Istrinskoye Reservoir is a popular vacation spot in the Moscow region. At this vast body of water built beach hotels and campgrounds, and in its vicinity are located monuments of antiquity, historic estates, monastery complexes. The resort area is connected with Moscow by railroad communication, a network of highways. Suburban buses, electric trains, shuttle buses run to the recreation centers. Due to the proximity of the Istra Reservoir to the capital, Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region often spend weekends here.
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Video: Istrinsky Reservoir from a height
Highlights
Since the 1970s, the reservoir on the Istra River has become the center of the northwestern Moscow Region resort area. Here they created a decent infrastructure of hospitality, built numerous campgrounds, resorts, campsites. In recent years on the banks of the reservoir are erected elite dacha settlements, large hotel complexes offering premium-class services. Cafes and restaurants, entertainment centers are waiting for vacationers. In the village of Pokrovskoye a modern outlet New Riga Outlet Village has been built, which is not inferior to the largest Moscow shopping centers neither by the level of comfort nor by the assortment of goods.
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Weekend tours are organized from Moscow to the Istra Reservoir. Travelers combine recreation on the water, fishing, hiking and horseback riding in the forests with excursions to numerous attractions. In the region there is an outstanding monument of antiquity – the New Jerusalem Monastery. This grandiose architectural ensemble was erected in the XVII century. In the early 2000s the monastery buildings were restored, the lost structures were rebuilt. In the surrounding villages you can see ancient churches.
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To get to the recreation centers is convenient through the town of Istra, near which the dam of the reservoir is built. The trip to this district center from Moscow by public transport will take no more than an hour and a half. Suburban buses run from here to the coastal villages and beach hotels.
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History of the Istra Reservoir
Earthworks to straighten the Istra riverbed were carried out as early as the first half of the XIX century. The river was planned to be included in an artificial navigable route from Moscow to the Volga. But only in 1929 Soviet engineers undertook the design of the Istra hydroelectric complex. In June 1932 the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR made a decision on large-scale construction of the Moscow-Volga canal. Its component part was to be the Istra reservoir. In the revised project Istra was excluded from the canal route, but the dam on the river was still erected. Thousands of prisoners from the NKVD camps were sent for its construction.
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Technical means, which were available to the canal army, consisted of shovels, picks, wooden stretchers and bulky wheelbarrows. The carts were loaded with clay, stones and rolled manually on boardwalks. The work was carried out around the clock in all weathers. The construction was supervised by People’s Commissar Lavrentiy Beria. Erection of the dam made of soil and concrete with engineering hydraulic structures and electric generators was completed in 18 months, by November 1934. In the spring of the next year the reservoir was filled, its area exceeded 33 km². For several more years the steep banks were strengthened against landslides, the cliffs were planted with tenacious shrubs and trees.
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At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Istrinskoye Reservoir briefly disappeared from the geographical map of the Moscow region. In November 1941, when there were already hard frosts, Soviet sappers blew up the spillway of the dam. The icy water stream overflowed 50 kilometers to the south and hampered the advance of the Wehrmacht troops rushing to Moscow. The destruction of the dam was completed by the Germans retreating from the Moscow region in 1942. In the same year, Soviet engineers rebuilt the dam and started the generators of the hydroelectric plant.
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In the post-war years, the reservoir, which supplied the capital with drinking water, was a regime object, its banks were guarded by armed patrols. In Istrinsky district operated defense enterprises, located secret military facilities. For several decades, entry to the neighborhood was allowed only to local residents with special passes.
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In the 1970s, the government decided to turn the surroundings of the reservoir into a recreation area. On the shores of the reservoir appeared the first sanatoriums, near the water zapestryla tents of fishermen and tourists. Today, the Istra Reservoir is a busy tourist location with numerous beaches, campgrounds, coastal hotels and entertainment centers.
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Geography and climate
The Istra Reservoir was created on the Istra River, a left tributary of the Moscow River. The dam is located 56 km northwest of the center of the capital. 8 km south of the dam, downstream of the river, is the town of Istra, the center of the district (raion) of the same name.
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The man-made sea stretches for 25 km, its width reaches in some places 4.4 km, from some parts of the beaches of the opposite shore is not visible. Three dozen settlements are located near the reservoir. The tops of the hills that were in the floodplain of the Istra, formed in the water area of wooded islands and underwater shoals.
