Heinävesi North

Valamo monastery

Valamo Monastery is a liv­ing cen­ter of Ortho­dox spir­i­tu­al life and cul­ture. It belongs to the Finnish Ortho­dox Church, which is an autonomous church under the juris­dic­tion of the Patri­ar­chate of Con­stan­tino­ple. Locat­ed in the pic­turesque sur­round­ings of Heinävesi, the monastery wel­comes vis­i­tors through­out the year. For con­tem­po­rary indi­vid­u­als, the tran­quil atmos­phere of the monastery and the sur­round­ing nature offer a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty for retreat away from the hus­tle and bus­tle of dai­ly life.

The monastery serves as the home of a com­mu­ni­ty of monks ded­i­cat­ed to their spir­i­tu­al pur­suits. For vis­i­tors, Valamo offers expe­ri­ences in an envi­ron­ment unpar­al­leled else­where. Many come to the monastery for qui­et con­tem­pla­tion and to par­tic­i­pate in its dai­ly litur­gi­cal life. Just as many come to relax in nature, spend time with fam­i­ly and friends, or learn new skills at Valamo Folk High School cours­es. The monastery is also a pop­u­lar venue for cel­e­bra­tions, meet­ings, and sem­i­nars.

Lintula monastery

Lin­tu­la Monastery is the only Ortho­dox con­vent in the Nordic coun­tries. Its sis­ter­hood is respon­si­ble for the pro­duc­tion of church can­dles for the Finnish Ortho­dox Church, engages in herb cul­ti­va­tion and pro­duc­tion, and con­ducts small-scale pub­lish­ing activ­i­ties. The monastery is open to tourists dur­ing the sum­mer, and guests are always wel­come to attend the church ser­vices.

At the monastery shop, you can pur­chase church can­dles, herbal prod­ucts, var­i­ous hand­i­crafts, art objects, and even stamps. Dur­ing the sum­mer sea­son, there is also a café avail­able, and guests can stay in the guest­house in either sin­gle, dou­ble, or triple rooms.

The monastery also has its own online store.

Karvio canal

In the ambiance of Karvio Canal, ser­vices are avail­able dur­ing the sum­mer at Karvio Camp­ing Area and Guest Har­bor. Addi­tion­al­ly, Karvio K‑market and a com­pre­hen­sive Neste ser­vice sta­tion serve cus­tomers year-round.

Karvio Camping

Near Valamo and Lin­tu­la Monas­ter­ies, there is a diverse and afford­able camp­ing area. Guests can stay in motorhomes, tents, or rent a cot­tage. You can also arrive by boat and stay at the guest pier.

The area also fea­tures a high-qual­i­ty restau­rant offer­ing tasty meals and refresh­ments, includ­ing a won­der­ful selec­tion of prod­ucts from Valamo Win­ery.

You can enjoy activ­i­ties such as mini-golf, fish­ing, karaoke, or rent a pri­vate sauna for your use.

Varistaipale Canal and Kiosk

Dur­ing the sum­mer, there is a canal kiosk locat­ed next to the beau­ti­ful Varis­taipale Canal. Enjoy grilled del­i­ca­cies, ice cream, can­dies, lemon­ade, or cof­fee while watch­ing the canal traf­fic.

Dur­ing the har­vest sea­son, you can also pur­chase straw­ber­ries, pota­toes, and oth­er fresh pro­duce.

Palokki historical rapids and Village

For trav­el­ers in Palok­ki, Ront­topuis­to Café and Palok­ki Inn are at your ser­vice. Enjoy deli­cious home­made pas­tries in the cozy café sur­round­ed by local artistry, locat­ed by the old riverbed. Stay in the warm­ly and lov­ing­ly ren­o­vat­ed guest­house, which sits by the river­side.

Although Palokki’s rapids are now lim­it­ed by a pow­er plant, you can still catch a glimpse of the mag­nif­i­cent rapids and rem­nants of the region’s past indus­tri­al his­to­ry in the land­scape. You can delve deep­er into the his­to­ry of the rapids through the pro­vid­ed link (in Finnish).