10 most beautiful places in Karelia

The capital and largest city of Karelia (home to just under 300,000 people) is famous for one of the most remarkable embankments in Russia. The embankment of Lake Onega is decorated with installations by contemporary artists from all over the world. And the sunsets here are just incredible.

A few years ago, these abandoned marble quarries were turned into a park. Marble has been mined here since the 18th century. Ruskeala marble was used in the decoration of St. Isaac's Cathedral and Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, as well as the Primorskaya and Ladozhskaya metro stations.

A few years ago, these abandoned marble quarries were turned into a park. Marble has been mined here since the 18th century. Ruskeala marble was used in the decoration of St. Isaac's Cathedral and Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, as well as the Primorskaya and Ladozhskaya metro stations.

This waterfall occupies a prominent place in almost every tour in Karelia. It's impossible to miss. Kivach is translated from Finnish as "powerful, impetuous", which describes the waterfall on the Suna River very well. Kivach, 10.7 meters high, is the second largest flat waterfall in Europe after the Rhine Falls in Switzerland.

Girvas is not like any volcanoes we are used to. It looks like a rocky forest cut through by many lakes and dams. But in fact, it is a volcano, more precisely, a paleovolcano, as scientists would say. It died out over 2 billion years ago and is considered one of the oldest on the planet.

Pilgrims and tourists come here not only because of the religious history of the monastery, but also to take picturesque walks around the islands.

One of the most beautiful national parks in Russia is hundreds of islands, canals and bays hidden in dense Karelian forests. This is one of the most popular fishing and kayaking spots among tourists and locals.

These carvings on the stones - the messages of people who lived here 5000-7000 years ago - are considered one of the main mysteries of Karelia. They can be found throughout the region, but most of all in the area of the city of Belomorsk in the north of the republic. There are more than 2000 of them here, and new ones are opening all the time. They depict scenes from the daily life of the ancient inhabitants, from fishing to domestic scenes. There are even drawings of people on skis.

In the 1920s, in this ancient Karelian village on the shores of the White Sea, there was a transit prison for inmates of the Solovetsky camp. Only their foundations and a ruined pier remain today from the old buildings, although it still serves as a starting point for trips to Solovki.

This tiny village of only six people is included in the Association of the most beautiful villages in Russia and is considered one of the main attractions of Karelia. Kinerma has preserved the historical appearance of an old Karelian village with real wooden houses of the 17th and 18th centuries.