Villas in North-Karelia

Lieksa and Koli suit walkers and paddlers, Nurmes and Juuka sit on Lake Pielinen, and Joensuu is the airport town, but distances are long. Most of our properties are log cottages with a sauna on Pielinen's shores. This is Finland's eastern edge, with Orthodox churches, rapids and big forest, and you need a car to see any of it.

Where

Villas: 180
From, per week: £388
Cheapest month: November
Nearest airports: Joensuu airport, reached via Helsinki. London to Helsinki takes about three hours and the onward flight is around an hour, so allow most of a day. Driving from Helsinki takes around five hours, and trains run from Helsinki to Joensuu, with a regional line on to Lieksa and Nurmes.

Where to stay in North-Karelia

Lieksa, Koli and Ruunaa (Lake Pielinen)

Nearly half our cottages in North Karelia are in Lieksa. Koli National Park, a ridge of wooded hills above Pielinen, has the best-known lake view in Finland. In summer a ferry crosses from Vuonislahti to Koli twice a day; in winter, when the ice allows, a seven-kilometre ice road takes its place. Ruunaa, north-east of Lieksa, has rapids for rafting and fly fishing. Joensuu airport is around an hour and a quarter away.

Best for: Hikers, canoeists and anglers who want national parks close by

Not for you if: You want a village with cafés and shops near the cottage; Lieksa is a small town and the cottages are spread far out.

Nurmes (north end of Pielinen)

Nurmes sits on a ridge between two lakes at the top of Pielinen, with an old quarter of wooden houses and a town beach. Bomba, a big Karelian-style timber house on the edge of town, is the centre of a small tourist village with a restaurant serving Karelian food. Trains run from Joensuu along Pielinen's eastern shore via Lieksa.

Best for: Families who want a small town with a beach and wooden houses

Not for you if: You want to be close to the airport: Nurmes is about an hour and a half from Joensuu.

Juuka and Nunnanlahti (west shore)

Juuka is a small lakeside village on the main road up Pielinen's western shore, between Joensuu and Nurmes. Nunnanlahti, to the south, is soapstone country: the grey stone quarried here is made into the heavy heat-storing stoves found in many Finnish homes. Koli is around half an hour south of Juuka, and the airport is about an hour.

Best for: Couples who want a quiet shore with Koli half an hour away

Not for you if: You want lots of choice; there are only a few cottages on this shore.

Around Joensuu (Liperi, Kontiolahti, Eno, Polvijärvi, Outokumpu)

Joensuu is the region's university town, with a riverside market where you can buy Karelian pies, rye pastries filled with rice porridge. Liperi has the airport and cottages on the wide lakes south of town. Kontiolahti hosts World Cup biathlon in some winters, and Outokumpu has a museum at its old copper mine. Eno is north-east of the city on the Pielisjoki river. Most cottages here are within 30 to 45 minutes of the airport.

Best for: Short stays and anyone who wants the airport and a town nearby

Not for you if: You want wilderness; these cottages are in farmland and commuter country.

Kitee, Kesälahti, Rääkkylä and Tohmajärvi (the south)

The south of the region is lower and more open, with farms between the lakes. Kesälahti is on Puruvesi, a large lake with very clear water, and Punkaharju and Savonlinna are around 45 minutes away. Rääkkylä is known for Karelian folk music and holds a folk festival each summer. Joensuu airport is roughly an hour from most of these villages.

Best for: Swimmers and anyone combining Karelia with Savonlinna

Not for you if: You want to cross into Russia: the border crossings are closed.

Ilomantsi (the far east)

Ilomantsi is Finland's most easterly municipality and its most Orthodox. Hattuvaara has a small wooden Orthodox church, and Parppeinvaara is a reconstructed village of Karelian rune singers. Petkeljärvi National Park has trails along narrow ridges between lakes, and several Winter War sites are nearby. Joensuu is around an hour away.

Best for: Walkers interested in Orthodox Karelia and wartime history

Not for you if: You want a choice of cottages: we have only a handful here.

When to go to North-Karelia

June to August is the main season, with long light evenings, swimming from July and heavy mosquitoes in June and July. Koli is busiest in late September, when the birch and aspen turn yellow and red. Snow usually lies from December into April; February and March bring longer days for cross-country skiing, the small downhill slopes at Koli and the ice road from Vuonislahti. Midwinter days are very short. October and November are grey, wet and quiet, with many summer businesses closed.