Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
church, completed in 1977, has an onion-shaped dome and icons, and is redolent with in-
cense.
From June to August there's a
service
at 1pm.
Guided tours
(€5) are recommended for
insight. Take time to stroll to the peaceful
cemetery
, with a
tsasouna
(chapel) dedicated to
a Valamo missionary monk who took Christianity to Alaska. There's also a museum and
summer boat cruises to fill out the day, or you could take a walk to the Pilgrims' Cross.
The community encourages visitors, whether just for coffee or chant CDs, or the oppor-
tunity to engage further in Orthodox culture by attending a service or doing a course in
philosophy or icon-painting.
room €45/66, hotel s/d from €70/110; )
, especially peaceful once evening descends.
Guesthouses in picturesque wooden buildings provide comfortable, no-frills sleeping with
shared bathroom; there are also two grades of hotel room offering a higher standard. Prices
mon Luostari;buffet lunch €14, high tea €10; 7am-6pm Mon-Thu, to 9pm Fri-Sat)
has high-qual-
ity buffet lunches and, in summer, Russian-style high tea (€10). There's no monastic
frugality: try its own range of berry wines.
Getting There & Away
Valamo is clearly signposted 4km north of the main Varkaus-Joensuu road. A couple of
daily buses run here from Joensuu and from Helsinki via Mikkeli and Varkaus.
The most pleasant way to arrive in summer is on a
Monastery Cruise
from Kuopio. The
cruise uses a combination of the regular Kuopio to Savonlinna boat and road transport
(adult return €80).
