Kandalaksha

Panoramic view over Kandalaksha.

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 but there is no train connection to Arkhangelsk. 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. 1 Kandalaksha railway station is on Murmanskaya ulitsa 1, a few blocks north of the city centre.

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 (border station Kelloselkä). 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 22:00.

See

• 1 Statue of Lenin. 
• City Hall. 
• 2 Navolok Monastery (Мыс Монастырский Наволок). Former site of an Orthodox monastery that was established in 1550. All that remains are the foundations and a graveyard which includes a memorial to the victims 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. The Nature Reserve has an excellent museum that is open to the public. 
• Hiking in the hills that surround Kandalaksha
• Visit the Local History Museum (Mbu "Muzey Istorii Goroda Kandalaksha") at ul. Pervomayskaya 40. Open M-F 10:00 to 18:00, Sa 10:00 to 17:00, closed Sunday and Monday.

Eat and drink

• 1 Kandalakshskiy Yakht-klub, Restoran Prichal №11, Rechnoy Pereulok, 11. Here you can eat and have drinks on the finger of the White Sea bordering Kandalaksha. (updated Apr 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Belomorje, Pervomayskaya 31, ☏ +7 815 339-20-13. Large hotel with 150 beds, built in 1980 and renovated in 2000. 
• Uncle Pasha's, Kirovskaya 23, apt. 17, ☏ +7 921 155 5432, manfriday@yandex.ru. A room with two fold-out coaches, suitable for two, in a private apartment. Use of kitchen, hot water, WiFi, bicycle. The owner will be happy to answer questions related to Kandalaksha (complimentary) or act as your guide/driver/translator for a reasonable fee. US$12/person/night. (updated Sep 2016)
• 2 Hotel Grinvich, Pervomayskaya Ulitsa, 24, ☏ +7 921 709-24-65. Cozy inn with a restaurant/bar. $16. (updated Apr 2021)

Go next

• Murmansk
• Kemijärvi
• Salla