Kargopol, Solvychegodsk, Veliky Ustyug and Totma

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This tour will allow you to get rid of momentary problems for a while, and plunge into the world of temple architecture of Ancient Russia, will allow you to feel the great spiritual heritage that our ancestors bequeathed to us, so that we preserve in our hearts a sense of beauty and harmony of the world.

There are many architectural monuments left from our Orthodox history. You will get acquainted with those that can rightfully be called spiritual symbols of the Russian North.

A pleasant addition to the tour program will be an introduction to the folk crafts and crafts of the Russian North – Kargopol clay toys, blackening on silver, birch bark and weaving. And a rustic Oshevenesque lunch with lots of pies from the Russian oven will be a real treat for our guests.

Location

Arkhangelsk region, Nyandoma

Sightseeing tours

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Weekdays: 8am - 8pm
Weekends: 8am - 7pm (GMT +3)

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Tour highlights

Spiritual symbols of the Russian North

Visit the Church of Prokopius the Righteous in Veliky Ustyug, the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Kargopol and the Monastery of Alexander Oshevensky in Kargopol

Introduction to folk crafts and crafts

There will be an opportunity to get acquainted with Kargopol clay toys, blackening on silver, birch bark craft and weaving

Rustic lunch in the Oshevenski style

A rustic lunch with lots of pies from the Russian oven awaits you.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Sightseeing tour of Kargopol and the Kargopolye exhibition since ancient times
05:44 Arrival at Nyandoma station by train No. 10 from St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk.
09:27 Arrival at Nyandoma station by train No. 126 Moscow – Arkhangelsk.
The meeting is a gathering of tourists with a sign at the main entrance to the railway station from the platform.
09:30 Transfer to Kargopol (78 km).
10:30 Arrival in Kargopol. Meeting with the guide.
A 10:45 sightseeing walking tour of the city will take you along the cozy embankment, the temple complexes in the squares will delight with their splendor, and local legends and legends will completely immerse you in the distant past of the northern glorious city.
The city of Kargopol is located at the very source of the Onega River, which originates from Lake Lache. In the past, it was a famous trading city of the ancient Russian state, the lands of which stretched along the Onega River to the White Sea.
The transit salt route from Pomerania passed through Kargopol.
12:15 p.m. Visit to the exhibition "Kargopolye since ancient times". Summary: the exhibition presents the history of the Kargopol fortress, objects of the 17th century excavations, including weapons, cannons, cannonballs, etc.
Visitors will be presented with a unique icon "Boris and Gleb on the background of the burning Kargopol fortress", painted in 1700 on May 1 in memory of the miraculous rescue of Kargopol from the fire.
They will tell about the siege of the Kargopol fortress by Polish-Lithuanian troops in 1612 and the successes of the Kargopolites, where they also showed glorious victories.
13:00 Lunch at a cafe.
14:00 Accommodation in hotels/guest houses in rooms with all amenities.
15:00 Free time to explore the city on your own.
This part of the unorganized journey is sure to be extremely interesting and informative. People come here for the atmosphere.
You can just walk around Kargopol without any purpose and enjoy everything you see. Different air, different rhythm, different thoughts. Intricate houses from different eras, in some places wooden sidewalks, quiet provincial streets.
Optional (on your own, for an additional fee) – visit to the first Private House in Kargopol, the Museum of the Shevelev dynasty of Potters.
Dinner (on your own).

