Discover Suoyarvsky District: Nature and Culture

• The Tolvoyarvi State Landscape Reserve of regional significance is located in Suoyarvsky District, in the Loimola rural settlement and in the vicinity of Tolvoyarvi settlement.
• Its terrain is gently hilly and undulating, with numerous extensive eskers and marshy areas. Marshland accounts for 10 to 45 percent of the area.
• The Tolvoyoki River in the reserve has rapids and a waterfall.
• The Veshkelyus Ethnocultural Center offers themed excursions through Veshkelitsa and the surrounding area.

The reserve combines gently hilly, undulating terrain with numerous extensive eskers. Eskers are long, narrow ridges. There are also marshy areas, which account for 10 to 45 percent of the reserve, depending on the area measured. This range is a distinctive feature of the landscape and helps describe Tolvoyarvi through more than just individual viewpoints or a watercourse.

The Tolvoyoki River is also part of this natural landscape: it has rapids and a waterfall. The reserve therefore features both landforms and wetlands, as well as a prominent water-related element. When weighing nature themes for your trip, you can consider these features as different aspects of the landscape reserve without combining them into a specific route or itinerary.

The Veshkelyus Ethnocultural Center offers themed excursions through Veshkelitsa and the surrounding area. This provides a different way to experience the region than the landscape themes of Tolvoyarvi: here, the settlement itself is the focus. Before planning, check with the center to find out which excursions are currently available.

Workshop topics include clay modeling, willow weaving, painting, and weaving. You should also contact the center directly to ask which workshops are available on your dates. In addition, the Veshkelitsa folk ensemble performs songs in Karelian and Finnish; it is also advisable to check in advance whether performances are available. This lets you distinguish between a themed tour, craft activities, and music, rather than treating these different cultural offerings as the same experience.

As a broader travel destination, the Republic of Karelia offers additional nature and culture themes that should be considered separately from Suoyarvsky District. At Kivach Nature Reserve, an overview excursion includes an outdoor walk to Kivach Waterfall, as well as visits to the dendrological collection and the natural history museum. A 1,000-meter circular trail runs through a forested area on the banks of the Suna near the excursion area; the excursion lasts 1 to 1.5 hours.

Another cultural highlight of the Republic of Karelia is the Kizhi Museum Reserve. It displays 89 monuments of traditional wooden architecture in the open air, including chapels, houses, mills, granaries, threshing barns, and drying racks. Visitors can view the interior of the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God and peasant houses; traditional rural crafts are demonstrated inside the houses.

The Onega and White Sea Petroglyphs World Heritage site in the Republic of Karelia includes 4,500 Neolithic rock carvings. More than 1,200 figures are among the Onega petroglyphs in Pudozhsky District. The White Sea petroglyphs mainly depict hunting and sailing scenes and related equipment, as well as animal and human footprints. These examples broaden the region’s appeal to include archaeological heritage, while the center in Veshkelitsa offers local cultural activities in Suoyarvsky District.

In the district, you can choose between the Tolvoyarvi Landscape Reserve and cultural activities in Veshkelitsa as distinct themes. Kivach, Kizhi, and the petroglyphs, on the other hand, are examples from the broader travel destination of the Republic of Karelia.

Discover more destinations: Belomorskiy District, Sortavala City, Belomorsky District, Medvezhyegorsky District, Pudozhsky District, Medvezhyegorskiy District, Pitkyarantskiy District, Segezhsky District.

What landscape features does the Tolvoyarvi reserve have?

The reserve has gently hilly, undulating terrain with numerous extensive eskers. Marshland accounts for 10 to 45 percent of its area. The Tolvoyoki River has rapids and a waterfall.

What cultural activities are available in Veshkelitsa?

The Veshkelyus Center offers themed excursions through Veshkelitsa and the surrounding area. Workshop topics include clay modeling, willow weaving, painting, and weaving. The Veshkelitsa folk ensemble performs songs in Karelian and Finnish. Check in advance to find out what is currently available.

How long does an excursion on the circular trail at Kivach Nature Reserve take?

In the broader travel destination of the Republic of Karelia, the excursion on the 1,000-meter circular trail along the banks of the Suna takes 1 to 1.5 hours. The trail runs near the reserve’s excursion area.

Go to the broader travel overview: Republic of Karelia.