Out of reach Karelia 6 days / 5 nights

Day

Itinerary

Day 1

MOW

Arrival in MOW. Meet with guide. Transfer to the hotel. Check in. Dinner in the hotel (on request).

Day 2

MOW

Breakfast. Meet with guide. Moscow city tour (3-3,5 hrs).

Lunch in a city restaurant

Kremlin (Territory+ 1 Cathedral).

Free time for shopping

Dinner in a city restaurant.

Transfer to the railway station. Departure to Petrozavodsk.

Overnight in the train

Day 3

Petrozavodsk

Welcome to Karelia (Meals: Full Board)

Arrival in Petrozavodsk by train. Meeting with guide at the railway station.  Transfer to the harbor. Along  the way - short city tour of Petrozavodsk. Meet with the captain of the yacht Prestige 500S (one cabin double bed, 2 cabins - twins), Accommodation on the yacht. Breakfast. Departure to Kizhi island. Arrival. Individual excursion to Kizhi Island. The Kizhi Museum is one of the largest open air museums in Russia. One of the main attractions located there is the Transfiguration Cathedral built in 1714. Thirty thousand shingles, made of aspen wood, on twenty-two separate cupolas (domes) on five tents compose the ascending nest. The aspen wood reflects a myriad of hues changing the color of the cupolas depending on the light. A spectacular sight and hard to believe it was done with wood.The collection of the Open-Air "Kizhi" Museum includes 89 monuments of wooden architecture: old chapels and houses, windmills and granaries, threshing barns and racks for drying crops. The gem of this collection is the 22 domed Church of the Transfiguration of Our Savior, 37 meters height. The Church of the Intercession of Holy Mary and the Bell-Tower located nearby emphasize the harmony and magnificence of the main Church.

After the tour, the captain will help you take photos from great perspective because you have your own yacht at your disposal.

Lunch onboard the yacht.

Continuing the tour on the yacht towards Cape Besov Nos. (Demon's Cape)

Trolling (fishing) along the way.

Dinner onboard the yacht.

Overnight on board the yacht in one of the closed picturesque bays of lake Onega.

Day 4

Petrozavodsk

(Onego Lake)

Petroglyphs on the east shore of Onego Lake (Meals : Full Board)

Breakfast onboard

Excursion. Onego Lake Rock Art assemble is located on the Besov Nos (Demon's Cape) of the eastern shore of Onego Lake. Onego carvings are differed from others with their metaphoric character, fantastic nature and exotics of images. Local inhabitants attributed rock art to the activity of the "evil spirit". This resulted in the name of the area, Besov Nos (Demon's Cape) and later in attempts to neutralize the "devilish pictures" by carving Christian crosses on the figures of the demon and a swan, probably dated back to 15-th century. Rock art galleries of the White Sea and Onego Lake are the real pearls of ancient culture world wide. They indeed, are the archeological "visit card" of Karelia. Not by chance, in majority of publications they are called as a "stone book", "stone chronicles" or "awareness shop", and considered worth being registered in the World Heritage List.

Another place of visit is Murom Monastery of St. Assumptionis on the eastern coast of the Onego lake, on a narrow strip of the ground, which is a kilometer wide, between two lakes - vast Onego and small Murom. it is possible to get to the monastery only by water. The monastery was founded in XIV century, In 1786 the monastery was reorganized into a female monastery, and in 1787 it was abolished. It was restored in 1867 with assigning of staff of 7 monks, The revival of the monastery began in January 1991. By the end of XX century white walls of the Cathedral of Assumption and the frame of the church of All Saints are well kept. The monastery is still the place of a strict secluded life.

Lunch onboard the yacht.

Continuing the tour on the yacht towards settlement Povenets.

Trolling (fishing) along the way.

Arrival to the settlement. Transfer by the car to the Country Club Malaya Medvezhka  https://medvezhka.ru/; https://turbaza.ru/en/respublika-kareliya/id137/

Check in.

Day 5

Petrozavodsk

(Marcial Waters, Kivach Waterfalls)

Day 3 Jeep rides in the wild Karelia ( Meals : Breakfast + picknick lunch in the forest)

Breakfast at hotel

10 am departure. Route:

stop at the chapel

Stop. Ascent on foot to Sampo mountain (about 5 minutes walk to the top). From the top is the  a magnificent view of forests and Islands of lake Konchezero. This amazing hill is located with an unusual surface, combining rocks, century trees, moss and vegetation. Having found yourself on a magical hill, you feel a special atmosphere among the mighty pines and stony rocks.

Stop. The first Russian spa resort founded by Peter the I in 1719 on mineral springs - Marcial Waters Since that time glandular sources called "Marcial waters" in honor of Mars - god of war and iron. Cognitive tourism can be easily combined with wellness in the modern spa resort "Marcial Waters", which was opened in 1964, is the largest in the North medical complex, which has its own therapeutic mud, physiotherapy and other departments.

Stop. The first off - road obstacle is Sand pits. Instruction on safety and the basics of driving jeeps.

Tourists drive a car themselves . Instructors are present in each car and monitor the safety of the route. Self-driving under the guidance of an instructor in the sand pits and forest roads along the coast of the lake. Off-road route. Overcoming difficult terrain. The track is designed in such a way that you first learn to control and get used to the car, then learn to pass off-road obstacles.

Rest and picnic in a pine forest on the shore of the Lake. Barbecue on the coals. Here on the table there is a steaming barbecue, fresh vegetables, cheese, bread. For this snack, you can taste balms and liqueurs made from natural Karelian berries and herbs. At the end of the picnic-hot tea or coffee with gingerbread.

Stop near Girvas settlement. There is  an old airfield of strategic aviation near the settlement. Its length is 4300 meters, more than a meter in depth, while in width it is already main avenue   in St. Petersburg. And all this mass of concrete is in the deep woods!

