Nine places for road trips around the region

Autumn is an ideal time for short trips by car around the region. Together with our friends from Delimobil, we have selected nine of the most interesting places which can be easily visited in one day and will stock you up with sufficient memories for the week ahead. In each route card we tell which side of the city you need to leave from, how long the journey will take, and also what to look out for or visit along the way.

Vasilsursk (Vorotynsky district)

Departure point: Afonino
Highway: М7
Travel time ~ 3 hours

Vasilsursk is a quiet little village located on a high hill between two rivers. The oldest Mari settlements and sacred groves are still preserved here. In order to get here, you need to take the car ferry from the pier at Vorotynets, which makes the trip even more interesting.

What to look out for:

The Vorotynets fish market
The Eagle’s Nest lookout was one of Maksim Gorky’s favourite places (you can find his monument among the century-old trees)
The church in honour of the icon of the Kazan’ Mother of God in Vasilsursk

The Somov Mountains (Far Konstantinovo)

Departure point: Afonino
Highway: R158
Travel time ~ 1.5 hours

The Somov Mountains are hills dotted with wheat fields, on which there is a memorial complex dedicated to soldiers who died in various battles. The place is named after Veniamin Somov, a master who in the 1970s started to develop the complex on his own initiative. Together with his son, the author has installed more than ten monuments dedicated to the victims of the Afghanistan and Finnish wars, as well as to the civil wars and the Stalinist repressions. There is even a monument to the victims of future wars.

What to look out for:

The manor of the Orlov-Davydov noble family
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour in the village of Simbiley
The meandering river Ozerka

Podvyazye (Bogorodsky district)

Departure point: Moskovskoe highway
Highway: R125
Travel time ~ 1.5 hours

Here you will find the ancestral home of the super-wealthy noble families of the Priklonskys and the Rukavishnikovs, the museum-estate of the Priklonskys-Rukavishnikovs, a unique architectural ensemble dating back to the 17th century. In addition to the beauty of the architecture, an arch with steel gates and a wooden bench has been preserved at the very edge of the slope, lending the scene a picture-postcard view.

What to look out for:

The Prince Vladimirsky spring in Sartakovo
The Kabatskoye Lake
Bragin Street in Bogorodsk

The Klyuchik and Toskanka lakes (Pavlovsky district)

Departure point: Shcherbinki
Highway: R125
Travel time ~ 1.5 hours

Klyuchik is a famous lake with crystal clear turquoise water. If you look at the lake from above, its shape resembles a clockwork key box, from which it derives name. SUP surfing fans can reach it through Lake Toskanka and the winding river Surin.

What to look out for:

The Holy Trinity Ostrovoezersky Monastery
Lake Toskanka
The Historical Museum in Pavlov
The Dalnaya Krucha Park

The Moss Mountains (Borsky District)

Departure point: Bor Bridge
Highway: R159
Travel time ~ 1 hour

The Moss Mountains is a picturesque landscaped pine park situated on a slope above the Volga with two observation decks. Maxim Gorky and Fyodor Chaliapin used to relax here at the dacha of the architect Malinovsky. A monument to the two great friends is located in the centre of one of the observation decks.

What to look out for:

The Malinovaya Sloboda Country Club
The Kolibri ice cream factory
Borskoye Volgorechye

The Pashkov and Jomini estates (Gaginsky district)

Departure point: Afonino
Highway: М7
Travel time ~ 3 hours

The manor house of some of the richest nobles of the 19th century, the Count Pashkovs, is located in the grounds of an ancient park, where picturesque paths down to the river have been beautifully preserved. Nearby is another estate of Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini. You can get to both estates with a guided tour, and learn about the architecture and history of these places.

What to look out for:

St Vladimir’s Church in the village of Utka
The Bornukovskaya Cave factory
The Gaginsky Museum of Local Folklore.

The Arboriculture Museum (Voskresensky district)

Departure point: Bor Bridge
Highway: R159
Travel time ~ 2.5 hours

An unusual museum on the outskirts of the Nizhny Novgorod taiga collects, reconstructs and creates exhibitions dedicated to unique traditions related to forest extraction and wood processing. The museum is located in the former manor house of the timber magnate Egor Yarantsev.

What to pay attention to:

The Grad Kitezh Museum
The Fairy tales and stories of Svetloyar
The estate of the timber magnate Belyaev in Voskresensk

The Makaryevsky Monastery (Lyskovsky district)

Departure point: Afonino / Borsky Bridge
Highway: М7
Travel time ~ 2 hours

The Makaryevsky Monastery is a snow-white architectural ensemble dating back to the 17th century. The place is known primarily for the fact that it was here that the famous Makaryevskaya Fair once took place, before later being moved to Nizhny Novgorod. The route to Makarievo also involves a ferry crossing from the city of Lyskovo.

What to look out for:

The estate of the Prince of Georgia
The Bald Mountain in Lyskovo
The Cathedral of the Transfiguration

The Kurtsevskaya cheese factory (Gorodetsky district)

Departure point: The Sormovskoe Highway / Bor Bridge
Highway: R159
Travel time ~ 1.5 hours

The Kurtsevo cheese factory in the village of the same name in the Gorodetsky district produces over 20 varieties of cheese, all of which can be tasted. In addition to cheese, you can also go horse riding and have a spectacular photo shoot in Kurtsevo.