Marble walls
Above the water.
Андрей Бобровский — CC BY 3.0 · Ludvig14 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ludvig14 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bestalex — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vasyatka1 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Ruskeala Marble Canyon is an old flooded marble quarry in the forests of Karelia. Walls of grey and white marble drop into a clear green-blue lake, ringed by pine and birch, with old openings and caves cut into the rock. Marble was found here in 1765 and quarried from 1769. The main quarry runs 460 m from north to south, up to 100 m wide and more than 50 m deep, and the water is clear to 15–18 m. Its marble went into great buildings in Saint Petersburg, including Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral and the Marble Palace. You follow a trail around the rim between viewpoints, and some visitors rent small boats to go out on the water beneath the walls. A tourist train pulled by a steam locomotive has run from Sortavala since 2019. It is about 28 km in a straight line north of Sortavala. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia, and non-Russian bank cards may not work, so read the current advice before you plan.
Above the water.
Green and blue.
From Sortavala.
Ruskeala Mountain Park, near Sortavala, Republic of Karelia
By car or tourist train from Sortavala.
Yes, small boats are rented out.