Where is the Republic of Karelia?

One of the world`s least known beauty spots, the Republic of Karelia located in the northwest of Russia. It stretches from the White Sea coast to the Gulf of Finland. The capital city, Petrozavodsk, is 430 km away from St. Petersburg and 1000 km away from Moscow. The western border of the Republic of Karelia is the state border between Russia and Finland. Once its a boarder area, the requests for filming in Karelia should be submitted ahead of time. For more information please drop us an email.

Nature of Karelia

Karelia is often called `a land of Thousand Lakes`, but it's actually an understatement: there are about 60 thousand lakes here. The size of them is varies from the largest lakes in Europe (Ladoga and Onega) to small forest lakes. 25% of Karelia`s territory is covered with water (apart from the lakes, there are 27 thousand rivers and more than 100 waterfalls here), and 50% with forests, which makes the Republic of Karelia perfect place for ecotourism. About one million hectares of Karelia`s land are specially protected natural sites, including 3 national parks, 2 nature reserves and 1 nature park. The best time to visit Karelia is definitely summer, the time of amazing northern white nights.

Lake Ladoga

Ladoga is the largest freshwater lake in Europe. As many as 500 islands are situated in it. The most famous is Valaam Island with male Orthodox Transfiguration monastery, which was founded in the 14thcentury.

Lake Onega

Lake Onega, Europe`s second largest lake, is famous by its breathtaking landscapes. There are even more islands here than in lake Ladoga: 1650, including Kizhi, an open air museum of wooden architecture and UNESCO World cultural and natural heritage on the eastern shores of Onega archaeologists have found more than 600 rock drawings of the Neolithic era.

Kivach nature reserve

This nature reserve is called Karelia in miniature, because you can find all features of the Karelian landscapes here: lakes and rivers, old-growth evergreen forests, rocks. The most famous attraction is Kivach Waterfalls on the Suna River: not very big (11 meters only) but beautiful. The other Karelia`s nature reserve, Kostomuksha, is also renowned for its gorgeous landscapes.