Via Karelia (895 km/556 miles) and The Karelian Chuch Road (180 km/112 miles)
Via Karelia - Runon ja Rajan tie
The Via Karelia, ‘the Road of Poets and Borderlands', is the oldest tourist route in Finland. It starts at the Vaalimaa border crossing on the Finnish–Russian border and continues along the eastern border all the way to Salla in Lapland.
The road begins amidst the typical lake scenery of Southern Karelia, which gradually gives way to the hilly landscapes of Northern Karelia and Kainuu and eventually turns into the majestic fells of Lapland.
The Via Karelia winds its way across the birthplaces of Finland's national epic, Kalevala, where highways turn into unhurried side roads and the spacious lakeside views gradually become dark wilderness and the fells of Lapland. In Northern Karelia, the route is lined with signs of the area's strong Orthodox Christian tradition. The Via Karelia also offers many possibilities for outdoor holiday activities such as hill-climbing, wilderness hiking, conquering foaming rapids by boat, canoeing under the midnight sun, or picking wild mushrooms amid blazing autumn colours. The traditional dishes of the region – such as Karelian pastries and traditional sultsinas, or Lapland's cheese curd (Finnish ‘squeaky cheese') and sautéed reindeer – are delicacies not to be passed by. A multitude of restaurants, grocery stores, attractions, and accommodation services, all marked with the Via Karelia signboard, welcome the traveller. Route: Road 387 from Vaalimaa to Lappeenranta – highway 6 via Imatra to Kitee – road 486 to Tohmajärvi – highway 70 to Niirala – road 500 to Ilomantsi – road 522 to Lieksa – highway 73 to Nurmes – highway 75 to Kuhmo – road 912 via Lentiira to Suomussalmi – highway 5 / E63 via Kuusamo to Ruka – road 950 to Salla. KARELIAN CHURCH ROAD (180 km) The Via Karelia also connects with a route called the Karelian Church Road, an Orthodox Christian cultural tourism and pilgrimage route that features a rich variety of wooden churches, prayer rooms, and monasteries. The route runs from Hattuvaara in Ilomantsi to the Valamo monastery in Heinävesi. Its special feature is the ancient forest graveyards of Northern Karelia. What makes these cemeteries unique is that they have been retained in their completely natural state. Route: Road 522 from Hattuvaara to Ilomantsi – road 74 to Joensuu – highway 17 and highway 23 to the junction with road 477 departing to the left – road 476 from Latvalampi to Heinävesi.
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