Hill map. Podgora map in Russian. Photo of Podgora village and surroundings
Here is a detailed map of Podgora with street names in Russian and house numbers. You can easily get directions by moving the map in all directions with the mouse or by clicking on the arrows in the upper left corner. You can change the scale using the scale with the "+" and "-" icons located on the right side of the map. The easiest way to adjust the image size is by rotating the mouse wheel.
What country is Podgora in?
Podgora is located in Croatia. This is a wonderful, beautiful city, with its own history and traditions. Podgora coordinates: north latitude and east longitude (show on a large map).
virtual walk
An interactive map of Podgora with sights and other tourist sites is an indispensable tool for independent travel. For example, in the "Map" mode, the icon of which is located in the upper left corner, you can see the city plan, as well as a detailed road map with route numbers. You can also see the railway stations and airports of the city marked on the map. Nearby you see the "Satellite" button. By turning on the satellite mode, you will see the terrain, and by zooming in, you can explore the city in great detail (thanks to satellite maps from Google Maps).
Move the "man" from the lower right corner of the map to any street in the city, and you can take a virtual walk through Podgora. Adjust the direction of movement using the arrows that appear in the center of the screen. By turning the mouse wheel, you can zoom in or out on the image.
The purpose of the route is to see the villages of Samarskaya Luka - Gavrilova Polyana and Podgory, ride the “Moscow” along the Volga, visit monasteries and a holy spring.
Continuation of our one-day hike from Samara. To understand what's what, admire the Volga expanses from "Moscow" and take a walk around the village of Gavrilova Polyana, it is better to familiarize yourself with the beginning of our trip in the article.
The road from Gavrilova Polyana is paved and in very good condition. This state of the road goes all the way to the village, which is why this route is so popular with Samara cyclists. The good condition of the road surface is due to the low traffic. The roads of the Samarskaya Luka are isolated and to get on them you need to load your car from the Samara pier Schmidt onto the ferry going to Rozhdestveno.
During the entire trip to Podgora (about five kilometers and a couple of hours), about a dozen cars and cyclists drove past us. So you don’t have to worry that the trip will be on the road and you will breathe exhaust fumes.
The place where we are now is called Podgorskaya floodplain, and the road along which we are going Lesnoy. Throughout the road to Podgora, we will be accompanied by Lake Stone on the left,
and on the right is the White Mountain (in the photo below it is on the left), people lived on its top in the 3rd century BC. The tribe that lived here got the name Belogorsk.
It is so warm and cozy on the road that the local living creatures crawl out here to soak up.
White Mountain.
To the right of the road, at the foot of Belaya Mountain, a kilometer from Gavrilova Polyana stands memorial - a monument to the victims of political repression.
White Mountain has its own sad and terrible story. At its foot, for two kilometers, dead political prisoners were buried from a separate camp point No. 1. It is difficult to call this place a cemetery, because the bodies of the dead were brought here and buried unmarked in mass graves. The commemorative plaque says: “Traveler, bow your head before the resting place of a huge number of innocent people killed in 1939-1954 in the village of Gavrilova Polyana. REMEMBER THIS PLACE: Samarskaya Luka, Belukha burial, Borisov stone tract. This must not happen again.”
At the foot of the mountain, not only were the dead political prisoners buried, but mass executions were also carried out. In 2015, a granite tombstone appeared here with the names of 18 generals who were shot on October 28, 1941.
Sad thoughts instantly dissipate on the top of the White Mountain, where you definitely need to climb. About the middle of the way to Podgora you will see a trodden path leading there.
This part of the White Mountain is distinguished by a white bald spot from afar, which is also called the “beak of the White Mountain”.
On the “beak of the White Mountain” you can make a picnic stop, on the top there are logs for sitting. And enjoy the amazing views.
On the right you can see the village of Podgori, and Samara on the horizon.
In White Mountain there is the longest cave of the Samarskaya Luka - Rotten, popularly called Ice. Even in summer, the temperature in the cave is very low and there is ice. The cave is hidden under a thick layer of greenery and is not so easy to find. We never found her. Its GPS coordinates are 53°20’33 C; 50°07’20 B, unfortunately, found out later.
The road leads us to the northern part of the village of Podgora, from where the main street of the village begins with the loud name Street of the Cavaliers of Glory.
If only all the gentlemen of glory were gathered in one place and settled on this street for at least a year, maybe something in the village would change for the better.