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The rugged relief around the Istra Reservoir is formed by the Klin-Dmitrovskaya Ridge – part of the Smolensk-Moscow Upland. This formation is the watershed of the upper reaches of the Volga (northern slopes) and Oka (southern slopes) rivers. The picturesque terrain is cut by valleys and ravines. The height difference in some places of the ridge reaches 100 meters. The Istra River, which belongs to the Oka basin, originates here. In the 30s of the last century through the ridge was laid man-made canal named after Moscow.
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The region is covered with dense mixed forests and forests, alternating with meadows, arable fields, villages, dacha settlements. There are several glacial lakes, in the lowlands and river floodplains there are often swamps. In the Sergiev Posadsky district there is the largest waterfall in the metropolitan area, the Gremyachiy Klyuch waterfall. The stream falls down the ledges of a 20-meter cliff on the right bank of the Vondiga River, south of the village of Vzglyadnevo. Here, healing springs enriched with radon flow from the depths of the hill. It is a popular tourist attraction. Approaches to it are landscaped, a wooden chapel and a baptismal font have been erected nearby.
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A significant part of the untouched century-old forests is declared a conservation area. The undergrowth is rich in mushrooms, berries. In the thicket live bears, wild boars, elk and roe deer. One can often see hares, badgers and foxes. In numerous rivers live beavers, nesting waterfowl. In the Istra reservoir live bream, pike, pike, yaz, perch and other fish typical for the Moscow region. In the 50’s in the reservoir launched fry sturgeon and sterlet, but they did not take root.
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The reservoir is located in a zone of temperate continental climate. Winters here are not very cold, but snowy. The usual air temperature in January is -10 … -6 ° C. In summer, a pleasant coolness reigns near the reservoir. The warmest month in the region is July, when the air warms up to +19…+23 °С, but the middle of summer is often rainy.
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The Istra Reservoir is covered with ice by the last days of November, and freed from the ice cover in mid-April – early May. During the same period, the Istra River is marked by violent floods, the water in the channel rises by 2-3 meters. Water flow is regulated by hydraulic structures on the dam of the reservoir.
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Bathing in the first weeks of summer in the Istra Reservoir is still uncomfortable, the water warms up only to +14…+16 ° C. Beach season here lasts a short time, from July to the end of August. At this time the water temperature at the shores of the reservoir varies within +18…+25 °С.
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Sights
On the shores of the Istra Reservoir and in its vicinity there are many objects worthy of tourists’ attention – ancient monasteries and estates, museums and picturesque corners of nature. The most famous attraction of the region is the Resurrection Novoyerusalimsky Stavropegial Monastery in the town of Istra. The monastery was founded by Moscow Patriarch Nikon in the second half of the XVII century. According to the church reformer’s plan, the monastery was to become a man-made embodiment of the holy evangelical places of Palestine. Thus, the Resurrection Cathedral resembles the outlines of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, but in its appearance one can clearly read the features of Moscow architecture of Nikon’s contemporary Baroque era. There is the Golgotha Chapel, the Tower of Zion, and the nearby grove epitomizes the Garden of Gethsemane.
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In the forest park on the opposite bank of the Istra River, the building of the historical and art museum “New Jerusalem” was built in 2013. This cultural complex is closely connected with the famous monastery: previously it was located on the territory of the monastery. The exposition is based on collections of valuables from the monastery churches and sacristy, paintings from the art gallery located in the Refectory Chamber, and archaeological artifacts. In the 1920s, the museum received various works of art found in the noble estates of the Moscow region confiscated by the new authorities – antique furniture, mirrors, porcelain, antique weapons and books. Currently there are more than 180,000 items stored here. In the halls of the modern building are organized thematic traveling exhibitions, classical music concerts.
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In 25 km to the southeast, in the village of Anosino, there is the Boris and Gleb Nunnery. Its architectural complex was formed in the first half of the XIX century. In the monastery shop you can buy milk and sour cream, fresh cheese made by the nuns, fragrant Anosino bread baked according to a special recipe. Bus No. 22 runs from Istra to Anosino.
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Not far from Anosino is the village of Padikovo, where an impressive Museum of Russian military history has been created. Several pavilions are built here, in which collections of weapons, awards, military uniforms are exhibited. The exposition consists of three sections devoted to the military history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and modern Russia. Dozens of samples of combat and auxiliary vehicles, artillery pieces, armored vehicles are exhibited. All of them are restored, not only the appearance, but also the motors and mechanisms. The private museum is open to tourists on weekends from 12:00 to 16:00, admission is free.