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Day 2 - Oshevenskaya parish and lunch in Oshevensky
08:00 Breakfast.
08:30 Bus and walking expedition to "Oshevenskaya volost". In addition to the village of Oshevenskoye, the route will be to the villages of Saunino and Pogost (50 km). This is the second most important place in Kargopol, where you should definitely visit.
An ancient, reviving monastery, wooden architecture and traditional crafts from the Russian north coexist here at the same time. The village of Oshevenskoye is an outstanding historical and landscape monument of the Russian North.
There is a church of St. John Chrysostom in the village of Saunino. This is a tent temple built in 1665. Inside, the temple is covered with a picturesque ceiling – “painted skies". The hexagonal bell tower of the XVIII century gives the whole ensemble a complete and unique look.
Ensembles of wooden architecture monuments are also expected in the village with the wonderful name Pogost. In ancient times, this word meant not only a cemetery, but also a common place of nearby settlements.
12:00 Village lunch in the Oshev style with homemade bread and pies from a Russian oven.
After lunch, we continue our acquaintance with Kargopol – we go to the village of Archangel, where on the left bank of the Onega River there are two wooden churches — Archangel Michael (1715) and Candlemas of the Lord (circa 1820).
The first one is unique in that it is completed with a cuboid roof, known only in Poonezhye and on the Prionezhsky shore of the White Sea. Cuba has a traditional five-domed church.
The apse is blocked by a barrel. The Sretensky Church has a helmet-shaped roof with a cupola. The Temple of the Presentation of the Lord belongs to the type of tiered temples.
15:00 Free time to continue exploring the city on your own.
For an additional fee, the following services are offered:
Suburban bus tour to the village of Bolshye Lyadiny (37 km) with a check–in (if there is a driveway) to the village of Krasnaya Lyaga, where the unique Candlemas Church tent (1655) has been preserved (self-guided tour).
External inspection of the multi–headed Church of the Epiphany (1793) with a semicircular porch - cemetery in the village of Lyadiny.
Visit to the ethnographic museum "Lyadinskoe uzorochye" (the revival of the linen industry, objects of peasant life, the history of the village). The cost of the tour starts from 2,500 rubles per person.
Visit to the Bereginya Folk Crafts Center, which is located in a building that is an architectural monument of the early 19th century.
Traveling through the workshops of the Folk Crafts Center, you will come into contact with traditional northern crafts — birch bark weaving, patchwork, folk rag doll, weaving, clay toy.
“Reborn Craft" is the name of the exposition of our small museum, which preserves the warmth of the hands and souls of craftsmen in the images and plots of clay toys.
Souvenir shop. The price is according to the price list of the center.
18:00 Dinner (on your own).
23:00 Room release. Transfer to Nyandoma station (78 km).
Day 3 - Salty Lake, mineral spring and the embankment of the Vychegda River
01:04 Departure by train No. 371 Arkhangelsk — Kotlas.
10:46 Arrival at Kotlas Yuzhny station. Meeting of tourists at the main entrance to the railway station from the side of the platform with a sign.
11:00 Transfer to Solvychegodsk (30 km).
12:00 Sightseeing walking tour — Saline Lake, mineral spring, Vychegda river embankment.
Excursion to the Annunciation Cathedral, the house church of the Stroganov merchants (XVI century), which houses the exposition of the Solvychegodsky Historical and Architectural Museum. Frescoes and an iconostasis from the 17th century have been preserved in the interior of the temple.
The bell tower of the cathedral offers a wonderful panorama of this small county town. An introduction to the Vvedensky Monastery, founded in the 17th century near the Salt Lake, on the shore of which a salt barn has been preserved.
The main temple of the monastery, the Vvedensky Cathedral, has preserved an impressive seven—tiered carved iconostasis and icons of the “Stroganov” school of the 17th century.
During the day of sightseeing, there is time for an independent snack in a cafe in Solvychegodsk.
16:00 Transfer to Veliky Ustyug (101 km).
Accommodation at the Dvina Hotel.
Free time.
Day 4 - Sightseeing tour of Veliky Ustyug and the Museum of Ancient Russian Art
08:30 Breakfast in the hotel cafe.
09:00 Sightseeing walking tour with a visit to the church of Prokopius of Ustyuzha. During the tour, tourists will visit the Cathedral Courtyard, get acquainted with the ensemble of the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Monastery (founded in the XII century).
They will see beautiful monuments of stone architecture — the churches of the Transfiguration of the Savior and the Sretensky Transfiguration of the 12th and 18th centuries, the churches of the Ascension and St. Nicholas of the 17th century, monuments of civil architecture, and stroll along the embankment of the Sukhona River.
11:30 a.m. Visit to the souvenir shops “Severnaya rabble” and “Korobeinik".
12:00 An excursion to the Museum of Ancient Russian Art is held at the Church of the Ascension. The Museum of Ancient Russian Art was created in the architectural monument of the 17th century — the Church of the Ascension, where a museum tour was organized.
Today, the temple is a rare monument, distinguished by the integrity of its interior. Ustyug icon painting is especially vividly represented in the Museum of Ancient Russian Art.
About 70 monuments of icon painting of the XV–XVII centuries are on display, 33 of them are shown for the first time. The famous “Ustyuzha letters” are presented, with their elegance of drawing and calligraphic purity of lines, careful drawing of details and exquisite coloring.
In the case of a weekend or a sanitary day at the Church of the Ascension, the tour is replaced by a sightseeing tour of the museum's storage facility.
Summary: the depository is a repository of museum funds, and a sightseeing tour of the museum's collections is underway, including tiles and furniture, artistic birch bark and samovars, glass and porcelain, books and documents.
13:00 Lunch at a cafe.
14:00 For an additional fee, you can choose from:
a trip to the Country Estate of Santa Claus — a visit to the fabulous terem of the gray wizard, the Trail of fairy tales and the forge of Santa Claus. The cost starts from 4,000 rubles per person.
excursion to the museum of the Severnaya Rabble factory. The cost starts from 600 rubles/person.
excursion to the ethnographic museum “Art of the Ustyuzha land" in the St. Nicholas Church building. The rich stock collections allowed us to show a variety of folk art of the Ustyuzha region of the XVII – early XX centuries: patterned weaving (pestle, remiz, brane, elective), embroidery, cubic printing, wood carving and painting, forging and cutting, ceramics. The cost starts from 1,500 rubles/person.
excursion to the Trinity-Gledensky Monastery. At the confluence of the Sukhona and Yuga rivers, the city of Gleden stood on a high hill from time immemorial. A monastery in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity was founded near the city, which is rightfully considered one of the oldest in the Russian North. The tour is a bus and pedestrian tour, held only in summer (from May to September). Cost — from 3000 rubles/person;
excursion to the St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral, decorated with a tall three-tiered carved gilded iconostasis of the 17th and 18th centuries. The tour is a walking tour, conducted only in the summer (from May to September). The cost starts from 1,500 rubles/person.

