Rafting on the rivers of Karelia means “trips on water” and excursions full of adventures. It can be short weekend tours and multi-day trips. Types of alloy are also different. This is rafting, a boat trip on a catamaran or kayak, and it happens that tourists use different means of their own making, such as home-made rafts. Who can take part in such tours? Brief rafting like rafting is available to almost everyone, and long trips are loved by active people, accustomed to not be afraid of difficulties and enjoy obstacles. We will try to provide the features of such excursions, the necessary information and the best routes below.
Karelia, river rafting. Features
To participate in most water trekking routes , you can be a normal city dweller in every way. No special preparation needed. But, of course, some safety rules should be followed. In addition, you need to be prepared to endure certain difficulties and discomfort. Overnight during such trips, usually in the field, in tents and sleeping bags, cooked around the campfire. Although on some routes there are camp sites where you can eat a hot lunch or dinner and take a shower. You can take your own sleeping bags, tents and other camping accessories, and if you don’t have such things, then all this good will be rented to you. Three meals a day are included in the price of such trips. Tour operators organize rafting, who send experienced instructors with travelers who have participated in rafting on rivers more than once. Karelia can provide everyone with different options for the complexity of such trips. Some routes are quite feasible for children, but there are those where they take only extremals and experienced rafters. Before each trip, instructors conduct special short courses on the management of rafts, kayaks or other means.
Routes
River rafting (Karelia) can be of varying lengths and complexity. For example, rafting day trips are popular. They last two to three hours. Often they are practiced on the Shuya River. The most popular routes are three days. Beginners usually prefer hiking in Shuya, since this river is the most full-flowing and easiest to overcome the rapids. Nevertheless, visiting it, you will see all the classic beauty of Karelia. And the longest routes are designed for 11-12 days. Those who go there are not sorry for the time and effort to see the most beautiful lakes, overcome turbulent rivers (for example, “ride” 60 kilometers along Vonge or 110 along Pista) and then swim along the White Sea. On the way, as a rule, there are many thresholds. They are complex, but quite safe. Thresholds are combined, extended, cascading, and they must be treated carefully. In addition to short and long trips, there are many other routes. The most interesting of them we will describe below. Usually they are planned so that tourists have the opportunity not only to "swallow" adrenaline, but also relax on the beautiful sandy beaches, almost untouched by man, go fishing among the reeds, admire the lakes and other beautiful landscapes, and even pick mushrooms and berries in a pine forest.
What time is better to organize rafting on the rivers of Karelia
These places are most suitable for water trips in late spring. When snow melts at the end of April, the small Karelian rivers suddenly turn into huge stormy streams. Traveling along them is not only pleasant, but also safe. Therefore, the best month to organize rafting on the river in Karelia is May. And really, than gathering for a barbecue picnic with boredom, isn’t it better to ride on vices and kayaks on vices and rapids, especially since high water will give you the opportunity to do this without unnecessary effort? Both experienced tourists and beginners try not to miss such a chance. No wonder the May holidays are a time when lovers of rafting on the rivers of Karelia vying with each other flock to calm Shuya, treacherous Uksu or stormy Tokhma. You can limit this excursion to two or three days, or you can stretch it for the entire first half of May. It depends on what means and time you have. However, the May rafting requires attention and caution. Rough waters can overturn a kayak or raft, and the temperature at this time is low. Therefore, it is better to have a wetsuit, a splash-proof jacket and pants, as well as a warm sleeping bag.
Uksa
This trip is often an extreme tour. Therefore, only adults, at least tourists older than 16 years, are often taken there. This is a river where you get an excess of adrenaline. Rafting on the Uksa River (Karelia) is available only in late spring and early summer. The fact is that with the onset of heat, the water level drops sharply and travel becomes impossible. The length of the route is about forty kilometers. Most often, groups leave from the bridge across the river. Tourists have many steep rapids on their way - Mostovaya, Staircase, Kolokoski, Saucer, Salmon, Pink Elephant, Mill and others. It takes two or three days to get through all these breathtaking water cliffs. The campaign ends at the camp "Three Elements".
