“Four Roosters” Resort (Ekaterina Morgol) About ten years there was no rural tourism in Belarus. To have a rest out of town meant to go to health centers for treatment and nature. Now, three Ss (sun, sea, sand) are being substituted with three Ls (landscape, lore, leisure) 2,057 farmsteads have been registered in Belarus so far, which received 220 thousand visitors in 2012. As a rule, about 80% of all the visitors are Belarusians, and 11% come from Russia. According to Valeria Klitsounova, the Board Chairman of the Country Escape Association, every year more and more foreigners visit rural farmsteads. “For foreign guests, Belarus is a new and unfamiliar country. Recently, we’ve created a bicycle tour to the northern part of Belarus for a group of Finns. They visited the Yelnya hydrological reserve, had a walk through the smallest Belarusian town Disna, crossed the Dvina River by ferry, and visited the festival of rural tourism in Rossonsky region. They were amazed.” Land of sincere souls and open doors Every rural citizen can start doing business in the field of rural tourism, as far as taxes are low; besides you can cook food from your farm, arrange tours and rent beds. A person engaged in rural tourism is exempt from all taxes. These benefits are explained by the fact that rural tourism contributes not only to the development of this specific market, but to the Belarusian village in general. However, it turns to be very “hard” money. “Belarus is not Italy,” explains Valeria Klitsounova. “At any time it can start raining; monuments of the Middle Ages, as in Europe, are few; and people would go shopping to other countries. However, there are many advantages: our villages preserve ancient crafts and ceremonies (“The Marriage of Tereshka”, “Christmas kings” and others). Our hospitable hosts offer homemade food, like cheese, honey, bacon, vegetables and fruit grown in ecologically clean regions. Guests can settle in comfortable country estates, many of which are decorated in the style of village houses. Belarusian nature is unmatched (don’t be afraid mosquitoes; this is our Belarusian acupuncture). So the main thing in a rural tourism business is a creative mind, desire to develop authentic entertainments and a house in a beautiful location”. One of the most interesting examples is “Martinova Goose” farmstead. It is a typical wooden dworek (estate) of the fine gentry, reconstructed according to the rules of architecture of the 19th century. It is the only country estate of that kind in Belarus. Its owner Alexander Bely is a renowned historian and author of numerous publications on the history of traditional Belarusian dishes and products. Only in the “Martinova Goose”, guests can taste exclusive dishes based on the recipes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, along with zrazy with dried apricots and prunes, buckwheat pancakes, rustic cottage cheese, and others. Among numerous amusements are ethno-disco nights at the Dining Hall, Christmas Shows and hiking routes to the Naliboki forest to see the bison. Besides, master classes of traditional ceremonial dolls production are on offer. The price is 14-17 dollars per person per day without food. The mansion is located in the village of Small Lyutsinki in Volozhin region, just 48 km from the Minsk Circle Road. Follow Green Ways To go out of town just to spend a week is a too simple deal. You can combine enjoying nature with amusing excursions within so-called green routes program. The concept of Green Ways is an American know-how. In 1950ies, there appeared the first hiking and biking recreation routes, and in 1987, a long-term strategic program “to create a network of green routes in the Americas” was launched, following the initiative of the Recreation Commission and the president of the National Geographic Society Gilbert Grosvenor. Today, there are more than 18,000 miles of greenways in the US. Now this trend has come to Belarus. The owners of rural estates get united in rural tourism clusters; they open tourist information centers and develop “green routes”, with a dozen of them having been created already. The first “Blue Kings of Rossony” green route appeared in Rossony district, Vitebsk region, followed by others in Lepel, Lida, etc. Each offers a range of services, featuring spending time in the estate, outdoor activities with excursions, kayaks, quests, and museums. Top 3 Green Ways Route 1: “Volozhyn Roads” Volozyn – Pershai – Ivenets – Rakov – Dory – Zabresje – Bogdanovo – Vishnevo – Sakovshchina – Volozhyn. Length is about 200 km. What to see: market square, Counts Tyszkiewiczs palace, church of St. Joseph, wooden church of St. Constantine and Helen, Volozhin yeshiva, Franciscan church and monastery (baroque monument), Alexeev church (neo-Gothics) in Ivenets, church of the Transfiguration in Rakov; ruins of the Tyszkiewiczs summer palace, a chapel and a cemetery with the grave of Vincent DuninMarcinkiewicz in Tupalshchina; Naliboki forest. Only there you can: - get a shot