Kandalaksha (Russian: Кандала́кша,) is a city in Murmansk Oblast, northern Russia. It is one of the most active and famous tourist locations in the Murmansk region.
Get in
By train
The city is along the Murman Railway from Saint Petersburg to Murmansk, with several connections each day in both directions. Trains from Saint Petersburg and Moscow are daily while connections from cities such as Arkhangelsk pass 2-3 times a week. On some trains there are carriages coming all the way from Brest, Minsk and Pskov. However be prepared that most long-distance trains arrive in the middle of the night. There are also once a day regional trains from Apatity, Loukhi and the coal mining town of Kovdor.
By bus and car
The Russian federal highway M18, also known as Kola Highway, passes through. A much less used gravel road connects with Salla in Finland. There is a twice-weekly bus service along this road with departure from Rovaniemi early afternoon. The bus makes a stop-over in Kemijärvi and the border station Salla and then arrives at Kandalaksha at 10PM.
Get around
See
- Museum of Gorbachev's Life. Famous for the collection of his early poems.
- 1 Statue of Lenin.
- City Hall.
- 2 (Мыс Монастырский Наволок). Site of a former Orthodox monastery, first established in 1550. All that remains are the foundations and a graveyard which includes a memorial to the victims of the of the Allied intervention in Russia during the Russian Civil War. The site offers some nice scenery.
Do
The Old city of Kandalaksha, called Центр, is nowadays a hotspot for artists, musicians and models.
- Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve (Кандалакшский государственный природный заповедник). A large nature reserve nearby with great forests, lakes and wild animals. It is not yet prepared for wild-life tourism, with only a few excursions available.
Buy
Eat
Drink
- Cafe-Bar Mirage, 50 let oktyabrya 1. Open M-Th 12PM-12AM, F-Su 2PM-2AM.
Sleep
- 1 Belomorie, Pervomayskaya 31. Large hotel with 150 beds, built back in 1980 and renovated in 2000.
- 2 Spolohi Hotel, Naberezhnaya 130. Has 49 beds, some luxury suites.
Connect
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