The Kostomuksha Nature Reserve is a Karelian part of the Russian-Finnish Friendship Nature Reserve. Visiting it you'll have an opportunity to see the virgin nature glorified in the world-famous runes of the Karelian-Finnish epos "Kalevala", collected and written down by Elias Loennroth. There are numerous lakes, Kiitehenjarvi beeing the largest among them with sinuate shores and uncountable large and small islands. Surrounded by primarily dense spruce and pine forests many hundred years of age and rare meadows that have appeared on the places of abandoned Karelian villages - it is very picturesque. The Kamennaya river, flowing from the lake is rapid in the upper reaches and, on contrary, in the lower reaches it is slowly twisting between sandy hills.
The water reservoirs abound with pike, white fish, greyling and the Kamennaya river is a spawning ground of salmon. Almost every year there are large crops of all northern berries: billberry (blueberry), lingonberry, bog billberry, cranberry and clowdberry. The fauna is typical of the taiga forests and you'll have a chanse of encounter with brown bear, elk (moose) or forest subspecies of wild reindeer.
You'll have hiking and boat trips in summer and ski trips in winter.
Visits to the Kostomuksha Nature Reserve can be combined with the trips to the parts of the reserve in Finland - to the Friendship Park.
There is a little hostel "Kulkuri" near park office, where accommodation can be arranged in a reasonable price (30 FIM 28th June 1997) while staying in Kostamuksha. This hostel and the park headquartes (and the whole Kostamuksha city, in fact) is so close to the Reserve that one can walk or ski there so transportation is not always needed.
The Kostamus Nature Reserve welcomes tourists from all countries to visit
the Reserve and to help maintain it. Income created by responsible eco-tourists
is urgently needed.
For further information please contact:
Boris Kashevarov
Lenin str., 9-6
186989 Kostomuksha
Karelia, RUSSIA
Phone: +7-814-59-21872
email:root@zapovednic.goc.karelia.su
(email was not in use 28th June 1997, but maybe again later when another
address is obtained)
Another contact if one wish to visit Kostamuksha Nature Reserve:
Director Zakharov is working closely with the Nature Reserve and as far as I was told the Reserve benefits from tours organized by this company. They can arrange sightseeing, hiking, fishing, hunting, canoeing and rafting in the park and in other areas depending on the kind of activity and wishes. Transportation from Kuhmo or from Vartius (border crossing station) can be arranged.
One option for a tour arranged by this company is a combined hiking and canoeing tour from Kivijarvi (the biggest lake), old Akonlahti village continuing accross Kivijarvi lake to the Kivijoki-river and down along the river through the Reserve. There are several small rapids along the way and the tour will finish to the road where travellers and canoes can be transported back to the town.
This page was updated 29th June 1997 by Mpe