Description of the attraction
The Tohmajoki River is one of the most attractive rivers flowing in the northern Ladoga area. It is located in the southwestern part of the Karelian Republic, just north of the city of Sortavala. The source of the river is located in Finland, where Tohmajoki crosses the state border near Matkaselka. The length of the rafting reaches 45 km. The most convenient place for rafting is located in the Sakhankoski farm, which is 2 km east of the village of Matkaselka. The river has many interesting rapids, as well as small waterfalls, which are especially interesting to go by kayaks or kayaks.
The river flows out of Lake Ruskojärvi, which is located right on the border with Finland. Tokhmajoki flows 50 km, and the level of the river drops to 70 m, and then flows into Lake Ladoga. On a long path, Tohmajoki forms Ruskeala waterfalls, which picturesquely flow in cascades from a height of 3 m. The waterfalls represent a whole complex of four waterfalls located in the place of the Tohmajoki flood. There is a special area for parking, gazebos and viewing the waterfalls. In the spring season, a huge number of tourists pass here, as well as extreme lovers on kayaks and catamarans. A considerable number of tourists decide to pass the waterfalls themselves. In addition, there is a waterfall on the river, which belongs to the 6th category of difficulty and which tourists often do not prefer to pass.
Not far from Ruskeala waterfalls there is another famous landmark - the flooded Ruskeala quarry of marble deposits. People come here just to look at the famous quarry.
The length of the Tahmyoki rafting section is 60 km, but, despite this, the entire river can be passed in 3 days. Throughout the river, there are a large number of interesting and difficult rapids. Most often there are sections with 3, 4, 5 and sometimes 6 categories of difficulty. River rapids have a different character: there are not only classic rifts with chaotic shafts, but also steep and local rapids.
Rafting on the Tohmajoki River is best in the month of May, when the spring floods pass. Usually the width of the river is from 20 to 30 m, but in summer there is not much water. It is in May that absolutely all obstacles can be overcome by moving on frame ships. Before passing the threshold, you must carefully examine it. Tohmayoki is perfect for those people who do not want to spend a lot of time on rafting.
The entire route of the river has 32 obstacles.
It is most convenient to start the rafting from the rapids called “Broken Dam”. The difficulty category of this obstacle is the third. At the same time, the river bed is divided into two branches: the right one is shallow, the left one is blocked by a dam. After the first stage of obstacles has passed, a small series of simple shivers will follow. Over the next few sections, you can see the road that leads directly to the Ruskeala quarry.
A particularly interesting place for the river to pass is obstacle 20, which is called Ruskeala Waterfalls. It is imperative to view the descent on this site. The threshold-waterfall is split into two arms, and each of them is split into two more - it turns out that 4 arms are formed on the threshold. Each arm falls from a height of 4 m at a different direction of angles. You can go through all 4 channels, only the difficulty levels will differ.
Another interesting place is the "Waterfall" obstacle. Viewing it is obligatory, because "Waterfall" has the 6th category of difficulty. The obstacle is a wide waterfall with a strong spillway with a total drop of 8-9 m. You can carry out the encirclement on both banks, but the left one is most preferable due to the greater convenience. The left bank also has a clearing for lunch. After passing the waterfall, Tahmayoki spills into a small round lake, on the banks of which you can relax in a spruce forest.
The last obstacle that awaits tourists on the Tahmajoki River is the Dam. This place has the 4th category of difficulty. Here the river is blocked off by a wall, through the window of which from a height of 4 m you can get into a hard barrel. After passing the dam, the route ends.
