walk on the boat, you had to book it 2-3 days in advance, but now there is no preliminary booking. During the time that we spent near the Canyon, there was not a minute to water surface not disturbed by bursts of oars. There are enough people willing to walk, but there were still free boats.
Boat excursions are possible not only on the surface of the lake. There is entertainment for diving enthusiasts. They have the opportunity to explore the underwater labyrinths of flooded adits and drifts.
According to one of the versions of flooding (yes, there are several of these versions), before the start of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. the Finns, who were active here in the extraction of marble, left the quarry. When the work was stopped, they destroyed all documents on the location of underground adits, and, abandoning mining equipment here, flooded the quarry, connecting it with the Tohmajoki River.
According to another version, the flooding took place after the end of the Second World War, when there were attempts to restore work in the quarry. The aquifer was so damaged that water began to penetrate into the quarry and accumulate too quickly, and already Soviet workers were forced to quickly leave their place of work, leaving their equipment.
In a word, whether the goodbye harm of the Finns is to blame, or a coincidence, but the flooding served an excellent service for the formation of a wonderful landscape here. So until now, tourist divers manage to find those very abandoned cars at the bottom of flooded adits. Also a touch of history in its own way.
For those who are more attracted not by the deep darkness, but, on the contrary, by the height and feeling of flight, bungee jumping and rappelling along the rope stretched over the Marble Canyon are organized. We had a chance to watch the slopes from the side, and to be honest, this activity did not make much impression. The speed was not very high, and judging by the reactions of the "flying" who silently glided along the rope, this event did not give a "wow" effect. However, maybe it seemed to me so from the outside. In any case, if it didn't even take your breath away, then just looking at the canyon from such an unusual and unusual angle was probably curious and entertaining. :)
There is also such entertainment as sledding with husky dogs. But as far as I understood, it is available in the winter.
Our walk.
We, like many independent tourists, decided to do without excursions. The survey of the canyon begins from its eastern slope. The entire perimeter is lined with very pretty pedestrian paths, strewn with rubble and edged with white stone, probably local marble.
From time to time, along the edges of the path, there were some similarities of pyramids made of stones, apparently laid out by the visitors themselves.
Observation platforms are located along the paths at a certain interval.
In some places, the slope is collapsing, so it is forbidden to approach the edge of the cliff, which is indicated by the appropriate signs.
And in some places, outside the footpath, you can see places favored by tourists with polished stones or trampled grass. Of course, they are located at the edge of the slope, because from there the most spectacular and breathtaking views open up. I did not notice the tablets there, so we, at our own peril and risk, contributed to the polishing of stones and trampling of grass.
The view from the slope is really beautiful. Monolithic marble walls appeared before our eyes, at the bottom of which the holes of the drifts and adits were visible. All the drifts and adits, except one, are flooded. The entrances to them can be seen from the boat, but you cannot get inside - they are closed with bars.
Also, on the opposite slope from the entrance to the park, a marble grotto appeared, in which you can swim by boat
Sights of the Ruskeala Mountain Park.
There are five main attractions in the park: the Marble Canyon itself, the dry adit, the Ruskeala Gap, the ruins of the Marble Factory and the Italian Canyon. All these objects are in general around the canyon, on the way walking route, there is no need to turn anywhere. Just in order to reach the Ruskeala failure and the Italian quarry, you need to make a small loop. The marble factory was left a little out of the way, but we were not looking for it.
The descent into the adit was impressive. When you stand at the top, and only theoretically imagine that such complex work was carried out here, you still remain under the influence of the picture around you - the magical nature that surrounds you, you feel the warm rays of the sun on your face, you see the glittering flakes of water dissected by the bows of the boats , the talk of tourists, the chirping of birds ... But as soon as you go down into the adit, completely different emotions envelop you.
It is clear who is the most curious. When I was little, I spent every summer in the village with my grandmother, in a large country house. The upper rooms were very bright, always bathed in the sun, with windows at a height greater than human height.
I loved this house. But there was one place that always ... confused me, or something. It was a glacier. A small closet in the back wall of the house, in the basement level. It had a deep hole with a block of ice inside that did not melt even in summer.
The glacier played the role of a kind of refrigerator, it contained jerky meat, huge bottles, the contents of which remained a mystery to me, and other food, for which I was periodically sent. I was not afraid of this place, no. But it seemed to me very mysterious, made me hold my breath. As soon as you entered, the cold immediately chilled to the bone, and goosebumps ran through the body, although here, literally outside the door, the sun was shining and warming.
So, when we went downstairs, I very clearly remembered this feeling. A huge dark mine, crossed by adits, which does not let in light and warmth and shrouds in darkness and cold ...