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Another military-historical museum is located at the 41st kilometer of the Volokolamsk highway, near the village of Snegiri. In addition to samples of Soviet military equipment, here are stored weapons found at the site of the battles of 1941 Wehrmacht soldiers and even a German heavy tank “Tiger”. Nearby there is a memorial to the Red Army soldiers who died in the battles of 1941. The museum receives visitors daily from 09:00 to 17:00. The cost of inspection – 100 rubles, day off – Monday.
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One of the oldest architectural monuments in the area of the Istra Reservoir is located in the village of Yurkino, 12 km southwest of Istra. Here in 2017 the church, erected at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries, was restored and consecrated. With the church are associated with the names of the boyars Buturlins, princes Obolensky. From the district center there is a bus number 34.
By bus number 32 from Istra you can go to the village of Kuibyshev hydroelectric complex, which is in the near suburbs, and see the dam, which formed a vast reservoir with an area of 33.6 km². The height of the dam is 25 meters and its length is 488 meters. The generators of the two hydroelectric units produce 7 million kilowatts of electricity annually.
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Beaches of the Istra Reservoir
On the coast of the Istra Reservoir there are many picturesque places suitable for swimming, but most of them are “wild” beaches, lacking basic infrastructure. For example, near the village of Pyatnitsa there is a good sandy beach with a gentle bottom, but the coast is not equipped with deck chairs or changing booths, there are no toilets. A volleyball court is arranged here, a soccer field is marked. Here you can get here by train from the Leningradsky railway station. Get off at the platform “Kryukovo”, there take the bus number 23, it will take you to the coastal village.
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Romantics put tents on the beach at the village of Malye Berezhki. It’s usually crowded and quiet, with a forest nearby. In the village there is a grocery store and a cafe.
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Decent infrastructure is created on the beach of the village of Trusovo. There is a rental shop for deck chairs, umbrellas, inflatable mattresses, there is a shallow swimming area for children. You can rent a boat, catamaran, jet ski.
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One of the most popular beaches is located right at the dam of the Istra Reservoir, in the village of Kuibyshev hydrosystem. The descent to the water is gentle, the bottom is sandy. On the coast grows a pine forest. Entrance is free.
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Well-equipped beaches and resorts and campgrounds, coastal hotels. For entry to these landscaped areas you need to pay from 100 rubles. Among such civilized locations – the beach of the resort hotel Avantel Club Istra, which is in the village of Lechishchevo. The beach has all the necessary infrastructure for recreation, including a cafe and restaurant. There are kayaks, catamarans and sailing boats for rent. In the children’s bathing area there are slides, inflatable trampolines, a team of animators works. Near the beach there are gazebos with barbecues, massage rooms, solarium, beauty salon. From Istra here goes bus number 32.
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Fishing
The full-flowing Istra Reservoir is rich in fish. Locals advise to go fishing in the early morning, when the water area is free of numerous recreational motorboats, scaring away fish.
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The shores of the reservoir are cut by winding bays. They say that it is in these places are well caught bream, pike, pikeperch, pikeperch, catfish. Good places for catching large predatory fish are on the Pyatnitsky pleth, in the Lyshchevsky bay, where there are pools up to 18-20 meters deep. Fish places are also explored in the area of Tatishchevo, Yakimanka, Berezhki villages. There are good catches of gouster, yaz, perch.
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Recreation centers and local fishing clubs offer the services of experts who take tourists who want to fish, to baited waters with a guaranteed catch. Here, novice fishermen will be able to pick up fishing rods, spinning rods and tackle, which can be rented. But it is not necessary to rent a boat: there are many places on the reservoir, convenient for fishing from the shore.
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Entertainment
In the city of Istra there is a drama theater. Its building in Art Nouveau style was erected in 1914 near the New Jerusalem Monastery. At the facade of the theater there is a monument to Chekhov. There is another stage in the city – the Youth Theater (Friendship Square). There is a sculptural composition “Istra River”. On Panfilov Street you can see the exposition of rare cars of domestic production.
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Since 2012 in the village of Sheludkovo there is a Moscow Raceway autodrome, capable of hosting the most prestigious competitions. National and international teams race here, with stands for 30,000 spectators. The speed record set here is impressive: 317 km/h. Those who wish to drive around the autodrome are offered to rent sports cars Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW and other brands. The local store sells souvenirs, stylish sportswear, and accessories for car enthusiasts.
