Mount Vottovaara is one of the most famous anomalous zones in Russia. It is often called the Place of Power. On the mountain, you can see a lot of amazing things that are difficult to explain from a scientific point of view: Sami seids, stones with perfectly smooth splits, twisted trees, Stairs to the Sky and just very beautiful landscapes of Karelian nature.
So far, not many tourists come to Mount Vottovaara. The main reason is the lack of transport and tourist infrastructure. However, the mountain deserves to be put on a par with the most interesting tourist attractions of Karelia: Kizhi, Ruskeala, Ladoga skerries, Valaam, etc. Together with the mountain, all these attractions can be combined into the route "Golden Ring of Karelia".
Mount Vottovaara is located in the remote forests of Karelia, 160 kilometers west of the town of Medvezhegorsk. The nearest village to the mountain is Gimoly. A few tens of kilometers from the town of Medvezhegorsk or from the village of Girvas, the road has a low-quality asphalt surface, but then more than 100 kilometers will have to go on a dirt road. Alternatively, you can get from St. Petersburg to the village of Gimoly by train. The distance from the village of Gimoly to the mountain of Vottovaara is 20 kilometers. It is not possible to drive on this road by car. You can go only if you have a specially prepared car for off-road driving.
The highest mountains of Karelia are located in the Paanayarvi Nature Reserve. The height of the highest mountain in Karelia, Nuorunen, reaches 577 meters. The height of Mount Vottovaara is more modest, only 416 meters, however, in the central part of Karelia it is the highest. At the top of the mountain there is a depression called the "Amphitheater". This is a very beautiful place in Vottovaara, surrounded by seids and piles of stones.
The first systematic research of Mount Vottovaara was started in 1978 by a local searcher from the village of Sukkozero, Sergey Simonyan. He admits the possibility of an anthropogenic origin of the Seids on Vottovaara, but denies the presence of esoteric and mystical phenomena on this mountain. However, this does not stop the numerous followers of occult teachings. They believe that here is a portal to another world, that here you can feel the vibrations of the earth and receive energy from Space. Someone may treat this with disbelief, but the presence of anomalies on the mountain is obvious.
It will take a whole day to hike on the mountain. It is better to come here early in the morning, and plan your departure no earlier than 5-6 pm. If you want to see the famous Staircase to the Sky, it is important to remember that it is located on the slope of a neighboring hill, 3 kilometers away from the Amphitheater. Along the way, you will have to overcome a swampy area. Only a hike to the Stairs will take at least 3-4 hours, and you can walk along Vottovaara itself for a very long time.
In some sources, Vottovaara is called Death Mountain because of the anomalous phenomena occurring on it. There is a mountain with this name, but it is located 5 kilometers from Vottovaara. During the World War II, several hundred fighters from Grigoriev`s partisan detachment died on it during a heavy battle. They retreated along the slope of Vottovaara, but the heaviest losses were on another mountain. There is a monument there. Thus, the name "Death-mountain" has nothing to do with Vottovaara.