In the meantime, local residents, of whom there are only a few left in Podgora, are tormented by the question: “What needs to be done to raise the village?”. The first and only person we met in the village approached us with this very question.
Another local resident, looking at his sad eyes, had to pour yogurt.
In the meantime, we approached the center of Podgora, where the Zavolzhsky St. Elijah Convent is located.
Zavolzhsky St. Elijah Convent, Podgory.
The village of Podgory owes its birth at the beginning of the 17th century to the Samara Spaso-Preobrazhensky convent. The monastery built here a wooden church of Elijah the Prophet with a large tower. Over time, pilgrims began to settle around the church. At that time, the settlement was called Ilyinsky.
In 1865, at the expense of pilgrims, a stone church was built instead of a wooden one, which was partially destroyed in Soviet times. In our time, the temple was restored and by 2006, the Zavolzhsky St. Ilyinsky Convent was founded at the church.
Restoration work in the temple and the ennoblement of the territory of the monastery are ongoing.
Next to the Church of Elijah the Prophet, a wooden church was built in the name of the Hieromartyr Constantine
and the Chapel of the “Life-Giving Spring” of the Icon of the Mother of God.
Nearby are the cells of the nuns. A very cute place too.
During a conversation with one of the nuns, we got information that the monastery accepts pilgrims to stay and does not take money for an overnight stay for help in the household, but also provides food. For these purposes, a large pilgrimage center was built.
Behind the main church of the monastery there is a small necropolis, in the middle of which is the grave of the first abbess of the monastery, Anastasia Shestun. The Church of Anastasia the Patterner, built in honor of the abbess, did not live to see our arrival, it recently burned down.
A nice fountain is mounted on the wall, in which it is strictly forbidden to wash your hands (table below).
Opposite the entrance to the monastery are surprisingly new houses. I wonder who lives in them?
They were in the women's monastery, now it's time for the men's. A visit to the monastery is a must. If only because on its territory there is a holy spring in which you can swim.
Zavolzhsky monastery in honor of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, Podgora.
From the women's to the men's walk about two kilometers. We go in the direction from the Volga perpendicular to the street Cavaliers of Glory. The monastery is not located in the village itself, but on the territory of the Samarskaya Luka reserve, and first you need to leave Podgora.
Map of Podgora.
A few more photos of the Podgora village.
We go out to Lesnaya Street, along which we came to Podgory. Lesnaya is the eastern border of the village.
At the foot of Mount Plaksikha (the name of the mountain was due to the high level of groundwater) there is a checkpoint on the territory of Samarskaya Luka, a large number of posters testify to this.
Next to Mount Plaksikha, Mount Manchikha, named so, according to legend, in honor of the chieftain Mani Chikhi.
Entrance to the territory of the reserve is paid - a ticket is 50 rubles per person, but we were lucky. At the checkpoint we did not meet anyone, probably everyone went to lunch.
The road to the monastery is unpaved and very beautiful.
In the opposite direction, Samara is visible on the horizon.
We imperceptibly find ourselves at the gates of the monastery.
Source of St. Elijah and Zavolzhsky Monastery, Podgory.
The monastery began to be rebuilt in 2006 at the source of St. Elijah. First of all, a wooden church of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord was built.
The spring itself was abandoned until 2003. It was cleaned, ennobled, a bath was made next to the source. Swim in clean, spring water, oh, how nice!
With new forces, we set off on the way back to the pier Podgora. The pier is two kilometers from the village, and four kilometers from the source.
Photo of the village of Podgora and its environs.
I already wrote about these beautiful places where I had a chance to spend my holidays last summer. Much did not fit in the last post, well, you won’t cover and convey everything, and you simply couldn’t visit much of what was planned. And having decided to make up for lost time, we again went for a walk in these picturesque places. Walk through the spreading carpet of herbs of flowering meadows, inhale the heady aroma of herbs hovering in the air, drink the most delicious water from the source. In general, to return, at least for a short time, to these fabulously beautiful places.
