Karelia has got thousands of rivers on its territory.
This fact gives a lot of opportunities for rafting tours in Karelia. There are rivers with rapids of different categotires,
so even experienced travellers will find something to their liking.
The peculiarity of the rapids on Karelian rivers is that they go in combination with placid water and lakes.
And this gives plentiful opportunities for fishing, swimming, wild life observing, as well as for hiking in the forest
(rivers usually flow through the forest terrain). Water is relatively warm (June-July average temperature: +18-20 C,
up to +24C, August: +16-18 C), which is why there is no need in using floating suits. Rafting tours usually start at the end of May.
The warmest months are July and early August.
The most popular and famous river is Shuya. It is located not far from Petrozavodsk so getting to the
starting point of the river is easy and not so expensive. Its total length is 265 km. All in all there are
30 rapids on the river. Most of them are easy. Kayakers like to train on interesting rapids. The river flows into Lake Onego.
The Okhta River is located in the northern part of Karelia and is a feeder of the Kem River which flows into
the White Sea.
It has several exciting rapids even for experienced rafters; the most famous one is the rapid Kiviristi.
Groups of beginners usually pass this rapid by land. The river forms about 10 small and medium-sized lakes so it involves
significant rowing (of course if the raft does not have an engine). The river suits not only for rafting but also for kayaking.
The river Chirka-Kem is located in the central part of the Northern Karelia. Due to the relief of the area the river has
got plenty of irregularities. The total length of the river is 180 km. The Chirka-Kem River is fast, though the rapids are seperated by quiet waters.
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