Lake Ladoga ... This place invariably attracts thousands of tourists and guests of the northern capital from year to year. The question of how you can get to Lake Ladoga from St. Petersburg, how many kilometers you need to overcome, is of interest to many. Let's talk about this in our article.
Neva Sea
As you know, Lake Ladoga is the largest in Europe, and it is rightly called the sea. When you get to these places, you begin to truly understand the beauty and grandeur of this ancient lake with full, quite sea tides, steep storms, with a very deep and bottomless bottom. The ancient name of Ladoga is the Neva Sea. This is due to the proximity of the Neva, which originates in these waters. The area of Lake Ladoga together with the islands reaches a total of about 18 thousand square kilometers, the average depth is 50 meters.
Numerous islands are concentrated mainly in the north. Two large archipelago, Valaam and Mantsinsaari, are located in the central part of the lake. The water of this freshwater sea is weakly mineralized and transparent. During the harsh northern winter, the lake is covered with a layer of ice, which begins to thaw only by mid-late April near the southernmost shores. The sharp gusts of the north wind drive the un melted ice masses into the Neva. About how you can get to Lake Ladoga from St. Petersburg, a little further ...
North channel
The character of Ladoga is cool and unpredictable. Often the gales prevailing in one part of the lake-sea are replaced by almost complete calm in another. In calm and clear weather, in this mystical place you can see mirages - unknown islands floating in the haze above the water or the outlines of unknown ships disappearing in the morning fog ...
The history of these places goes back to ancient times. Around the 9th century, the waters of Ladoga began to plow the first ships that lay an ancient trade route, known as "from the Varangians to the Greeks." It was the first water channel linking the northern lands with the southern ones, Scandinavia with Byzantium, Southern Russia with Northern.
The Ladoga shores stretching for thousands of kilometers are inhabited by a few inhabitants. Here, mainly small old towns and villages are located. Priozersk, Novaya Ladoga, Sortavala, Shlisselburg ... From these names the north wind blows, coolness and immensity.
Way to Ladoga. The fastest and most convenient way
The first question that concerns all tourists arriving in the northern capital who have already managed to enjoy river boat rides and are slightly tired of the busy cultural life, visiting theater museums and evening promenades along Nevsky is how to get to Lake Ladoga from St. Petersburg? First of all, we note that you can get to Ladoga in various ways.
For lovers of long walks, you can recommend walking, but this, of course, is not suitable for everyone. By far, the most convenient way to cover a distance of about 60 km is by car. To learn about how to get by car from St. Petersburg to Lake Ladoga, you can read the numerous reviews of tourists or local residents who often visit these places.
Passing the numerous coastal villages along a rather old, but quite decent asphalt road, you can get to the nearest beach in about an hour. A wide sandy strip of the coast, bordered by tall ship pines, a shallow wave, slowly rushing ashore, a transparent depth of water and a fresh sea breeze. All this is our northern lake-sea!
By electric train from St. Petersburg
If you are guided by a map of highways, St. Petersburg and Lake Ladoga are separated by not so great a distance. What other way can I get from one point to another? There are, of course, other ways, for example, by rail. You can easily find out the timetable of passing trains, as well as make inquiries on how to get from St. Petersburg to Lake Ladoga by train, at the city station.
Having traveled a couple of hours on a suburban train, you find yourself at the terminal station on Lake Ladoga. Guests arriving at the platform are solemnly greeted by a local historical monument, a steam locomotive that witnessed the events of more than half a century ago, when the path from the northern capital to the rest of the country was cut off tightly by German occupiers. During the Second World War, the famous “Road of Life” passed along the ice of the lake, a way of saving many thousands of inhabitants of the besieged city. In commemoration of the meeting of the land and water parts of the "Road of Life", the memorial monument "Broken Ring" is installed.
Having decided on transport, do not delay the trip. Lake Ladoga is, of course, one of the pearls of Karelia, a place that everyone who has visited at least once in these northern latitudes should visit.