Paanajarvi National Park is a place where time slows down

How long have you had a desire to escape to nature? To a place as far away from the hustle and bustle of the city as possible. There are few such places left in the modern world. One of them will be discussed below.

Everyone has heard about the Republic of Karelia and its most popular attractions, but not everyone knows the place with the Finnish name Paanayarvi - a specially protected park in the very north of the republic, in the Loukhsky district, where the population density is 0.57 people /km2. There is no cellular connection in the park. Here a person is left alone with nature, which gives a rather unusual feeling, which is complemented by the lack of electricity and running water, but about everything in order.

The park was opened to the public in 1992. Until that time, the territory of 103 thousand hectares was closed and was under the supervision of border guards, which allowed preserving the pristine beauty of these places. To date, the park receives a limited number of visitors for several reasons.

Firstly, the tourist area is equipped with a small number of residential houses, and the territory allocated for tent camps also has its limits. Thus, a limited number of guests can be in the park at the same time. According to expert estimates, no more than 200 people per 5 thousand hectares. So it is necessary to book a time and place in advance, and practice shows that it is better to make a choice 3-4 months before the trip.

Secondly, not everyone is ready to spend their vacation away from civilization. The nearest grocery store is located in the village of Pyaozersky, 70 km from the checkpoint, but given the quality of the road, it will take 4 hours for one trip, so it is better to bring a full set of products for the entire period of stay with you. In addition, the assortment in the store is very modest.

Thirdly, the poor-quality road leading to the park. After turning from the village of Louhi, the real test for the suspension of your car will begin. The road has its own characteristics, for example, in some areas there are tree trunks lying across, high stones sticking out of the ground, and sometimes stumps. You need to be extremely careful in such areas, especially if you are not driving an SUV.

One of the interesting features of the park is that quite a large number of Finns rest here, although they also have their own Oulanka Park bordering Paanajarvi. It would seem, why would Finns come to Russia and live in such conditions? The fact is that the territory of the Oulanka Park is too ennobled and Finns, tired of civilization, want a greater rapprochement with nature. And although there are many wild places in the Russian hinterland, Paanayarvi is closest to the Finns. As the park staff say: "In Oulanka [from frequent touches], all the stones are polished."

The guest houses are quite cozy and cute. They are log cabins with a capacity of 3 to 20 people. Inside each house there is a stove-stove. Bed linen is provided upon registration at the park's visitor center. The food is cooked on a bonfire, for which you first need to chop wood.

The "round logs" are located in the firewood boxes next to the houses — the park administration provides guests with the necessary amount of firewood and other equipment, including dishes. The water supply in the park is "natural", as there are a great many rivers and rivulets in Karelia. They also did not deprive the territory of the park. So water for drinking and cooking can be taken from a nearby river. Near each tourist camp there is an equipped access to the river for water intake.

As for cleanliness and hygiene, this was also taken care of: each residential house has its own toilet attached. There is also a sauna - either one for a house, or one for two houses. After you have brought water, chopped firewood, cooked food and refreshed yourself, you can devote time to numerous entertainments. Let's list the most interesting sights.

The lake of the same name is 21.5 km long and with a maximum width of 1.5 km (the greatest depth is 128 m). A tourist route passes through the lake to the old village, from which only the foundation of the school and a few logs of the watermill have been preserved. The village consisted of several farms and in its heyday had about 700 inhabitants. It had its own police station, 3 schools, a post office, a hut for the sick, several shops, a bank branch and ceased to exist in 1944. Now this place is interesting because there is a picturesque waterfall Myantyukoski.

There are two ways for tourists to get to Myantyukoski. The first, the most interesting (and the only one before the opening of the tourist season) is a boat rental and an independent trip. The second is on a common boat with a capacity of 20-30 people.

Not far from the waterfall there is another of the attractions - the Red Rock, or Ruskeakallio (the effect of red rocks is achieved due to stones overgrown with orange lichen). The Kumzhi route also passes through the lake. This fish from the salmon family belongs to noble breeds and is listed in the Red Book. Finns coming to Paanayarvi, be sure to try to catch at least one such fish. Their goal is simple - a photo for memory. After that, the fish is usually released. The locals say that it's not so easy to catch a trout.

