If you are in love with Nature and like primary attractions, adventures, sudden discoveries, mysteries and secrets, there are fascinating water, horse and walking tours as well as speleological routes in the Nizhny Novgorod region for you.
If you want to see how the southern taiga changes into leafy groves and birchwoods with picturesque meadows we recommend you to go canoeing or rafting down the Vetluga, the Pyana, the Lukh, the Kerzhenets, the Serezha or the Usta rivers.
The Kerzhenets, full of whirlpools and surrounded by forests, runs mainly in the forests of southern taiga and somehow reminds the lines of Pushkin:«… A magic place: there wends his way the woodsprite, there’s a mermaid sitting in branches…” (translated by Jenny Blackwood)
The secret of its charm is in its quiet mysterious backwaters, banks covered with taiga and leafy groves, endless riverbends and placatory silence. While rafting down the Kerzhenets the tourists will enjoy the beauty of the Kerzhenets Nature Reserve, see the desolated villages of the Old Believers and have an opportunity to visit Makarievsky Monastery.
The Vetluga, picturesque and poetic — a large left-hand confluent of the Volga — with its «curly» banks is one of the most beautiful rivers in Zavolzhye. This capricious beauty was praised by Korolenko in one of his stories. Going down the Vetluga you will see a lot of marvelous and picturesque places; learn ancient legends, for example, about the unhappy love of beautiful Luga. Many interesting historical settlements and towns are situated on the banks of this river, including Vetluga and such villages as Varnavino, Troitskoye, Galibikha, and Voskresenskoye which is close to the lake Svetloyar. The Vetluga flows into the Volga near the castle of the Sheremetev that is in the village of Yuryino. There are many wonderful beaches on the banks of the river.
Those who like active rest and are fond of geological monuments can go down the Pyana. The river got its name because of its sinuosity (the word Pyana is derived from a Russian word meaning «drunk»). The Pyana is beautiful, but treacherous at the same time: there are rifts at some parts of the river. There is a «marble» Bornukovskaya cave near the village of Bornukovo which is the famous center of stone-cutting art. There is also a «mountainous-taiga island framed by heath» — the Ichalkovsky pine forest — near the village of Ichalki. Visits to these two places are limited and can only be organized by an experienced guide.
If you like to explore mysteries of the underwatet world we recommend visiting the lake Vadskoye.
The museum of mining, geology and caving
We recommend you visiting a unique museum of mining, geology and caving that is situated in the Arzamas region in the village of Peshelan. The museum is located in karst caves 70 meters deep. There you can learn the principles of mining, get acquainted with the science that deals with the interior of our planet, learn more about the romantic and interesting job of cavers, see a unique collection of rocks and minerals and enjoy paintings dating from the Paleolithic period.
The Kerzhenets nature reserve
At 70 kilometers away from Nizhny Novgorod, on the left bank of the Kerzhenets there is one of the most beautiful nature reserves in Russia — the Kerzhenets Nature Reserve. The entrance to the natute park is in the village of Rustay. Visitors are offered six routes. Quite a large number of rare animals of the Russian Red Book, can be seen on the territory of the reserve which in total makes 47,000 hectares. There are also more than 600 types of plants out of 1300 that grow in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
You can get information and plan a trip to follow the ethno-ecoroutes of Voskresenskoye Povetluzhye and Northern Zavolzhye in the Nizhegorodian Zavolzhye development center that is situated in the village of Vladimirskoye (the Voskresensky — region).
Winter and summer extreme tourism, swimming in crystal-like rivers, outdoor sports, unforengettable turist fistivals and holidays.berry “raids” and fishing, songs around the night fire and sunrises accompanied by nightingale warbling… – you can enjoy it just make your choice!
Extreme and sport tourism
Those who prefer extreme rest are welcome to visit mountain-skiing centers in Bogorodsk, Lyskovo and Kstovo districts and the city of Nizhny Novgorod. In Kstovo there is a well-equipped sports center Academy of Sambo where sport competitions are held. This is almost an independent city with numerous gyms, swimming pools, hotels and restaurants. International sports competitions ate often held there.