In the hotel complex “Yakhonty” (village Lechishchevo) you can have fun in the aqua center, where there are pools, slides, sauna works. The center is open from 08:15 to 22:00, the entrance ticket costs 750 rubles. On the vast territory of the hotel are organized games of paintball teams. The cost of participation – from 1200 rubles per person. There is also equipment for laser tag (participation – from 1000 rubles for 1 hour). Applications for a team game should be submitted 4 days in advance through the hotel website. In the shooting gallery you can shoot an air rifle (200 rubles/10 shots), a bow or crossbow (200 rubles/5 arrows).
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At many recreation centers of the Istra reservoir offers rent catamarans (500 rubles / hour), kayaks (1900 rubles / hour), jet skis (4500 rubles/30 min.). Rent a four-seater speedboat for a half-hour walk can be from 2000 rubles. Rent a pleasure boat for the whole day will cost 20,000 – 110,000 rubles.
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In winter time on the coast and on the ice of frozen reservoirs are arranged skating rinks, in the forests laid ski tracks, offers to rent snowmobiles, horse-drawn sleighs.
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Shopping
Shops and markets are open everywhere at the campgrounds and in the villages. Popular purchases at bazaars are seasonal berries and mushrooms, preserves, pickles. A tasty souvenir is smoked and dried fish.
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The center of shopping in the area of the Istra Reservoir is New Riga Outlet Village. This modern shopping center is built in the village of Pokrovskoye, located off the Novorizhskoye highway. The outlet is a whole quarter of 150 stores and branded boutiques offering products of more than 500 brands. Novaya Riga sells clothes, footwear, cosmetics, and has a large selection of goods for children. Seasonal sales with significant discounts are organized throughout the year. There is a grocery supermarket and delicatessen stores. In addition, in a separate pavilion there is an exhibition gallery, where you can buy paintings and sculptures, interior design items, pick up gifts.
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There are cafes and restaurants, food court and McDonald’s, entertainment zones, children’s playground with a merry-go-round. In winter, an ice rink is poured in the park zone. There is a farm on the territory, where ponies, goats, lambs, cows, reindeer and donkeys live. The animals can be fed (bags are sold) and petted. Suburban bus No. 881K runs here from the metro station “Strogino”. From there every two hours from 11:00 to 21:00 a free shuttle of the shopping center goes to the stores of “New Riga”. There is an extensive parking lot for 1,250 cars for car tourists who come for shopping.
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In the village of Dubrovskoye, a private Istrinskaya cheese factory has been operating since 2015. Excursions are organized here, tourists get acquainted with the production of cheese, visit the cowshed and farm. The tour ends with a tasting of the products. Visitors are invited on free group tours lasting 30 minutes every day from 10:00 to 17:00. Individual tours accompanied by a cheese sommelier are available for those wishing to learn more about the intricacies of cheese making. The cost of an hour and a half informative tour – from 2000 rubles.
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On the territory of the cheese factory work cafe and specialty store. The cost of cheese – 130-190 rubles per 100 g. Also offered yogurt (80-100 rubles/250 ml), milk (from 100 rubles/0.75 liters). The store is open daily from 09:00 to 21:00. On weekdays from the railway platform “Novoyerusalimskaya” to the cheese factory run company buses.
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Cafes and restaurants
Long to look for a restaurant or cafe in the area of the Istra Reservoir will not have to. A lot of culinary establishments await guests in the surrounding villages, at the campgrounds, by the road.
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In the city of Istra, on Panfilova Street, 55, there is a popular restaurant complex “Staraya Mill”. In addition to a stylish restaurant, guests can expect a cafe, a summer veranda. The first dishes are perfectly prepared here – a prefabricated solyanka (380 rubles), scalding kharcho soup (440 rubles), creamy cream soup with salmon (390 rubles). For the second course you should try Barski-style pork baked with mushrooms and cheese (RUB 530), specialty roast “Melnitsa” in a clay pot (RUB 480), beef stroganoff with mushrooms (RUB 460), Tsar-style salmon with caviar sauce (RUB 870). For dessert, Ceylon or green tea, carcade, coffee, cakes, ice cream with fresh fruit are served here.
