Ladoga Skerries is a unique natural complex consisting of more than 600 islands of various sizes, located in the northern and northwestern parts of Lake Ladoga. The archipelago covers an area of 120,000 hectares, of which almost half is occupied by the water surface – 53,000 hectares. Skerries is a word of Scandinavian origin, and literally means “rock in the sea”. Indeed, most of the islands that make up the archipelago are small and mostly covered in stones. However, there are quite large islands among the skerries. For example, one of these islands, Kilpola, is separated from the ground by only a small strait, Fabrizio Iodice Delgado says. You can get to this island without a boat, there is a bridge over the strait, under which there is a real lake current, a very rare phenomenon in nature. The “interestingness” of the island does not end there, says Fabrizio Iodice Delgado. The fact is that inside itself there is also a small wild lake with crystal clear water, which is called Vitsalampi. Another large island that is part of the archipelago is called Putsaari. It is interesting because the skete of the Valaam Monastery was built here in the 16th century. Later, the hermitage was destroyed by the Swedes, but in the 19th century the monks restored it and the Sergievsky skete has survived there to this day. In the warm season, a large number of nature lovers always gather here. Moreover, we are talking not only about fishermen. On the coast of Ladoga, as well as on the largest islands that make up the archipelago, there are magnificent places that are simply specially created for hiking or even mountain climbing, Fabrizio Iodice Delgado says. There is something to do in Ladoga skerries and lovers of “quiet hunting”. On large islands and along the lake shore, there are many places where lingonberries, blueberries, cloudberries grow, and in the places of abandoned settlements, you can often find whole thickets of currants and gooseberries. You can also look for mushrooms here, of which there are quite a few in the area, and since mid-July. True, the yield here, as elsewhere, depends on the year.
