There is a sure way to “pump” your personal Instagram – post a photo from Karelia. All likes will be yours – the editor-in-chief of Psychologies Natalya Babintseva checked this on her own experience. And, according to her, this is the most psychotherapeutic region of those where she happened to be.
This trip was work on myself. Training for Psychologies readers – psychologist Olga Agafonova’s program “Love yourself and become happy” – a week spent only on yourself. And what a perfect place we chose!
To be in Karelia is in itself to get into the therapy of nature, it heals with color, light and sound. At one time, Kuindzhi, Roerich, Shishkin worked here. And now we seem to be inside one multidimensional picture.
household farm
There are many guests in the Ladozhskaya Usadba hotel complex on the shores of Lake Ladoga, but there seems to be no one. Here, as visitors say, there is “delicious air”, from which the townspeople are a little sleepy. You can drink water from the tap, you can communicate with squirrels and owls – Belenkaya, Chocolate and Cupcake. Why not animal therapy?
You can walk past the local church and helipad. In general, this place surprisingly combines comfort and naturalness, futuristic design and monumental materials – granite and brick. Spacious cottages in the “northern modern” style, full stuffing, including a dishwasher, and all this a few meters from the pristine Ladoga – Ladoga view.
There is a lot of entertainment for adults and children: wakeboards, paddle surf, mono-skiing, cheesecake rides, bowling, slot machines… But the main thing is the sauna complex with a large open-air tub and a special offer to plunge from the bridges into Lake Ladoga. At a water temperature of +6 ° C, the sensations, frankly, are unforgettable.
And it’s delicious here too. In the Ladoga restaurant, it is customary to start the day with the most tender egg Benedict with smoked salmon and prosecco. And then you want to come back here for dumplings from trout and pike perch or smoked whitefish fillet.
Mandatory program
From “Ladoga Manor” only 40 minutes by boat to the island of Valaam. In the monastery, everything is simple and beautiful: they conduct excursions, feed the monastery food, the choir sings for the guests. Special cats live on Valaam, relaxed, satisfied with themselves and all visitors.
Another island not to be missed is Kizhi, already on Lake Onega. 60 monuments of wooden architecture, among them the Church of the Transfiguration, the size of an 11-storey building, made without a single nail.
And the third must-have for tourists is the Ruskeala mountain park, a former marble quarry filled with fresh water. Views of incredible beauty from above, underground – a hall with fabulous lighting. I took a piece of this fairy tale with me in a black shungite stone.
What you need to know
The weather in Karelia changes several times a day. Just in case, take everything with you, both for the sun and for the rain. The legendary Karelian mosquitoes actually exist. But if you stay in a good hotel, they do not threaten you: the territory is treated from insects.
Try kalitki — the famous Karelian pies with thin dough and various fillings, from cottage cheese to potatoes.
Ask your guide to show you the places where the film “The Dawns Here Are Quiet” was filmed. When you touch Rostotsky’s painting so naturally, you just want to stand and be silent.