Valday Hills

The Valday Hills rise where Valday, Demyansk and Okulovka districts meet. Gentle but clear relief: bedrock above the plain, lakes, bogs and mixed forest between ridges. Not a single reserve but working countryside with fields, farmsteads and forest tracks. Valday town on its namesake lake is the main landmark, but side trips matter: to Ploshchnoye, Selintsovskoye lakes, ridge villages and viewpoints over chains of water. Typical North-West lake country, less crowded than routes around Novgorod Kremlin. Local and logging roads cross the hills; marked eco-trails are few, but you can plan a car or bike loop between lakes with stops at village churches and landings. Spring and autumn mean dirt sections — a self-drive route, not an excursion tour. Combine with Valday National Park and nearby monasteries: the landscape layer that explains monasteries and Novgorod–Tver roads since the 16th century.