Red
This river does not like beginners. She prefers experienced tourists. Rafting along the Krasnenkaya River (Karelia) is often combined with traveling along other water streams - mainly Kutsayoki and Tumche. Such trips are most often made in the summer. They conquer these rivers on catamarans, less often on kayaks. In this campaign, severe northern beauty opens. You will see powerful waterfalls and impregnable cliffs, and a trip through the vices of Krasnenkaya will make you feel like real heroes, the winners of the seething elements. Here there are sections of the 5th category of complexity. Of particular interest are the rapids Kamenisty, Ostrovnoy, Leap, Caucasian. No wonder Krasnenkaya is often compared with the Altai Bashkaus. During this rafting, tourists visit the blue of Lake Pyhäjärvi. The trip lasts a week or more, and the route ends on the most beautiful reservoir of Ivovsky in Karelia.
Whitefish
This river is rather shallow. Its length is about 55 kilometers. Sports rafting on the Sig river (Karelia), as a rule, is not practiced. But here is a good fishing. The places along which this river flows are sparsely populated. Only recently has it begun to attract the attention of tourists and lovers of rafting. The rapids are quite complex, but the lakes and shores are extremely picturesque. Tourists recommend kayaking on this river in May-June, because it is then that floods occur. Whitefish flows into the White Sea. But you can go out on a kayak only in the presence of high water. The fact is that it flows into the sea in steps. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome the thresholds to the very end. And the last rifts will lead you actually to the sea.
Keret
Many water trips are famous for Karelia. The Keret River, the rafting of which is considered the most popular among tourists, is one of the most interesting. This route most often runs in the summer and autumn. The name of the river comes from the Sami word, which in translation means "mountain peak". The length of the route is 120 kilometers. It starts from Lake Varlamovo. They overcome it on catamarans and rafts with a motor, as well as kayaks. During the trip, there are many rapids from 400 meters to 3 km. But since there is a lot of calm water between them, all these sections pass under the motor. This is Lake Bezymyannoye, Crooked, Varatsky. It is on this journey that tourists can not only prove themselves, but also admire the fabulous nature of forest Karelia. And the campaign ends, as a rule, with access to the White Sea and a visit to its islands. Good fishing is often organized there. Rest on the White Sea on the islands of Keret and Oleniy is especially good. This rafting lasts from 3 to 7-8 days, depending on how much time the tourists have.
Pisto
One of the most interesting routes where all the charms of Karelia (rafting) are combined is rafting along the border zone. There flows the Pisto River, which originates in Finland. Here, too, there are practically no cities or villages, and the area is ecologically clean. The route along this river has a length of 85 kilometers, and along the way there are 25-30 rapids. Although this direction is more complicated than other similar trips in Carrelia, both extreme people and beginners make a trip along this water stream. The latter use rafts with a motor. Since the rafting takes place in remote and inaccessible places, instructors have satellite communications, the necessary facilities for medical care, and even a portable bath. A photo session in the most beautiful places is provided. Such a trip takes 9-10 days.
Reviews
When tourists describe the experience of rafting on the rivers of Karelia, they primarily recall the forests from the harsh and mysterious northern nature, the splash of water or its whirling, rest around the campfire after a tiring day of trekking, fried fish or fresh fish soup. Romance, the opportunity to plunge into a forgotten sense of relaxation from the hustle and bustle, a touch of pristine nature - all this delights travelers who have visited rafting. They are full of impressions of the beauties of Karelia. Some reviews compare water trips in the north and central parts of Russia. Tourists write that they chose the rafting route not only in Karelia. The Senga River (a tributary of the Klyazma), for example, is also not bad for water trips on May holidays. But it is more flat and intended for a short rest.