Valdaysky District: National Park and Iversky Monastery

• Valdaysky National Park is a protected area that extends across the district.
• Iversky Monastery is on an island in Lake Valdai.

In Novgorod Oblast, the national park extends across three districts: Valdaysky, Demyansky and Okulovsky. It covers an area of 159,100 hectares. Mount Ryzhokha is the park’s highest point. A 25-meter-high observation tower stands there, offering views of the taiga, Lake Velyo and other bodies of water. Thus, the natural setting spans the protected area and several districts, and includes a specific viewpoint.

The Great Valdai Hiking Trail is a multi-day route for independent travel. A circular route in the Bor area passes through typical taiga forests across hilly terrain and through diverse wetlands in the hollows between the hills.

The two types of trails offer different ways to plan your route: the Great Valdai Hiking Trail is specifically multi-day and designed for independent travel; the circular route is defined by forests, hilly terrain and wetlands. Both are part of the wider Novgorod Oblast travel region.

In Valday, in Novgorod Oblast, staff at the Bell Museum demonstrate bell-ringing techniques and let visitors try them for themselves. The Bell Museum Center in Valday brings together bells from around the world. Its collection ranges from examples dating to the 3rd century BC, through the Middle Ages, to modern souvenir bells. According to the tourism description, it is the only museum in Russia to bring together bells from around the world.

A different perspective is offered by the exhibition at the Museum of the County Town, which opened in 1998: it explores the everyday lives of townspeople, the development of local crafts, and the lives of individual Valday families and well-known summer visitors. The monument “Kuznetsam i kolokolnym masteram Valdaya,” erected in 2017, also commemorates Valday’s blacksmiths and bell makers. The cultural attractions thus encompass both bell-making and collections, as well as town life and remembrance.

When looking for a hotel in Valdaysky District, you can first decide whether nature or culture will be the focus of your trip.

Discover more destinations: Novgorodsky District, Staraya Russa, Chudovsky District, Novgorodskiy rayon, Okulovskiy rayon, Chudovsky District, Demyanskiy rayon, Starorusskiy rayon.

Where is Iversky Monastery?

Iversky Monastery is on an island in Lake Valdai.

What is the Great Valdai Hiking Trail like?

It is a multi-day hiking route for independent travel.

What periods do the bells in the Bell Museum Center come from?

The collection ranges from the 3rd century BC, through the Middle Ages, to modern souvenir bells.

For the wider travel overview: Novgorod Oblast.