Description of the attraction
Pellotsaari Island is located in the Ladoga Skerries just a few kilometers from the mainland and 22 km from the famous Valaam Island. Ladoga skerries are a picturesque archipelago of small rocky islands located in the coastal zone in the north of Lake Ladoga - it was here that the famous national park "Ladoga Skerries" was planned to be established. The water line from Pellotsaari to Valaam is 24 km. If you follow the cruise route, the sailing time from Valaam to Pellotsaari will be about an hour and a half. The dimensions of the island are small: the width is 3 km, and the length is 4 km.
At the moment, the famous island is popular exclusively for the fact (especially among the most active tourists) that in the Ladoga area you can travel by boat or motorboat. In the coming time, it is planned to organize a special parking for motor ships, and to open the island for mass and widespread visits by tourists. Now the island has a restored and updated ship parking. Several motor ships can swim up to the berth at the side mooring at the same time. As for the duration of the parking of pleasure and cruise ships, parking on the island is allowed for 5-6 hours.
On the island of Pellotsaari, there is also a well-organized hiking trail. It is also called an ecological path. Its total length is about 3 km, and the approximate time that will be spent on its full study will be about 3 hours. The ecological walking trail has signs of 28 natural objects. The territory of Pellotsaari is beautifully arranged, all its paths are cleared, steps have been made in the places of ascent, and special bridges have been laid over especially swampy places.
As you know, the island of Pellotsaari used to be part of the possession of Finland, and since then some foundations of houses of Finnish, Russian and Swedish families who lived here until the middle of the 20th century have been preserved on the island. A school was discovered on the island, as well as a pier intended for large ships.
Once on the island of Pellotsaari, mining quartzite was carried out; now a tourist route leads to the stone quarries. Especially interesting is the fact that the quartzite faults are completely flooded, forming almost bottomless bowls filled with icy clear water.
The island has a picturesque and untouched beach with a beautiful view of Lake Ladoga, as well as the island of Valaam.
In addition, Pellotsaari Island is a taiga island, the abundant vegetation and landscapes of which are largely due to the activity of the glacier that retreated from the Ladoga area about 10-12 thousand years ago.
The small size of the island does not in the least affect the diversity of landscapes, flora and fauna. On Pellotsaari you can look into hidden corners of nature, almost untouched by human activities, and there are also landscapes that have changed under the influence of human economic activities.
Almost the entire territory of Pellotsaari is covered with dense forests dominated by coniferous trees. There are also meadows on the island, which are one of the amazing ecosystems related to the Ladoga skerries. The most widespread community is represented by rock plants, and some of them are listed in the Red Data Books of Russia.
An active change in the nature of Pellotsaari began to occur since the 16th century, when people began to develop their livestock activities and agriculture more and more. In the south-west of the island, not only the foundations of houses of different nationalities have survived, but also the foundations of outbuildings, various fragments of hedges, the ruins of detached buildings, reclamation ditches, as well as traces from the planting of certain types of vegetation. On the rest of the Pellotsaari island, the original appearance of the taiga forest is slowly recovering: roads disappear, agricultural lands are overgrown with vegetation. On the territory of the island, the structure of the forest belt is gradually being restored, and especially rare species of mosses, lichens, and various plants are returning, which cannot get along with constant human activities.
