Veps Forest Nature Park

Veps Forest Nature Park is a protected area in Leningrad Oblast featuring expansive spruce forests, raised sphagnum bogs, and numerous lakes linked by streams and rivers. The territory covers roughly 189,100 hectares and is shaped by glacial deposits that create gentle ridges throughout the landscape.

The park was established as a protected area in 1999 and preserves a landscape shaped by glacier movements during the last ice age. The region has served as a settlement area for the Veps and other Finno-Ugric peoples for centuries.

The territory is home to the Veps people, a minority ethnic group who maintain their own language and way of life distinct from surrounding regions. Visitors can observe traditional crafts and local customs in the small settlements scattered across the area.

Access to the park works best through organized guided tours that require advance booking. Accommodations are available in and around the park, ranging from hotels and guest houses to designated camping areas.

The park contains several lakes that are connected by streams even though they sit higher than the river valley below them. This unusual arrangement arose from glacial formations and creates a rare hydrological system worth observing.