Kolovesi

Kolovesi National Park was established in 1990 in eastern Finland, in the northern part of the Saimaa lake system, and covers 61 km². It is ecologically continuous with Linnansaari and shares its emblematic species.

Its distinctive feature is the topography: rather than an open lake, Kolovesi is a labyrinth of narrow, deep channels set between rock walls, the result of a system of fractures in the bedrock. That configuration makes it especially suited to rowing, and indeed motor navigation is prohibited in most of the park, both to preserve the quiet for the seals and to keep the character of the place. Kayak and canoe are the natural way to travel through it.

On several of those cliffs prehistoric rock paintings made with red ochre survive, among them those of Ukonvuori, with animal figures and geometric motifs painted thousands of years ago on walls reachable only from the water. They are part of the rock art complex of eastern Finland and are usually interpreted in relation to places of sacred character. The park also protects old-growth forest on the islands and peninsulas, and its Saimaa ringed seal population is the subject of the same conservation programme as at Linnansaari.