A Town of Fifty Churches and One Lake

18 points23 km6.55 hours

A walk around Pereslavl-Zalessky won't be quick, but it will certainly be fascinating. Panoramic views, myths and legends, ancient churches, and plenty of pleasant impressions await you in this town on Russia's Golden Ring.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras
🏰🕵️‍♂️ Discover a legend

Route points (18)

S. F. Kharitonov Arboretum in Pereslavl-Zalessky

Point on route “A Town of Fifty Churches and One Lake”

Point 3

S. F. Kharitonov Arboretum

🌳 Botanical garden

Everyone Knows Kharitonov

Ask older locals and you'll hear plenty of stories about the founder of this park and how it all began before their eyes.

How the Garden Began

The arboretum was created in 1952 in Pereslavl-Zalessky by Sergei Fyodorovich Kharitonov, an Honored Forester of Russia. At first the garden was small; later it became a park covering more than 50 hectares (124 acres). In the 1950s Kharitonov took up plant introduction work*, and in 1960 the arboretum's collection was started. Today about 600 different species grow here, with more than 40,000 plants in all.

The Best Place to Relax

It's more interesting to walk here with a guide, but you can also explore on your own: next to the plants there are signs with brief information. The arboretum is divided by native habitat into 8 sections: Siberia, Crimea and the Caucasus, the Far East, Eastern and Western Europe, Central Asia, North America, and Japan and China. In summer it's the best place for cycling and walking, and for relaxing in the shade of dense greenery. *Introduction is the work of bringing new species of wild plants into cultivation by growing them outside their natural range.