Novgorod region rich in tourist attractions. One of them is the Valdai lake. Water clarity and the uniqueness of it is put on a par with lake Baikal. The purity of the water is due to the glacial nature of origin. Surrounded by a lake on the territory of almost two thousand hectares, the length of the lake stretches for ten and a maximum width of seven miles. Compared to other lakes of the Valdai hills, the lake is a small, an average depth of about fifteen feet, but there are places where the depth reaches fifty-two meters. No lake in the Novgorod region has no such depth.

From the water surface of Valday lake rises many Islands. The largest of them are ash and Birch, which received its name because of the trees growing on them. These Islands share a water surface of a lake on Dolgoborodsky and Valdai reaches.

Sufficient depth makes the lake open for shipping, which lasts from early may to late November. The rest of the time the lake water holds down the ice. Navigable channel allows access to the adjoining lake with an interesting name Dinner. The canal was dug in the middle of the nineteenth century. Earlier, instead of the channel was narrow rivulet Fedoseeva, no longer than a hundred and fifty meters.

On the banks of lake in the hills grow primeval forest, down to the water, sandy beaches. Many springs gush from the bottom of the lake, provide transparent and clear waters. The name of the lake is talking about it. It is translated into the Russian language as "white or light".

Low flow rates and a significant amount of water, a full upgrade which is possible only once in forty years, can be attributed to the lake to the category of standing water. It also influenced the fish fauna of the lake. In the lake you can catch a float fish, mostly perch, roach, ruff no more than twenty centimeters long. Fish of larger size comes much less frequently. But this does not prevent active fish pursued by Amateur fishermen and entrepreneurs. Total production amounts to forty tons per year, the third part, which falls to the share of the organized fishing entrepreneurs.

The cleanliness of the lakes, untouched nature and relative remoteness from the Madding crowd attracted to the Islands of the monks. In the middle of the seventeenth century by Patriarch Nikon on the island ash was laid abode, in the image and likeness of the monastery on mount Athos. Thus arose the Iveron monastery – a monument of architecture of the seventeenth - eighteenth centuries. The monastery had a great influence not only on the Valdai lake and its surroundings. In fact, it became a center of spirituality, education, book printing, place of birth new crafts and their development. While the lake received another name – Holy. Currently the monastery restores former glory. Every day, the bells spread over the water, calling the faithful to prayer, hundreds of pilgrims gather under the white walls and silver domes. Alexy II at the beginning of 2008 sanctified abode.

One of the attractions of the Valdai lake is the bell Museum. It is located in the Church–the rotunda, built for the Russian Empress Catherine II. The Museum collected bells from all over the Russian Federation. Except the bells the Museum contains unique information about the technology of their production, about the art of plaiting. Some bells can still please the visitors of the Museum inexpressible beauty of their sound.

Valday lake occupies a worthy place in the blue necklace, which form a lake Valdai hills.