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Among inexpensive culinary establishments with good cuisine can be called cafe “Moremania” in the village of Pavlovskaya Sloboda, on Lenina Street, 76/2. The doors are open from 09:00-21:00, the cost of dishes does not exceed 400 rubles. Nearby there is a farmer’s market “Bessarabka”, offering the freshest vegetables, fruits, nuts, pastries, imported delicacies and unique wines. Yalta and Pizzunda restaurants, El Carnicero grill-bar, various culinary shops are waiting for guests on the territory of “Bessarabka”. Beer lovers will find a good choice of domestic, Czech and German-made foamy drinks in local restaurants. Snacks are varied: from democratic toast with garlic to beer plates with fried shrimp, cuts of sausages, sharp cheese, smoked.
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In social networks, tourists leave good feedback about the family cafe “Dacha” (Istra, Adasko Street, 11). Here you can have a tasty and inexpensive snack, the service is impeccable. The cafe is open from 11:00 to 21:00 daily. The range of prices for main courses – 290-970 rubles.
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Where to stay
The choice of lodging on the shores of the Istra Reservoir is extremely wide – from budget boardwalks by the water and tent campsites to well-appointed campgrounds and modern spa hotels. Only in the city of Istra tourists are invited to two dozen hotels.
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The rating of the most comfortable and expensive beach hotels located on the shores of the Istra Reservoir includes Mistral Hotel & Spa 5 *. The complex is built in the village of Rozhdestveno. It offers its guests a private equipped beach, three swimming pools, a spa-salon with a bath, a fitness club and a tennis court. There is a restaurant and a lounge bar offering cocktails and strong drinks. There is a business center with stable Wi-Fi. The rooms of the Mistral Hotel are equipped with TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators. There are mini-bars, safes. Prices for a daily stay range from 7781 – 23,270 rubles, breakfast included.
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Nothing inferior to the “Mistral” in comfort and service four-star hotel complex “Yakhonty Istra”, located in the coastal village of Lechishchevo, which is 16 km north of the district center. Three restaurants, two lobby bars are waiting for guests. The aqua center has swimming pools, slides, sauna, massage and treatment rooms, beauty salon. From 08:00 to 20:00 there is a children’s club, the kids are entertained by animators. Hotel guests use the equipped beach for free. Boat trips and fishing are offered. Accommodation here will cost 6818 – 11,412 rubles.
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Not far from the village of Lopotovo opened a country club “Romantic”. People often come here for a couple of hours to have lunch, swim and sunbathe. You can also stay for several days. In the complex there is a restaurant and a cinema hall, at the beach are rented gazebos with barbecues. In the forest on the coast are built 1-2-storey log cottages with bedrooms, toilets and showers, equipped with sports grounds, offers equipment rental. There are 5 steam rooms in the sauna. The cost of renting a cottage – from 4,200 to 8,100 rubles per day with meals in the restaurant (breakfast, lunch, soft drinks). For guests who do not live in the cottages of the club, the entrance to the territory will cost 300 rubles, on weekends – 500 rubles. The restaurant is open till 00:00. On the menu – dishes of Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, barbecue, prices are moderate.
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Near the dam is located sanatorium “Wave”, built back in the 1970s. This is one of the first health resorts on the banks of the Istra Reservoir. The buildings are surrounded by trees, flower beds. At the service of vacationers – two swimming pools, gymnasium, dining room, billiard room, sports fields. There is a recreation area equipped with barbecues with gazebos. Bicycle rental is offered, excursions and water walks are organized. The rooms are equipped with refrigerators, TVs, electric kettles. Accommodation here costs 3854-6447 rubles.
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Transportation
In the area of the Istrinsky reservoir runs the federal highway M11 Moscow – St. Petersburg, paved regional roads, including the Volokolamskoye highway. The region is connected with Moscow by railroad and bus transportation. There are cab services in Istra and other towns of the region. The district center has two railway stations – “Istra” and “Novoyerusalimskaya”, there are other stop platforms of electric trains in the region. To the stations you can call a cab in advance, the car will take you to the desired recreation center. Between the regional center and the surrounding towns, villages and dacha settlements there are shuttle buses.
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Inquisitive tourists who want to combine recreation with a visit to local museums and attractions scattered throughout the Istra district, it is better to go here by private car. All campgrounds and hotels have parking lots where you can safely leave your car.
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How to get there
From the platforms of the Riga railway station to Istra around the clock suburban electric trains run. During the day the interval of movement is within 20-40 minutes, at night there is a break in the schedule from 00:21 to 04:21. Travel time – 1 h. 25 minutes, ticket price – from 182 rubles.
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From the bus station “Tushinskaya” to Istra depart buses route number 372. The trip lasts 1 h. 12 minutes, the ticket will cost 57-137 rubles, separately paid for luggage.
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