Korotsko combines a specific connection to the Great Valdai Route with a village attraction. The art installation “Bolshaya Valdaiskaya tropa,” considered the emblem of the tourist route of the same name, stands at the tourist information center. An excursion along the route also starts at the center. There is also the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God. When planning your trip, you can distinguish these local points of interest from the nature and culture themes of the wider destination of Novgorod Oblast.
Korotsko and the Great Valdai Route
The art installation “Bolshaya Valdaiskaya tropa” stands at the tourist information center in Korotsko and bears the name of the tourist route for which it is considered the emblem. The center is also the starting point for an excursion along the Great Valdai Route. The art installation and route starting point are therefore anchored in the same place: one makes the route’s name visible, while the other sets off the excursion described here.
The excursion is available seasonally. Check current operating details directly with the park before planning. This keeps your plans tied to the period when the excursion is offered, rather than assuming that a visit is possible regardless of the season.
An attraction in the village
The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God is an attraction in the village of Korotsko, in Valdai District and the Korotsko rural settlement. It offers a distinct point of interest alongside the route and the art installation at the tourist information center. This gives Korotsko two different points of reference: its connection to a tourist route and a named church in the village.
In the wider destination of Novgorod Oblast
The Valdai National Park covers 159,100 hectares in the wider destination of Novgorod Oblast and extends across Valdaysky, Demyansky, and Okulovsky districts.
Mount Ryzhokha is the highest point in Valdai National Park. A 25-meter-high observation tower stands on it, offering views of the taiga, Lake Velyo, and other bodies of water. The tower pairs a clearly named high point with expansive views across the landscape. A circular trail in the Bor area offers a different experience: it passes through typical taiga forests on hilly terrain and through diverse wetlands in the hollows between the hills. The tower views and the route through forests, hills, and wetlands represent different nature themes within Novgorod Oblast.
Bells and city history in Valday
The cultural themes of Novgorod Oblast also extend beyond a single subject. At the Bell Museum in Valday, staff demonstrate bell-ringing techniques and let visitors try them for themselves. The Bell Museum Center in Valday displays bells from around the world and a variety of forms ranging from bells dating to the 3rd century BC, through the Middle Ages, to modern souvenir bells. According to the tourism information, it is the only museum in Russia to bring together bells from around the world.
The Museum of the County Town exhibition, which opened in 1998, offers another perspective on Valday. Its themes include the daily lives of townspeople, the development of local trades, and the lives of individual Valday families and well-known summer visitors. The Bell Museum Center focuses on an instrument and its long history of varied forms; the County Town exhibition covers urban life, trades, and individual families. In 2017, the monument “Kuznetsam i kolokolnym masteram Valdaya” was also erected in Valday, dedicated to Valday’s blacksmiths and bell masters.
Discover more destinations: Retle, Myasnoy Bor, Veliky Novgorod, Usadye, Veryassko, Pestovo, Berezovik, Valday.
For the wider travel overview: Novgorod Oblast.
