Serezha River: a journey of 185 km in length

The study of rivers can always bring unexpected surprises. Especially well know is the archaeologists, because all the peoples of the world have decided to build their settlements near the ponds. It happens, it is enough to dig deeper, and under a new layer of land a long-lost story will appear. Serezha is a river in the Nizhny Novgorod region. It is often visited by both scientists and lovers of outdoor activities on the water.

Location of the river

Being the right tributary of Tesha, the Seryozha River passes through Perevozsky, Dalnekonstantinovsky, Vadsky, Arzamas, Sosnovsky, Vach and Navashensky districts for 185 kilometers of its route. A remarkable feature of this reservoir is its rare for today ecological cleanliness. This is due to the fact that on its shores the city was not built and industrial enterprises were not built, and a few villages are not affected badly by the state of water.

Serezha River flows its direction westward, and it is fast. It is characterized by a sandy bed, steep wooded beaches, sometimes replaced by meadows.

Particularly favored by these places are rafting enthusiasts, as part of its path it passes through karst lakes, which create a real labyrinth. It is these water vicissitudes in combination with the rapid current that lure kayakers here.

Start of the trip

As they say those who have been in these parts, the river Seryozha in its beauty is not inferior to the best reservoirs of Meshchera. The fact that it is surrounded by pine forests, in which even in the "worm" year there are mushrooms and berries, clean water, numerous sandy beaches and the lack of tourists - all this only adds points to its rating.

In its upper reaches, the Serezha River (Nizhny Novgorod region) is small enough, so if you come here for fishing or rafting, you need to do it in high water.

You can start your journey from the village of Chernukha. This is a fairly large settlement, near which is the sanatorium. There is also a museum of local lore. The stop can be done by the local people or you can spend the night in a tent in a pine forest.

At the beginning of the road, Sergei is a shallow river. Often fall fallen trees, so you have to carry kayaks in your hands. All this is compensated by beautiful steep banks with overhanging pines, like guards.

After some time the river deepens, and the current accelerates, the karst lakes approaching.

Chains of lakes

These places are reserved, so hunting and fishing are not allowed, and travelers will need passes, which are better to take care of before catching the eyes of the huntsmen.

The lake site occupies 40 km of the road, where the river Serezha constantly wagges between meadows. Forests are now in the distance, so parking is not easy to find. It happens that tourists spend the night right in boats. As the lakes remain behind, the river again straightens, and, as if gaining strength, accelerates in the current.

She prepared sandy beaches near the village of Lesunovo, surrounded by pine trees. After the village, you should be attentive, as Seryozha unexpectedly forks: the right side ends with a palisade of an old mill, and the left one carries its waters further.

All along the way, you should be very careful, since here, quite unexpectedly, there are low bridges that can cause trouble in a fast flow.

River Attractions

Archaeologists know very well where the Seryozha River is located, because it was on its shore that a settlement of the end of the 1st millennium was found. The presence of roads, probably surprised them most, given the current state of some routes in Russia.

Scientists still work at the site of the settlement, but those who are interested in the history of this region can come and study their findings.

Ancient Modernity

As it turned out, the Serezha River, or rather, its upper reaches for four hundred years, is home to a small number of Teryuhans. Although they assimilated with the Russian peasants who came to these places, they managed to preserve their culture, way of life and history. Such a phenomenon is extremely rare. Usually people are less numerous absorbed by their neighbors, and so to preserve customs and rituals ... This should be studied and learned. This is a good lesson for archaeologists and ethnographers.

The two peoples continue to live side by side, not forcing each other to adopt other people's traditions. The greatest interest and stir was caused by the fact that these same teryuhans are not similar not only to Russians, but also to the Mordovians living in these parts, although they are considered related peoples.

These people have their own written language and well-preserved tales and legends, epics and songs that go back to ancient Russian history. Today, many pagan rites are being revived, people are drawn to knowledge about their ancestors, but here, it turns out, they never died, and every year the teryuhans regularly celebrated the arrival of spring and the departure of summer.

Seryozha today

Thanks to numerous archaeological finds, now many Russians are aware of the location of the Serezha River. Immediately several settlements of different epochs were discovered on its banks. Scientists have uncovered a whole complex of buildings with preserved utensils and implements of labor.

Interestingly, even in these ancient settlements one can feel a mixture of nationalities. So here pottery of obviously ancient Russian origin and knives, the shape of which is not typical for representatives of that time, was found here. Apparently, already at that time this river attracted to its shores people from other sides with different cultural and religious views.

Thanks to archaeologists who opened the river to all kayak lovers, as here one can not only touch the pristine and clean nature, but also to the history of this region.