South Karelia is a province in southeastern Finland about two hours drive from Helsinki. Area is about 6900 square kilometer, lakes cover almost a quarter of the area. Population density is about 24 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Lappeenranta is the largest city in the region and the safest in Finland (2018). Lappeenranta is home to about 73,000 inhabitants and is the 13th largest city in Finland. There city has a university of technology (LUT).
Another of the cities of South Karelia is Imatra. Finland’s first tourist attraction ”Imatrankoski” rapids is located close to midtown.
There are seven other municipalities in the area, each with its own specialties.
Lake Saimaa is the fourth largest lake in Europe. It is very versatile, you can find rocky shores and sandy beaches. More than 14 000 islands make it labyrinthine, but then someplace you can’t see the opposite coastline. The entire Saimaa is generally a very clean lake and some parts water is even drinkable. It is different from any other big lakes – simply unique. In 2014, Saimaa was chosen by Wall Street Journal as one of the top 5 lakes in the world. The best thing in all of this is that everyone can enjoy it very freely under finnish legal concept known as everyman’s rights.