This time we sailed on a river tram to the pier of Podgora and, having passed through a series of tourist centers spread out on the coast, we got on the road to the village. By the way, I didn’t understand whether it was one camp site, or a kind of metropolis formed by the merger of several smoothly flowing into one another, which is hinted at by differences in the architecture of panel houses. To be honest, these wonderful closets, reminiscent of Uncle Pumpkin's house, always make me smile and misunderstand. Well, in a tent, in my opinion, it is much more comfortable. The taste and color, as they say ... And we hurried to quickly pass this boiling cauldron of holiday light. And now, a hundred meters from the places of mass recreation, nothing reminds of the hustle and bustle, you just start to enjoy the nature surrounding you with the singing of birds, falling into some kind of relaxation.
We were in the second half of June, at that time the strawberries were just ripe. And it's not visible here. Sweet-tasting berries with a slight sourness grow here in whole clearings, here and there we meet on the way. Literally under each leaf a whole scattering of these delicious berries is hidden. It’s just that it’s not so easy to collect them, and just not only are the berries themselves not large and their work is painstaking to collect, it is also under the watchful eye of an army of mosquitoes. So the acupuncture session at the collection is provided.
On one of the lakes, I noticed how ducks disturbed by someone take off to photograph, unfortunately, I did not have time to take pictures of them.
But took other birds. Unfortunately, I don't know their names.
By that time, the morning coolness had finally dissipated, the sun began to bake, warming the meadow, which began to exude bouquets of aromas. It was getting really hot. The bottle of water was rapidly depleted, risking running out before we reached the village. Soon a rare veil flew into the sky, partly saving from the already scorching sun. Mount White appeared. Yes, we planned to climb it this time and even look inside, but I won’t get ahead of myself, more on that later.
And on the other side, the Zavolzhsky St. Elijah Convent appeared. I really like the view of the monastery complex from here. When it is no longer far away, the details are easily distinguishable, but not so close as to obscure the surrounding landscape, but harmonizes with it and even fills it. Coming closer, these sensations are already lost, he ceases to be a part of the environment, becomes the center of attention.
The roads here are real, those about which songs are composed of seven bends a mile away. Winding, winding like a snake among meadows, lakes, blueberries, beauty. And why is it straight in order to pass quickly, to slip through without noticing all this beauty? And she winds, circles, they say, look around, look back one more time, don’t leave, admire.
I will not convince you that the places here are truly fabulous. Anyone who wants to can come and see for himself. And those who believe in the unusualness of these places will definitely find something special. We had just entered the village when we met a push-pull on the way. Away with the spores, is it an antelope or a horse with two heads. Push-pull is a goat, or a goat, at least the Samara specimen is just that.
The village, like last time, was not particularly walked around, and acquaintance with the convent was also postponed for future trips. Passing the village, we went to the source located on the territory of the monastery, it is within easy reach from here, only two kilometers.
Part of the way passed along the road, an ordinary asphalt road, heated by the sun and more like a hot frying pan from which the heat rises. I like this section of the road least of all, or rather I don’t like it at all. It’s not great after rain, or at a time when you meet such a road, to walk on asphalt, and not on mud, sometimes sticking lumps to the soles of your boots, sometimes turning into a slippery viscous substance trying to unbalance you. But not now, walking on the pavement made me thirsty. The remaining water was only enough for each of them to take a sip, after which she immediately came forward, and the desire to drink was not dulled a bit. This fact aroused the desire to get to the source faster. Having passed the checkpoint, we bought vouchers, such points were placed on all known routes, now in order to be officially located on the territory of the Samarskaya Luka National Park, you need to purchase a voucher. In other respects, its amount is not significant, I hope this money will benefit the park.
Further the road was very picturesque. Unusualness was added by the presence of a large number of butterflies. They just fluttered around. Others were sitting in whole groups right on the road, spitting moisture from the dry, but still wet places of former puddles with their proboscises, taking off right in front of us, disturbed by our tread. Sometimes we had to step very carefully, passing such a group, the butterflies were not at all frightened by our presence. I have never seen so many of them. It felt like we were approaching a very unusual place.
Suddenly the gates of the monastery appeared.
On the territory of the monastery there is a temple in honor of the erection of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. A beautiful temple made in the traditions of Russian wooden architecture. Its bulbous cupolas are covered with many carved wooden plates - plowshares, carefully fitted to each other. You rarely see this anywhere these days.
In the center is a large mosaic icon of Elijah the Prophet.
Spring with delicious cold water. And there were two veloques nearby, my old little dream.
And again a lot of butterflies.
