ARKHANGELSK, September 18. /TASS/. 'From Nyonoksa to White Sea' is a new tourist route from the limited-access village not far from Severodvinsk to the White Sea coast with garnet sands, which the Arkhangelsk Region is happy to offer to travelers. This is the first ever route around the village, the Severodvinsk Local History Museum's representative Tatiana Gribanova told TASS.

Nyonoksa is located in the territory of a military testing range, and special permissions are required to get into the village.

"This is an ecological and ethnographic trail that runs from the village of Nyonoksa to the White Sea. There have never been ecological and ethnographic trails," she said. "The route begins on the outskirts of the village, where we tell the visitors about its history, then we walk across the hayfields, go deeper into the forest, and reach the White Sea coast, exactly in the location of garnet sands."

The return route is about 8 kilometers. It has been designed for both adults and children. Walking along the trial is possible until winter comes.

The village of Nyonoksa is located on the White Sea shore, 40 km from Severodvinsk. The village is a part of the city. Nyonoksa has been known since the 14th century, and in the 16th century it became the center of salt production in the Russian North. Some structures associated with salt production have been preserved there. The village's Trinity Church presently is the only five-domed wooden church in the world. It was built in 1724.

In the Soviet times, the village was part of a state-run collective farm with arable lands. Presently, in the meadows around the village visitors will see different birds: snipes, ruffs, gyrfalcons, and swans on lakes. The route runs along the Verkhovka River, where tourists will learn interesting details about the local fishing ethics. "What is typical for Nyonoksa: every family has its own plot where they fish. Only they, or their friends - if permitted, can come to that site. Fishers say: I can fish here, but I can't fish there. This is how things have been here for several centuries," the museum's representative said. The locals fish also in the sea. In the Soviet years fishing was an industry in those places. It is very typical for the White Sea's fishing culture to use fishing huts, and visiting tourists will be able to see one of such houses.

On the White Sea coast near Nyonoksa there are beaches with garnet sands. Garnets are not to be found there, the water breaks them next to the coast and throws the red-brown sand onto the beach.

How to visit Nyonoksa

Nyonoksa is a limited-access area. It may be entered with a special pass only. The formality requires a host party in the village. It can be a museum or, for example, a guest house, where the personnel undertake responsibilities for visitors. The pass formalities take about one month, thus the museum warns visitors to apply well beforehand.

Driving to Nyonoksa is available year-round: first 30 km along an asphalt road from Severodvinsk, and another 12 km along an unpaved road.

The ecological and ethnographic trail project is the winner of the Museum Initiative - 2023 contest.