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Day 5 - The darkness. Completion of the program
07:30 Breakfast in the hotel cafe. Room release.
08:00 Departure to Totma (240 km).
11:30 a.m. Sightseeing tour of the city “Small town with a long history” will allow travelers to leisurely stroll through the provincial streets of the county town, examine wooden houses with angular balconies and carved architraves.
He will discover amazingly beautiful temples made in the architectural style of "Totemic Baroque", tell you what "cartouches" are and why they made Totma famous all over the world.
Note: during the day of sightseeing, time is allocated for an independent lunch at the Totma cafe.
15:00 The Museum of Church Antiquities is located in the Assumption Cathedral with a high majestic bell tower. Its exposition includes monuments of North Russian icon painting, samples of wooden temple sculpture, small plastic made of copper and wood, as well as items of church utensils.
The museum houses a miraculous icon of Our Lady of All Sorrowful Joy, painted in the 17th century.
16:00 Free time.
17:15 Departure to Vologda (200 km).
At the exit from Totma, check into the roadside camping "Lisiy Ostrov" for a sanitary stop.
20:30 Arrival in Vologda at the railway station.
21:58 Departure of tourists by train No. 125 Cherepovets – Moscow.
22:27 Departure of tourists by train No. 13 Novokuznetsk – St. Petersburg.

Difficulty

Suitable for everyone

Tour organizer's comments

Bus and walking tours are waiting for you.

Accommodation

Guest House

1 night
Train

1 night
Hotel

2 nights

Comfort

Basic+
Upscale

The tour provides accommodation in rooms with amenities.

The cost of the tour for 1 person:

for 1-bed accommodation, 103,100 rubles;
for 2-bed accommodation, 94,400 rubles.

Tour conditions

Group

From 2 to 10 tourists

Minimum age

5 years old

Duration

5 days 4 nights

Group meets at

Arkhangelsk region, Nyandoma

Included in price

transportation and tour services according to the program;
meals included in the program: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches;
accommodation in rooms with amenities.

Paid extra

railway tickets to Nyandoma station and back from Vologda;
railway tickets (Nyandoma – Kotlas Yuzhny internal crossing) – to be purchased in advance on your own;
meals and excursions listed as "on your own" or "for an additional fee".

It's important to know

Air and railway tickets are not included in the price of the tour. You can purchase them yourself or contact us for help.

Railway tickets for the Nyandoma — Kotlas Yuzhny domestic crossing are also purchased by tourists themselves (through a travel agency).

Dates and Prices

$1,288

10 – 14 Jun 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

24 – 28 Jun 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

8 – 12 Jul 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

22 – 26 Jul 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

5 – 9 Aug 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

19 – 23 Aug 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

16 – 20 Sep 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

4 – 8 Nov 5 days 4 nights

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$1,288

9 – 13 Dec 5 days 4 nights

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Reviews Leave a review

N
Natalia

about tour - Kargopol, Solvychegodsk, Veliky Ustyug and Totma

26 Feb, 2026

A truly engaging and informative tour! With an excellently designed itinerary. We visited small towns in northern Russia, each with its own unique culture and rich history. The guides were highly professional, and the overall program was organized to a very high standard. The beautiful northern landscapes and the magical White Nights made the experience even more special. We discovered so many new and fascinating things and completely fell in love with the Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions. The entire trip was filled with joy and positive emotions. We highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in the history and culture of Russia and its northern regions.
N
Natalia

about provider

26 Feb, 2026

The tour was perfectly organized. The hotels we stayed in were comfortable, clean, and cozy, with attentive and friendly staff. The meals provided throughout the trip were plentiful, you certainly won’t lose any weight :) Our guides were always attentive and helpful. The entire itinerary was carefully planned down to the minute, with no delays or issues. Many thanks to the providers for a fantastic experience!