After drinking plenty of spring water from the source and replenishing its reserves, we continue on our way. The next planned point of the route was the ascent to the White Mountain. She taught her name due to the white color of limestone, sedimentary deposits, of which it consists in places that go outside. The mountain is not high, but climbing it on a hot summer day turns into a small test. The trails are located on open bald slopes, the soil here warms up nicely, there is a bath effect. But the rise is worth it, from a height there is a magnificent view of the valley, the village, Stone Lake located at the foot and Samara seems to be a stone's throw from here.
In general, the mountain is fraught with a lot of interesting things, once there was a settlement of the early Iron Age (VIII-IV centuries BC) on it. This type of settlement began to be called Belogorsky, after the name of the mountain, or the southern version of the settlement of the Ananyino culture. Also, traces of settlements were found at the foot of the White Mountain, there is a version that during the period of the existence of the Volga Bulgaria, before it was defeated by the troops of Batu Khan in 1236, there was a village under the mountain, the inhabitants of which during the periods of the invasion of nomads hid in the fortress on White Mountain.
But not only this makes the White Mountain special. To see the next attraction, we go along the road towards the village of Gavrilova Polyana, turn onto a path that is barely noticeable among the grass and climb up the mountain again.
This time the trail passes through the wooded part of the mountain, it is easy to climb, especially when mosquitoes literally gnaw at you, at first it even invigorates. Here they are apparently invisible, and the closer we get to the next waypoint, the more and more of them there are. But suddenly an unusual picture opens before your eyes and you, for a while, forget about everything.
Haze spreads along the ground, illuminated by the sun's rays, it looks simply fantastic. And here, in order not to lose the feeling of the reality of what is happening at all, all the same annoying little creatures come to “help” you, constantly biting you, striving to drink to the drop. They shook them off by almost handfuls. A couple more steps and we ended up on a small platform in front of the Ice Cave. Another name for the Rotten Cave (Rotten Cave), but because of the constant presence of ice in it, it is often called the Ice Cave, I prefer this name. After thirty-something degrees, even near the cave it is quite cool. And the cold air coming out of it is the reason for the origin of the creeping haze that impressed us so much.
There is snow at the entrance to the cave, and this despite the fact that June has already passed the middle, and there is a thirty-degree heat outside. Before entering, I put on a jacket, taken with me specially, and go inside. It is cold in the cave, the temperature is negative and it constantly bleeds through. The cave lives up to its name here and there on the walls of the cave there are ice formations and icicles. The constant flow of cold air is associated with the presence of karst cavities in the interior of the mountain and the porosity of the gypsum itself. Just imagine the average air flow rate is approximately 3 m/s, which gives an air flow rate of approximately 6 m3/s. The negative temperature in the Ice Cave persists even in August.
The ice cave is not deep, the entrance is quite spacious and a small hall is formed at the entrance with a ceiling tapering into the depths. The hall ends with two passages, one of which looks more like a hole with a low ceiling, you can only move in it by crawling, and the floor is covered with a layer of ice. I didn’t have a flashlight with me, and I couldn’t see how deep it was. The second passage narrowing into the depths of the cave with smooth, as if polished corners of the stones. I tried to climb, but it was inconvenient to climb with a tripod and a camera, getting stuck in the middle of the way, backed away.
After a little rest from the heat and even having time to freeze, we leave the cave and move on.
Stone Lake stretches along the mountain from the village of Gavrilov Polyana, where it connects with the Volga by a small rift and to the village of Podgora. And between the White Mountain and the Stone Lake there is a road, the same asphalt road along which we had to walk a few more kilometers.
And this is a view of the very Stone Lake.
We make a small halt in a picturesque place, on a small cape, crashing into the lake, nestled on a thick grassy carpet. We chose this cape last year when we came here. Fortunately, the place is not very popular with vacationers and tourists, because it is quite clean here, I noticed only one place of the former fire and there is no garbage.
And these are the willows on Gavrilova Polyana, mighty trees, this is not even possible for two to cover. There used to be a lot of them from the pier towards Shiryaevo, but now there are almost none left. But on the right side of the pier they are still standing.
Here, at the pier, our little hike ended.
Having settled down on the grass, they whiled away the remaining hour until the arrival of the river bus. The legs buzzed pleasantly from fatigue, this rumble in the legs is pleasant because the route has been passed, a small overcoming with a lot of positive emotions and impressions.
And Samara met us with a beautiful sunset sky.
See more of these wonderful places.