The best banquets and award winning local beverages of the Karelian Circuit!
We welcome you to feast on the best banquets!
On this tour, local food and drink go hand in hand. The trip takes you through wineries and banquets to breweries while you get to know Karelian hospitality and sights. Welcome to a true culinary tour in North Karelia!
Day 1
Welcome to Valamo Monastery
On a guided tour to the monastery, we see both of the churches in the area and hear about the monastery’s history.
From the monastery tour we move on to learn how wine is made and to taste the monastery’s own products in a cosy wine tavern.
At dinner, we get to enjoy a Slavic banquet.
Appetisers:
Graved salmon
Russian herring
Smoked salmon or smoked vendace
The Monastery’s roe in aspic
Smoked red deer, rowanberry jelly
Pickled cucumbers with smetana and honey
The Monastery’s sauerkraut, mushroom salad, and fresh salad
Karelian pies
The main course is fish with smetana
Dessert: Fruit, samovar tea and raspberry jam, the Monastery’s biscuits and sweets
Drink recommendations for the banquet:
Valamo red, a wine aged in oak barrels from blackcurrants and crowberries made in Valamo
Valamon Valo: white currant, green currant and yellow gooseberry
Dessert wine: white currant and cloudberry
Kultahunaja (liqueur): honey, rowanberry and beeswax
Accommodation at Valamo Lay Academy in 2 person rooms
Day 2
After breakfast we continue on to Joensuu. We will visit a brewery called Panimo Honkavuori and their beer shop.
From Joensuu we travel to Ilomantsi, to Pogosta and Parppeinvaara. We will enjoy lunch at the Karelian restaurant Parppeinpirtti.
From the Karelian buffet at Parppeinpirtti:
To drink: Hermanni blackcurrant juice, traditional home brewed beer, and water
From the traditional bakery of the Pirtti: Karelian pies and vatruskas with an egg and butter mixture
Salads and appetisers:
Cold smoked salmon, smoked roach, smetana and sherry herring
Vegetable terrines and cucumber wedges
Fresh salad and garlic dressing, tomato and onion salad
White cheese cubes, cucumber slices in dill and vinegar, marinated red onions
Grated carrots with garlic, sauerkraut from Valamo Monastery
Karelian cabbage, wild mushroom salad, and carrot-lingonberry jam
Main course: Oven baked creamy salmon and Karelian meat stew with oven baked root vegetables and boiled potatoes
Dessert: Refreshing berry kissel
Coffee and steeped tea
For drinks, we recommend the award winning beverages from Hermanni Winery.
After the meal, there is a guided tour through the Parppeinvaara Rune Singer’s Village.
From the Rune Singer’s Village we move on to Hermanni Winetower. At Hermanni Winetower (located at the top of a water tower) you can enjoy both the breath-taking views at the height of 33 metres and products from the Hermanni winery as well as cocktails made from the products and other drink mixes. They also offer coffee and tea, soft drinks, and self-made sweet and savoury pastries. On the visit to the Winetower, the coffee and other refreshments are not included in the price.
Möhkön Rajakartano
Accommodation, dinner, and evening sauna at Rajakartano. Rajakartano is surrounded by pine forests, the river Koitajoki with its rapids, clean nature, and the historical village of Möhkö. The proximity of the eastern border creates a mystic atmosphere. This former outpost of the Finnish Border Guard has guaranteed the safety and peace of the area for decades, and we continue to enjoy those even to this day.
Day 3
After breakfast, we continue on to see the national landscape of Koli.
At Koli, we will stretch our legs on a scenic tour.
We will go on a magnificent guided scenic tour of the national landscape of Koli. On the walking tour, we visit the highest vantage points of Koli National Park; Ukko-Koli, Akka-Koli and Paha-Koli. During the tour, our guide will tell us stories about the history, nature, and culture of Koli, including stories about artists from the period of karelianism all the way through to today. There is also time to take photos. Along the way, there are many beautiful scenic views. On the tour, we raise a glass of non-alcoholic Satasarvinen’s Drink by Mantsin Makie in honour of the national landscape of Koli.
Gastropub Kolin Ryynänen
From Koli, we descend to the Koli village centre to have lunch at Gastropub Kolin Ryynänen.
For lunch there is pork neck braised in Kolin Panimo’s beer and mashed potatoes.
For dessert there is beer ice cream and honey cake.
At Kolin Ryynänen, you can enjoy beers, wines, and ciders from Kolin Panimo.
After lunch we continue on towards Nurmes and Bomba Karelian Village. On the way, we stop at the Finnish Stone Centre and Kolin Panimo.
In Nurmes, accommodation is available at the Bomba Karelian spa hotel in 2 person rooms. Free use of the spa. The evening and whole tour culminate in a Karelian banquet at Guesthouse Puukarin Pysäkki.
The cheerful evening filled with delicious food starts with a welcome toast at the guesthouse. Hostess Anni will welcome all the guests to the Summer Evening Banquet. The banquet menu consists of award-winning drinks from the area, and clean and local organic food that is prepared following Karelian cooking customs.
“All the food that we serve at our table comes from respect to amazing nature and clean ingredients. We favour locally sourced ingredients and products and take note of sustainable and responsible working principles in our daily operations. We are proud to cherish the ways of cooking from the past, we are proud of our own craftsmanship, and the fact that we can provide our guests with a genuine culinary journey into traditions. The food is served with pleasure and skill for all the guests to enjoy. The ways of the Eastern Finnish hostess have taken root here and they create a good space for the guests to enjoy the food and drink. A part of being a hostess is also telling stories about the life in the countryside. The stories of the hostess take the guests on a journey to Eastern Finnish culture seasoned with humour. We want to give our guests flavour memories and the feeling of genuine calming down to take with them.
The menu for the evening offers a unique experience where you get to taste the best flavours of the season on your plate and get inspired by them. The shape and flavour of the food changes depending on what ingredients nature offers us during that season. The union of food and drink has always been important to us who enjoy good food. And what’s best, we can complement the Karelian food with drinks from our own local areas.”
- Hostess Anni from Guesthouse Puukarin Pysäkki -
Banquet menu
Aperitif: Kalevala Distillery’s Gin&Tonic
Rye bread, butter with seeds
Fried karelian pies
Salad from wild vegetables
White cabbage
Beetroots
Wild mushrooms
Salted pike
Osso buco from elk
Potatoes
Swedes
Baked quark pudding
To complete the menu, the appetisers, main course, and dessert come with drinks that complement their flavours.
This menu is also available alcohol-free.
Return to Bomba.
Day 4
Breakfast. Morning swim if wanted.
Departure.
Price: /per person. 4 days, 3 nights. Ask offer to your group.
The price includes accommodations with breakfast and the meals listed in the programme (award winning drinks are not included in the menu prices) as well as the guided tours mentioned in the programme and entrance fees to the destinations.
- Available from 1st of June to 30th of August 2023.
- The minimum for groups is 10 people.
- Transportation with the group’s own bus.
- For an additional price: extra days, guides in different cities, Transportations.
