In South Karelia near the town of Sortavala villages near Ruskeala is a colorful embossed marble quarries. To date, only a small part of these quarries used for the extraction of marble and its production, and the remaining parcels until recently was in total disrepair or were flooded.

Natural Park Ruskeala is a clear example of the transformation from an abandoned and disused quarry in the mining Museum under the open sky. Heart mountain Park – marble valley, not only a cultural landmark, but also a reminder of the immense labor of the peoples that fought their craft for the extraction of marble, built a whole system of mining shafts and adits analogues not found in the Old World.

Marble the history of the village Ruskeala originates in 1766. During this year opened its first field of marble. Very soon in the region began to extract marble varieties such as: white streaked with gray, ash-gray, white-gray-blue and gray-green. First extracted marble is used locally, mainly for the production of lime. And only by special decree of Catherine II, quarrying started in full. Many beautiful architectural structures (Orlov gates of Tsarskoye Selo, Roman fountains of Peterhof, the window frames Marble and window boards Winter palaces, pillars of the Gatchina Palace, the facade of the Mikhailovsky castle, the Chesma obelisk, the Kazan Cathedral, the pedestal of the monument to Peter the great) in the Northern capital was used Ruskeala marble. As the crown of creation of the Ruskeala marble was Isaac's Cathedral. Itself Auguste Montferrand, the celebrated architect, visited the quarries and personally selected the most durable and beautiful marble.

The extraction was carried out directly in open-pit mines and tunnels that led to the formation of three quarries along the river. Flooded career to date represent a lake, over which hang a marble rock. Water in these lakes is beyond any description, emerald color.

However, since 1840 the development of the marble begins to reduce speed, and after Isaac's Cathedral was built, completely stalled. State orders became fewer. If work was carried out, again for local purposes and for lime production. Currently the combination of rich history, a rocky man-made monuments and beautiful nature make the marble canyon are amazing and attractive tourist destination.

"Mountain Park Ruskeala", inaugurated in 2005, has impressive size, the height of the rocks reaches 22 meters, the depth of the submerged part of the more than 30 meters. In good weather, the water transparency reaches up to 15 meters. The color of the water in quarries can range from grey to green.

The Park is well equipped and prepared to discover! In addition to the traditional land route, you can try and water. Before heading out for an adventure, all the tourists are divided into groups of no more than 20 people. This is done primarily for safety, as part of the route runs along the cliffs and the guide must watch for every person. Walking route includes a walk equipped with special viewing platforms, from which you can observe not only abandoned tunnels, ruins of factories and mines, but also, of course, wonderful scenic views. To avoid accidents tourists are not allowed to approach close to dangerous places mines. The total length of the route is 1.3 km, and it takes 1.5-2 hours.

During the boat tour you will have the opportunity to boating on Marble lake, situated in an amazingly beautiful story of the canyon. Also visit the secret marble grotto, to get to that only by boat. On arrival at the site you can go ashore and visit the gallery. The incredible beauty of the picture is to appear before the eyes in the grotto - overhanging the water marble a thickness of 20 meters. The whole tour will take about 2 hours.

Whichever route You choose, be assured that you will receive your portion of unique experiences. And how much would You never came back, every time You are waiting for the opening of the new and unknown.