After a rather difficult trip on the lake and a walk to the waterfall, you can take a break and refresh yourself. A fire in the park is allowed to be lit only in strictly designated places. They have everything you need for a halt: a woodpile with firewood, an axe, an equipped fire pit, a gazebo with a table in case of rain.

It is considered the highest in Karelia (576 meters). From the top there is a view of a significant part of Karelia and a thin "strip" of Finland. There is a rich flora at the top, and to climb it, you need to walk 21 km, and only in one direction!

The steep ascent begins only at the end of the way, but most of the route runs through swamps, swamps, streams and forests infested with mosquitoes.

Experienced travelers are advised to take rubber boots with you, but it is difficult to walk such a distance in rubber boots, so you need to change your shoes. Needless to say, there are much fewer guests on this route than there are visitors in the more equipped parts of the park. Not everyone will agree to such a test.

In winter, you can climb the mountain on a snowmobile - experienced employees will take you to the top with a breeze.

But if you decide on an independent "feat", then you should not move away from the trail further than 5 meters, otherwise there is a chance of easily losing it. The path is so narrow and so it merges with the monotonous landscape. Lonely travelers should be especially careful.

The park workers have a fresh story on their mind about a lost tourist from Moscow: a man decided to walk alone to the top, and in the end he was found a few days later, but he was already in a less optimistic mood than before the hike.

However, at the base of the mountain there is an equipped parking place and a tent camp. It is suitable for those who decided to stretch the pleasure and take a walk for two days.

There are several seids at the top, but this one is the most pronounced.

It is located on the Olanga River. It is a series of rapids stretching for a length of about 100 meters. With a total drop height of about 12 meters, Kivakkakoski is considered the largest unregulated waterfall in Karelia.

The stream of boiling water is so noisy that it can be heard for a couple of kilometers, and so powerful that a huge amount of fine spray hovers over it in the form of a cloud, so that in sunny weather you can almost always see a rainbow over the waterfall.

During spawning, the trout rises against the current of the Olanga, so if you carefully look into the streams of water, you can become a happy witness to the scene when the fish, emerging from the bubbling stream, tries to overcome the force of the waterfall. The energy of the water here is so powerful that even after a couple of hours on the shore, you don't want to leave here at all.

Mount Kivakka

The third largest mountain in Karelia is 499.5 meters high. Translated from Finnish, its name means "Stone Woman". This is a place that offers a breathtaking view of Pyaozero. Kivakki Peak is more accessible than the top of Mount Nuorunen.

The path to the top is about 4.5 km and includes places to relax. Kivakka is included in most of the tourist routes that are mandatory to visit.

This is a truly peaceful place, which, according to the locals, has a "white" energy (unlike Mount Vottovaara, which the locals associate with dark forces).

On Kivakka, as well as on other Karelian mountains, there are seids — huge boulders mounted on small stones-"stands".

Small pebbles are arranged in such a way that they allow the main boulder to remain stable for many hundreds of years.

The age of these structures is so great that it is now very difficult to determine their meaning and purpose. There is still no consensus on what all this was created for. There is an assumption that the Sami (the ancient inhabitants of Karelia, engaged in fishing and hunting) put seids on the high shores of seas and lakes so that they could be seen from afar.

Among the Sami, it was not the stone itself that mattered, but the deity living in it, helping in crafts. It was assumed that the souls of deceased ancestors inhabit the stones. The Seyds were sacrificed. As a rule, these were the tails or heads of fish. Women were not allowed to the seids, and men approached the stones on their knees.

Stones that resembled a man in shape were especially revered. For example, does this one look like an old lady?! Perhaps, in honor of this old lady, the Finns called the mountain "Stone Woman".

The surface of the mountain, like everything in Karelia, covered with swamps. Swamps on the top of the mountain are called hanging. There are quite a lot of them on the flat peaks of the local mountains.

Nevertheless, some tourists come to these places from year to year for the sake of communicating with such "friends".

Having already driven away from the borders of the park for several tens of kilometers, I suddenly realized that there was a pause in the car, everyone was under a strong impression of what they saw, replaying in memory those, unfortunately short-lived, moments of being in the arms of hospitable Karelian nature.