of adrenaline in the «Malpaland», a rope playground with obstacle course, swinging logs and other extreme tests at a height of 5 to 8 meters; - know «sweet» facts about honey and bees. Honey at the «World of Bees» estate (in village Borok) is served with pancakes and herbal tea; - get acquainted with the largest collection of ceramic products in Europe (about 1,700 items) at the gallery of Felix Janushkevicha in Rakov; - ride a horse and participate in «Middle Ages» or «Western» thematic shows arranged by local «The Golden Spur» horse-historical club; - enjoy the sound of bagpipes at the Museum of Folk Instruments (in village Tishkovshchina), which was founded by the only Belarusian master of bagpipes, lyres and other folk instruments, musician Ales Los. Where to stay: “Ganka” estate Village Epimakhi, Volozhin district, 35 km far from Minsk Two two-storey houses, with the tavern overlooking the lake where you can catch carp even on an empty hook, and a billiard room. There is a birch park around the pond, rich in mushrooms. Price: $35 per person per night, breakfast included. “Mikhalovo” estate 46 Village Mikhalovo, Volozhin district The farmyard is rich in flowers and greenery of centuries-old pine trees. In the rooms, there is a cozy interior in the style of «Provence». The mistress Elena comes from Sochi; she knows a lot about cooking and excites guests with Caucasian dishes, along with shurpa, shulyum, dolma, and lobio. You can take a bath with a herbal steam and birch brooms. Price: $120 per day for a company of 4 people. Route 2: “Yanovskoye Circle” Ivanovo – Lyaskovichi – Liakhovichi – Dostoyevo – Molodovo – Tyshkovichi – Motol – Zamoshye – Druzhilovichi – Shchekotsk. Length is 55 km. What to see: Ethnographic Museum in Motol, home of the first president of Israel Chaim Weizmann, a monument to Napoleon Orda and Holy Cross church in Ivanovo, three of the five remaining geodetic marks of the Struve Arc (UNESCO monument designed in the middle of the 19th century to create accurate maps of the area), Dostoevsky museum, old wooden church with the oldest bell in Belarus in the village Molodovo. Only there you can: – taste local foods during the International Food Festival in Motol village; – visit the Museum of Folk Medicine in Strelno. Where to stay: “Yaselda” estate Village Motol, Ivanovski district There, one will find a cozy hut and forest, which is rich in mushrooms, berries, and herbs, as well as picturesque meadows in the floodplain of Yaselda. You can rent a catamaran or a bike and take a walk through extreme wetlands in a vintage car. The hosts will guide you to the farm and show the woodworking. Price: 140 000 rubles per person per day, without food. “Hunter’s House” estate Ivanovo town, 8 Lesnaya Street Local area is good to go hunting, and the hosts will help to organize the hunt (for example, at night). Besides, there is a 250-meter shooting gallery and a pond with fish. There you can taste game. There is a motocross track close to the estate for cyclists and SUV racers. Bigfoot car races are also on offer. Price: 75 000 rubles per person per day, without food. Route 3: “Land of yellow water lilies and grey stones” Lepel– Barsuki – Latygalichi – Krasnoluki – Volosovichi – Lepel. The length is 155 km. What to see: brewery building of the end of the 19th century, the medieval cemetery in the villages Volosovichi and Taronkovichi, «Snake stone» in the village Gogolevka; settlement of Baltic tribes of the 1-4th centuries on the island of Lepel lake, opposite the Old Lepel. Only there you can: - enjoy «The Marriage of Tereshka» ceremonial Christmas play in the village Anoshko; get acquainted with the collection of items of folk life of the late 19th early 20th centuries, collected by local enthusiast from the village Old Lepel; - see gray heron’s nesting area (near the village Okono); - see the king-oak growing in the village Tadulino, with the trunk of about five meters wide. Where to stay: “Priozernaya” estate Village Old Lepel, Lepel district The estate is located on the shore of the huge lake Lepel. You can visit the Berezina biosphere reserve, or go fishing. Waters of a hundred local lakes are rich in bream, roach, rudd, perch, ide, tench, perch, and eel. If you want to get acquainted with the history of the village and its inhabitants, go to the house-museum of traditional life to spend some time with young artisans and craftsmen. Price: $15 per person per day, without food. “At Gavrilovich’s” estate 36 Village Dvor Porechye, Lepel district, Vitebsk region It’s a quiet area on the outskirts of a small village, surrounded by forest. In the courtyard, there is a comfortable pergola, and barbecue. There is a Russian bath with a guest room. 10 miles away, there are a famous Lepelski Military Resort and Zhemchuzhina health camp, where one can take a SPA course. Price: around $20 per person per night, without food.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 13:44:40 +0000
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