The Onion Road

Russian Old Believers fled here in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries after the schism in the Orthodox church, settling in a narrow strip between the road and the lake. Land was scarce, so they grew onions intensively in tiny plots - and four hundred years later the villages of Kolkja, Kasepää and Varnja still do, in gardens directly in front of the houses.

What you actually see

A near-continuous ribbon of single-street villages running along the western shore, houses turned side-on to the road with the onion beds in front. In late summer, braids of onions and strings of garlic hang from fences and porches, sold directly from the gate.

The other half of the diet is the lake: smoked and dried fish, particularly perch, pike-perch and small lake fish, sold from the same houses. There is a small onion museum, an Old Believers' museum at Kolkja, and prayer houses with the distinctive plain interiors of the tradition.

When to go

• August to September - the harvest, when the braids appear and the roadside selling is at its peak.
• October - later onions, mushrooms, quieter.
• Winter and spring - the villages are still there, but the food economy is largely indoors and much is closed.

Honest expectations

There is no single site to visit. This is a road with stops on it, and without a car it is very hard to do. The museums are small and irregularly open outside season - checking ahead saves a wasted drive.

This is a living conservative religious community. Prayer houses are not casual visitor attractions, and photographing people needs asking.

Nearby

Lake Peipus beaches at Kauksi are north along the shore. Tartu is an hour inland, and Alatskivi castle sits just off the road.