Kizhi, Valaam and Ruskeala with glamping accommodation

Day 1 Kizhi Island

After meeting at the Petrozavodsk train station you will be taken to the hotel for breakfast, after which you will walk along the embankment of Lake Onega. It is famous for its unusual art objects, as well as sculptures and monuments donated to Petrozavodsk by the twin cities.

Further you will take a high-speed boat to Kizhi Island (1 hour and 15 minutes on the way). First, you will have a private sightseeing tour of the central part of the island. You will visit the recently restored churches and the bell tower of the Kizhi Pogost, which are considered to be monuments of wooden architecture of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Then you will find an extended program  yo the "hidden corners of Kizhi", during which you will walk through the most picturesque places and island villages. You will see historical and cultural objects brought from various parts of the Zaonezhye region: residential buildings and farm buildings from Karelian, Russian and Vepsian villages, ancient chapels and household items.

After the tour you will have lunch in a cafe on the pier, and then go back to Petrozavodsk by speedboat. At the city pier you will change to minibuses, which will take you to the Northern Ladoga region (2.5-3 hours on the way). This is one of the most picturesque areas of Karelia. It is famous for Ladoga skerries — many small rocky islands separated by narrow straits.

In the evening you will arrive at the city pier of Sortavala, from where you will go by motor boat  to the Havus island, located in the heart of the Ladoga skerries (15-20 minutes on the way). Here you will stay in a comfortable glamping for the next 2 days. You will be accommodated in cozy domed tents surrounded by a pine forest and will have a welcome dinner of Karelian cuisine from the chef.

Day 2 Valaam Archipelago

After breakfast you will take a private tour of Valaam directly from the island pier on speedboats. Together with a local guide you will visit the central estate of the monastery and the Saviour Transfiguration Cathedral, and then have lunch in the refectory of the monastery.

After lunch you will get acquainted with the ancient sketes of the Valaam archipelago. First, you will go for a walk to the Nikolsky Skete. It is located on the Krestovy Island at the entrance to the Monastery Bay and is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Valaam. Along the way you will discover picturesque views of the bays, numerous channels and inland lakes of the archipelago.

In the XIX century the monastery customs house was located in the Nikolsky Skete. On the site of the preserved Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in 1853, there used to be a stone chapel. It served as a lighthous for those arriving on Balaam: at night, a lantern was lit in it.

Further from the Nikolsky skete along the inner straits of the Valaam archipelago you will go by boat to the secluded sketes: All Saints Skete — the very first and largest on Valaam and Smolensky Skete. During the tour you will see the bridges and canals of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

The route will end near the Voskresensky and Gefsimanskiy Sketes, called "New Jerusalem". Then you will return to glamping by boat, where you will have a hot dinner from the chef. After that, if you wish, you can relax in the furako on the shore of Lake Ladoga (for an additional fee).

Day 3 Ladoga Skerries and Ruskeala Mountain Park

After breakfast you will enjoy a circular route on motor boats along the Ladoga Skerries. One of the striking features of this part of Ladoga is the so-called "reef mountains". They are sheer cliffs that drop into the lake from a height of up to 80 meters. You will climb to the highest point of the Ladoga skerries — Mount Aino. It offers a magnificent view of the vast expanses of Ladoga and the Valaam Archipelago.

Also during the boat trip you will see the islands where the Finnish farms used to be. Here the foundations of the houses resembling bunkers are preserved. These farms were used as long-term firing points and were part of the defense line during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.

For lunch you will return to glamping, and then continue the excursion program and go to Sortavala by boat. There you will change to minibuses and go to the Ruskeala Mountain Park (30 minutes on the way).

Ruskeala marble quarry is a monument of cultural heritage of Russia. Development here began 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 and drifts connected by vertical shafts. Most of them were flooded after the Great Patriotic War, and the quarry turned into a surprisingly beautiful lake with a turquoise hue of water, the transparency of which reaches 15-18 meters.

After an individual tour of the quarry you will have free time in the park. If desired, and for an additional fee, you can take an exclusive route through the underground corridors of Ruskeala (paid additionally).

Then you will be taken to Sortavala, where you will have free time. You can stroll through the historic center and have dinner at the national Karelian cuisine restaurant (extra charge) before heading to the train station for the evening train to Moscow.