In the southern part of the village there is a unique geological object - the oldest (about 2 billion years) crater in Karelia. It was found in autumn of 1966 during the archaeological researches of volcanic formations in the northern margin of settlement Girvas in the course of spillway Paleozerskoy autumn. Today only a small part of the volcanic apparatus: the part of the eruptive vents, south-eastern slope of the lava cone and a big part of the side crater - a volcanic explosion pipe, is available for direct observation, while the rest of it is hidden under a thick cover of deposits. Girvas volcano was, apparently, one of the connecting channels of the vast plateau of lava, spread over a vast area of West Lake Onega within Girvas volcanic zone.

Stop nearby Girvas  hydropower station

Exit To the m-18 Kola highway.

Stop and visit to The Nature Reserve of Kivach. Kivach reserve is the first protected territory in Karelia. It was organized in 1931 on the territory of 2000 ha and later enlarged to l 10.6 thousand ha. The preserve is crossed with the Suna River which has more than 50 rapids and waterfalls. The most famous waterfall is the "Kivach". Its height is 10,7 meters. Water falls down in 4 ledges among mighty basaltic rocks.

Return to Country House.

Time at Leisure.

Day 6

Belomorsk

Way to the North.  (Meals : Breakfast, tea drinking with National dessert, dinner)

Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to Belomorsk (200 km)

Excursion to the Petroglyphs of the White Sea . The Karelian petroglyphs are outstanding, world-renowned monuments. Researchers have called them the Stone Chronicle and the Stone Age Bible. Petroglyphs usually represent animals, birds, fish, boats, and people, but sometimes the symbols are of unfamiliar objects. The Belomorsk Petroglyphs Archaeological Complex includes not only rock drawings (engravings), but also over 30 ancient settlements dated between the 3rd and 2nd millenium B.C.The Belomorsk petroglyphs were created around six thousand years ago, and they are one of the outstanding monuments of primitive art in Northern Europe.

Tea drinking with National Karelian dessert

Accommodation at the Gandvik Hotel https://www.hotel-gandvik.ru/en/ in rooms of the selected category.

Master class of dinner Cooking of  the chief of the restaurant "Pomor cuisine". Dinner.

Leisure time.

Day 7

Solovetsky Islands

Acquaintance with  Great Solovki (Meals : Breakfast, Lunch)

Breakfast at hotel (open buffet). Check-out time.

Transfer to the village Rabocheostrovsk (110 km)

Boarding a speed boat. Travel time 60 minutes.

Arrival to Solovki, transfer to the hotel " Ostrovito Morushko"  https://www.ostrovito.com/

Lunch at hotel

Excursion to the Solovki Monastery. Founded in the 15th century, Solovetsky Monastery was one of Russia's most famous and holy monasteries, and became a major pilgrimage destination.It was also a place of exile, and in the 20th century it was used as a brutal Soviet prison camp at which over a million prisoners died. Soviet leaders of the 1920's saw the advantage of the islands' isolation and stark climate differently and transformed the archipelago into one of the country's first gulags. The monastery was rehabilitated after the fall of the Soviet Union, and today the islands' natural beauty, spiritual significance and weighty history draw tourists of all kinds to their shores. Today, Solovetsky Monastery is a World Heritage Site, museum, and home to a number of monks. Situated in the chilly waters of the Onega Bay in the far north of Russia, Solovetsky is off the beaten track, but those who make the effort will not forget their trip.

If desired, you can stay at the monastery for evening service at the church or take a sightseeing walk through the cozy streets of the village of Solovetsky.

Day 8

Solovetsky Islands-Kem

Journey to the sketes and monasteries of the Bolshoy Solovetsky Island

(Meal option: Breakfast + Lunch)

Breakfast at hotel

Beginning of the tour. Transfers - by traditional Russian off-road vehicle UAZ

Sekirnaya Hill. St. Ascension Skete. You will visit one of the highest points of the Big Solovetsky Island - Sekirnaya Hill, from which top is an unforgettable view to the Northern part of the Solovki and the White Sea opens up. The monastic cells appeared on the Sekirnaya mountain as early as in the 15 century when the monks began to come to the Solovki after the Sts. Herman and Savvatiy. You will be told about the history of the functional St. Ascension skete. You will see the unique Church which is the lighthouse at the same time.Sekirnaya mountain may be the most tragic place not only on the Solovki but in the entire Russia. In the course of several centuries there was located one of the skits of the Solovetsky Monastery, and after the revolution of 1917 there was opened a punishment isolation cell - the site of mass executions of the prisoners of the Solovki prison camp.

Savvatievskyi monastery. Savvatievsky skete is one of the skits of the Solovetsky monastery, founded in the XV century by Savvatiy and Herman Solovetsky in the Northern part of the Big Solovetsky island .For long time only monks lived here. The comparatively big  construction started here at the end of the XIX century a stone church was built in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God "Hodegetria" according to the project of architect Shakhlarev

Isaac's monastery. Isaac's skete. Isaac's monasteryis one of the oldest on the Big Solovetsky Island

Alley of Solovetsky Jungs.

Dam of the Red(White) Lake - the deepest Lake in the Solovetsky Islands. Until the middle of the twentieth century, there were no indigenous peoples on the islands, and toponymic traditions did not take shape. People changed, times, the past was forgotten, new names appeared. Here, for example, how the names of the Solovetsky lakes changed after the revolution in the 1920s: Lake Beloe (White) was renamed Krasnoe(Red).

Lunch at local cafe on the island

Boarding  the boat, Arrival to settlement  Rabocheostrovsk

Transfer to the Kem railway station to the Train .

Day 9

MOW

Arrival in Moscow. Meet with guide. Transfer to the airport. Lunch (On request)