The Onion Route

Overview

The Onion Route is located at a perfect distance from the university town of Tartu – the heart of the Onion Route, Alatskivi, is just 40 km away. It is perfect for a day trip from Tartu, or one could include visiting the Onion Route to the trip back to the Northern Estonia, or choose it as a separate destination for a prolonged adventure. There are lot of things and places to see, as well as opportunities to get involved.

The Onion Route offers participation in various handicraft workshops and classes where one can learn to cook traditional food from locally sourced ingredients. Alternatively, active visitors can go on heritage tours, play disc golf, try to conquer the Lake Peipus by kayak or sail, or cruise villages and local landscapes on a scooter or a kicksled. Photography enthusiasts can take part in workshops or even learn to make films, as amularARToorium and Gallery Voronja offer challenging camps and exhibitions. Of course, summer is the best time to enjoy the Onion Route, especially on a bicycle. In winter, however, can have fun on Peipus as a fisherman, and if you lack the gene, we have fishing guides who will take you to the lake, provide you with all the necessary tools, guide and teach you how to drill holes in the ice, fish and later prepare food from your catch. Or take you on a karakatitsa safari.

Although people sometimes wonder what is so special about an ‘onion root’, The Onion Route is in fact a chain of meandering villages on the shore of the Lake Peipus, inhabited both by Russians and Estonians living side by side, and which is famous for its rich cultural diversity. Three cultures to explore here:

Russian Old Believers
Manor culture of the Baltic Germans
Estonian peasant culture