One day tour to Valaam

If you are tired of everyday routine and hustle and bustle of city life then it's high time you visited the holy island of Valaam. An excursion to the island will turn out a discovery for you, as it's so hard to imagine such a calm lifestyle not far from a crowded and noisy metropolis.

During a one-day tour to Valaam you will be familiarized with remarkable history of this place, which combines wild nature and the most important sacred sites. A hydrofoil trip is the fastest and most comfortable way to reach the island. Your trip will start at the bus trip to Priozersk, where a fast moving motorboat will be waiting for your excursion group at the quay. The way to Monastery cove takes about an hour, during which you can enjoy the scenery of Lake Ladoga, numerous islands and bushy vegetation.

Valaam’s nature is especially noteworthy. Many birds and animal species inhabiting the island are included into the Red List of Threatened species. Centuries-old trees and pristine rocks create an image of wild nature, preserved by miracles until today. According to UNESCO data, some picturesque places of Valaam island are regarded as the most beautiful in Europe.

The precise foundation date of the Valaam Monastery is unknown, though many historians suppose that it dates back to the end of the tenth century. During a one-day tour your guide will facilitate a look at the major sacred sites of Valaam. You will start exploring Valaam with a walking tour through Central Estate of Stavropegic Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. Later you will visit the major cathedral of the complex, storing holy relics of Saint Sergius and Herman to the present day as well as Valaam icon of the Mother of God.

An essential part of the excursion is the Valaam sketes (monastic communities) and you will have the opportunity to visit the most known ones: Voskresensky, Nikolsky, Gefsimansky and others.

The return trip will follow the same route, so that the tourists who have missed something can make up for it and enjoy travelling on the water while taking vivid commemorative pictures.