The city of Valdai is located in the center of the Valdai National Park approximately in the middle between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The distance from St. Petersburg to Valdai is 340 km, and from Moscow is 400 km. The historical center has been reconstructed in Valdai, and the city is the most convenient place from where you can go on excursions along the hiking trails of the Valdai National Park.
The village of Valdai was first mentioned in the chronicles of 1495, but its active development began only after 1653, when Patriarch Nikon founded the Valdai Iversky Monastery on Lake Valdai. He named the village of Valdai Bogoroditskoye. In 1770, Empress Catherine II granted the village the status of a city and returned the historical name of Valdai.
