Thanks to the amazingly picturesque and clean nature, ecological tourism is rapidly developing in Karelia today. Lakes and rivers are one of the attractive features of the region. On 180,500 square kilometers of the republic’s total area there are more than 27,600 rivers, about 73,000 large and small water bodies, including the largest freshwater lakes in Europe - Onega and Ladoga. Due to the hilly terrain with separate huge boulders, elevated and flat rock formations, many channels form rapids and waterfalls in Karelia. And if you clarify that coniferous and mixed forests occupy 85% of the territory, you can imagine among what beauties the lakes stretch and the region’s full-flowing rivers with their numerous cascades and bustling streams.
A small list with photographs of the most famous freshwater objects of the Karelian Republic offers a brief description of them.
Kumi Threshold
A fourteen meter high flowing stream takes the first place among the plain waterfalls of Karelia and the third in Europe. It may be the most stunning in the republic, but few travelers can appreciate its beauty. Located not far from the Finnish border, this part of the Voynitsa River is located in a colorful forest environment, but in an incredible wilderness, which is not easy to reach. At 27 km from the property, Voynitsa is found - a village with 20 inhabitants, where there is no bus service. Buses run only to Kalevala, which is 80 km from Kumi. Therefore, you can get to the waterfall only by car. The Kumi threshold is especially expressive during the May and June floods, when its roar spreads around the district for several kilometers.
Kivach waterfall
In Karelia and beyond its borders, is it the most famous, but does not stand out by its maximum height? nor extraordinary magnificence. However, this stream with a ten-meter difference is swift, which is what its name means in translation from Finnish (kiivas). By value, the waterfall is considered the second after the Rhine. Once Kiach was slightly inferior to the Swiss counterpart in power, but after the construction of the Cascade of the Suna power plants in 1964 and a partial drainage of water, the waterfall lost its former impressiveness. This attraction is located near Petrozavodsk (60 km) in the middle of one of the oldest Russian reserves, named, like the waterfall, “Kivach”.
A ten-meter drop and diabase ledges along the 170 m of the Suna River form a waterfall divided by a rock into two streams. The left secondary stream is divided into separate jets, and the right, main one, tends down four steps, the height of the last of which reaches eight meters. Kivach waterfall, the arboretum located near it and the Museum of Nature are excursion objects of the reserve forming a survey complex.
Yukankoski
This is the Finnish name for the most beautiful group of waterfalls in Karelia. Local residents called it white bridges in the 70s of the last century because of the white stone bridges built by the Finns above the Kulismajoki River, and from which there are now only ruins. The river divided by the island forms two branches, flowing at a distance of thirty meters from each other. The left stream flows in a stepped cascade with an 11-meter differential. The sheer waterfall of the right sleeve is overthrown from an 18-meter height, and is recognized by many as one of the most picturesque spectacles of Karelia. White Bridges - the highest waterfall of the Northern Ladoga.
Kivakkakoski and Mäntyukoski
In the Paanajärvi National Park, which is located in the very north of the Karelian Republic, you can see many natural wonders. Two waterfalls can be called real treasures of this area. Kivakkakoski is formed from the three branches of the Olanga River, which, when combined, collapse in a roaring cascade along a slope with a twelve meter drop. Looking at this power, it is difficult to tear your eyes away from the rapid movement of water and the marble-like pattern formed by the seething water.
The Karelia Mäntyukoski waterfall, which is located in the same park, can only be reached by boat through Lake Paanajärvi, which in dangerous weather becomes dangerous due to high waves. But it's worth seeing this beauty. Five rocky steps create picturesque cascades and break the narrow river Mäntyukoski into numerous streams and streams, whitish from the rapid movement. This is not the fastest and highest stream recognized as one of the most romantic cascades of Karelia.
Ruskeala
This is an artificial reservoir on the site of a flooded quarry, which is located near the village of Ruskeala. Marble in quarries began to be mined here under Catherine II and completed production at the end of the last century. And since 1998, a huge pit flooded with groundwater has been turned into a mountain park, which is a point of the domestic and international route.
The steep walls of the quarry descend to the most transparent water viewed up to 18 m. Rocks are pierced by flooded grottoes and caves, which were once adits. Leaving the vehicle in a well-maintained parking lot, you can rent a boat, and there will be enough hours to see the lake beauty and take wonderful photos from the bottom of the pond. Breathtaking views open from the observation platforms of a hiking trail that encircles the perimeter of the lake at the top of the cliffs. If you turn off the tourist route a bit, you can find interesting objects, for example, abandoned adits, flooded caves or marble deposits. Since the rivers do not flow into the lake of the marble quarry of Karelia, there are no waterfalls for this reason.
Thohmayoki Thresholds
Nevertheless, the vicinity of the mountain park is known for small, but very colorful cascades and stormy streams. Having visited this corner of Karelia, the Ruskealu marble quarry and waterfalls should certainly be included in a single route. The banks and channel of the small river Tohmajoki near the settlement of Ruskeala are exceptionally rocky with many rocky ledges and single blocks. Here in several places, with three to four meter drops, water flows with noise between randomly located obstacles.
One of the waterfalls and coastal places of Tohmajoki participated as the scenery of the film "And the dawns here are quiet." So that tourists can comfortably observe this beauty, observation platforms are landscaped here. And at a distance of about one kilometer, you can see a more spectacular spectacle - the Ryumyakoski Falls, which are almost sheer, seven meters high, with a collapsing Finnish power station of the 30s of the last century.
Other rapids
It should be noted that many waterfalls of Karelia in the second part of their name contain the Finnish word koski, which means "river threshold". There are many such steps on the Karelian rivers. They may not be as significant and grandiose as the ones listed above, but no less picturesque. Dyugakoski is one of them. This is a series of rapids and small waterfalls of the canyon formed by the narrow Kollasjoki River. Its width in some places reaches two meters, and the height of the walls of the gorge does not exceed 15 m. The height of the two largest waterfalls is 2.5 and 3 meters. The place is notably picturesque landscape.
Koyrinoya - the name of the village and two waterfalls, which, in turn, are also called Upper and Lower. Both of them are low, five and four meters, but they are extremely beautiful, they are easily accessible by road and rail.
The amazing nature of Karelia attracts more and more adherents of "green tourism" every year. Rafting on boats in kayaks is a special sport for which full-flowing, fast-moving and in many places dangerous rivers of the republic are perfectly suited. Those who prefer to travel by land, use the services of regional buses, follow the routes in their own cars, sometimes hire local residents as a guide and driver.