It's scary to imagine how it worked here. Earlier, apparently, a mechanism, like an elevator, moved along the vertical descent, which moved workers and equipment along horizontal adits. Now one of the adits is equipped with a bridge from which you can view the mine.
Coming out of the mine, it was incredibly pleasant to feel the warm rays of the sun.
After a short walk along the paths, entering all legal and illegal viewing platforms, we came to a fork with a signboard indicating the new route "In the footsteps of the masters."
From here you can turn left and go to the exit from the park along the western part of the canyon, or you can go straight and see another "window into the dungeon". This is the Ruskeala Gap - an oval hole in the ground, which, in fact, is the collapsed roof of one of the former adits, now flooded with water.
The depth of the sinkhole to the water surface is about 12 meters.
Ruskeala Gap is interesting because, due to the special microclimate in it, the ice in its remote areas does not melt even in summer. You can get inside only by descending on a rope into a rubber boat, and then disembark on the ice.
The name of the quarry is easy to explain. Italians mined marble here, and in the development process, Italian technology was used, which made it possible, instead of the explosive method, which was practiced by the Swedes, Finns and Russians, to use wire sawing. This can be clearly seen from the smoother, sharper contours of the cut blocks.
Leaving the Italian quarry, we again found ourselves on the path around the Marble Canyon.
The sun was going down, and its shadow was already beginning to graze the eastern slope. That is why the colors and paints became deeper and richer.
We admired a little more the beautiful emerald transparency of the water, the whitening sheer bulk of marble walls in a gentle frame of yellowing growth on the slope, watched the drifting boats and headed for the exit.
Initially, of course, my plans included a boat trip, but due to lack of time, it did not fit in any way. More precisely, in addition to this, according to the plan, there was also a halt on one of the lakes and self-prepared kebabs, but there was still time for one thing, because there was still a way back to St. Petersburg ahead.
I tried to timidly recall the boat trip, but when I saw how my guys looked at each other, I decided that I needed three angry hungry men in the boat, especially with a swim in a dark grotto.
Well, it was a pity, of course, to say goodbye to this amazing place, but this is definitely not our last trip to Karelia, and even if the first, but not the only meeting with the Marble Canyon.
Before heading back, we found a very picturesque place on the shore of the lake for our express picnic. It was not difficult, since there are more than enough landscapes pleasing to the eye. While the guys were conjuring over the barbecue, I walked around the neighborhood.
From the sensations and impressions I wanted to collect my thoughts and think over everything. Well, do such landscapes, peace and quiet around do not dispose to this?
And here is the whole honest company at a farewell dinner before the return trip.
By the way, by tradition, we got home faster. Already more or less knew the way and did without traffic jams.
A trip to the former and now flooded marble quarry. Photo report from the trip.
Remained small debts on reports from summer trips. Then there was no time to spread, but now, in rainy autumn weather, it is very pleasant to look at sunny photos and remember those feelings. Therefore, I will continue the story about my trip to Karelia...
We went to Ruskealu the next day after Valaam. On the way, we stopped at a waterfall, where the film "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" was filmed. A beautiful place ..
Then, having traveled literally five kilometers, we got to Ruskeals... It is necessary to explain what it is - this is a former marble quarry, now flooded. From here were obtained blocks for facing the majestic St. Isaac's Cathedral with Grayish-green and light gray marble Ruskeals the halls of the St. Petersburg metro stations "Primorskaya" and "Ladozhskaya" were decorated. Now they have done national park for tourists.
Arriving at the park, the first thing we did was take boats, like 1 hour 200 rubles. It is very cool to sail on a boat, you are surrounded by steep cliffs, and under you there is greenish, transparent water.
There is a small grotto in the rocks, you can get into it only by boat.
It's so beautiful inside - the ceiling of the grotto shimmers with the reflections of the sun in the water.
After swimming for an hour through the quarry (and it won't work anymore - it is small in principle), we went for a walk along its perimeter. Along the whole career goes hiking trail With viewpoints with wonderful views.
Halfway along the quarry we climbed into an abandoned adit.
And then we deviated from the route and went to places that tourists are usually not shown. Came across underground caves flooded with water. It looks very impressive - if only to swim there on a boat!
Then we came across a deposit of marble, there is also something to see.
After walking a little around the neighborhood, we eventually returned to the trail to the quarry.
Ruskeala is a village located 20 kilometers from the Finnish border and located in the Sortavala region, near the town of Sortavala. The history of the village has been known since the beginning of the 16th century. In those distant times, the Swedes mined marble there, and after the end of the Northern War, when the lands were annexed to the Russian Empire, the workings were abandoned. But not for long: marble was needed to decorate the palaces of St. Petersburg and, thanks to the rich deposits and proximity to St. Petersburg, industrial production of marble began in 1768. Ruskeala marble was used to decorate St. Isaac's Cathedral, Mikhailovsky Castle, and in the 20th century - and for facing the St. Petersburg metro stations "Ladozhskaya" and "Primorskaya".
In the XX century, the territory either belonged to Finland or the USSR, and when the Finns left during the Soviet-Finnish war, they flooded marble quarries by connecting them to the nearby river. Since then, these places have not been used for a long time either for industrial or tourist purposes, unlike, for example, the one that Alexander II visited.
Creation of a mountain park
In the 90s Ruskeala is experiencing a rebirth: a private company is engaged in equipping flooded quarries as a tourist complex: routes are laid, leisure activities are organized, excursion programs, parking, hotels. And since then this place has become one of the most favorite places for tourists not only from Karelia, Finland, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, but also from more isolated regions.
Ruskeala marble canyon
The main attraction of the park, which is visible even before entering the park itself, is marble canyon... It's amazing a nice place: sheer marble cliffs along the banks and crystal pure water greenish blue. The color of the water is mesmerizing: from a distance it looks like the Northern Lights, it seems so unusual.
This flooded marble canyon was formerly used for the extraction of marble, but now all mines except one are flooded. Workers and marble were delivered along them, the depth inside the rock was 200 meters. The remaining mine can be seen by sailing past by boat or from above ( hiking trail runs around the canyon from above).
The park is open to visitors both in winter and summer.
Photos
Characteristics of the canyon
Length - 450 meters, width - from 60 to 100 meters, depth reaches 50 meters.
Boat rent
The canyon can be viewed from above, walking around it (and every visitor to the park will make this path, because there is a trail), but you can get a real drive by taking a boat ride on the lake. The boat can go anywhere in the lake, incl. swim inside, under the rocks.
Renting a boat in 2014 cost 400 rubles for an unlimited time (about an hour - this is how much it takes to sail back and forth and admire the views), tickets are bought at the ticket office, but you have to wait for your turn. The queue and boarding of the boats begins before the entrance to the mountain park itself. Boat rental is open until 20-00.
Mountain park
The mountain park itself, in addition to the marble canyon, is an area along which paths leading to other attractions are laid. Entrance costs 150 rubles for adults, children under 7 years old and separate categories citizens - free. Opening hours - until 21-00.
Firstly, entering the mountain park, you can walk around the entire marble canyon, admiring the green expanse of the water and boating. But then there is a no less interesting underground lake - the sinkhole.
Ruskeala failure
It is said that the sinkhole was formed when an industrial explosion was made not far from it, in another quarry, and the earth fell down. A large hole with an area of about 500 square meters was formed, flooded with water. The most distant edges of the sinkhole are covered with ice even in summer.
Underground adit
Between the canyon and the hole there is a hole in the ground - an old adit, if you go around it from the side, you can go through it and go outside.
Marble exposition: an Italian quarry
What else is there in the park?
Leisure in the mountain park is well organized: you can not only rent a boat, but also jump on a zipline "into the water" (not reaching the water), ride like a bungee from one side of the lake to the other, ride a dog sled. This place is also interesting for divers who cross flooded lakes and adits from one place to another. There is a small zoo nearby.
How not to get lost?
There are also two lakes in Ruskeala Park. When buying a ticket at the box office, you can take a map of the mountain park and go straight on it. You can order excursion service.
Where to stay?
You can stop in the town of Sortavala or numerous nearby on the shores of Lake Ladoga, for example, at the b / o "Ruskeala", "Black stones", "Yanisyarvi", "Piipun piha" and others.
How to get to Ruskeala Mountain Park?
There are no particular difficulties on the road: by car, either from St. Petersburg, from Karelia and Murmansk, you need to go towards the city of Sortavala: the distance from Sortvala to the park is 37 km. Before reaching the canyon, on the right you will see picturesque ones with a recreation area. We recommend stopping there on the way back or forth, this is one of the famous tourist places Karelia.
- By car from St. Petersburg
From St. Petersburg to Ruskeala 290 km, you need to go through Priozersk, Sortavala and then on the A-129 highway turn to the village of Vyartsilya along the A-130 highway.
- By car from Petrozavodsk
By car from Petrozavodsk you need to go through the cities of Pryazha, Kolatselga, Lyaskel and turn to Vyartsilya. The distance is about 250 km.
- By public transport
By train and commuter train you need to go to Sortavala. You can also get to Sortavala by bus. There is a regular bus from Sortavala to Ruskeala (it goes to Vyartsilya and stops in Ruskeala), but you can also take a taxi.
