Lake Peipus in Estonia – along the Onion Road and Old Believer villages

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: August 2026 | Lake Peipus is located on the border between Estonia and Russia and is Europe's fifth largest lake. Along the Estonian western shore, small villages, long sandy beaches, smoked fish and a very special culture surrounding the Russian Old Believers who settled here several hundred years ago await. We traveled along the lake in a camper van, ended up at a village festival, visited an onion grower and a museum about the Old Believers – and spent the night right by the water.

Lake Peipus – Europe's fifth largest lake

Lake Peipus, or Peipsi järv in Estonian, is located along the border between Estonia and Russia and is the largest lake in Estonia. With its large surface area, it is also considered the fifth largest lake in Europe.

The Estonian side of the lake is an exciting destination where nature, food and culture are closely intertwined. There are sandy beaches, fishing villages and small towns, but the area is especially known for the Russian Old Believers and the onion farms that characterize the villages along the lake.

Lake Peipus Festival – village festival by the lake

When we were traveling along the lake, we had contact with the local tourist organization Visit Peipsi and happened to arrive just when Lake Peipsi Festival, Lake Peipus Festival, was underway.

The festival moves between different locations around the lake and combines boating, music, local food and activities. When we arrived, the party was taking place in Rannapungerja. The weather was grey and rainy, but that didn't seem to bother the locals much.

We bought a smoked perch and a local beer each and sat in the camper and ate while a band played and people danced outside.

Evening trip on the lake – and sauna boat

Later that evening we hopped aboard the festival's old wooden ship for a ride on the lake. By 10pm the water was almost completely still and the atmosphere was magical.

After the boat trip, we also found a sauna boat where we had a sauna and socialized well into the evening. We met both locals and a couple from Stockholm, where the woman had her roots in the area. It was a much later evening than we had planned – and one of those spontaneous travel experiences that you remember for a long time.

De gammaltroende - The old believers

A large part of the area's distinctive character comes from the Old Believers, Old Believers, who began to settle along the western shore of Peipus from the end of the 17th century.

The Old Believers broke with the Russian Orthodox Church after the church reforms of the 17th century and were subsequently persecuted in Russia. Many sought refuge in areas outside the direct control of the Russian state, including what is now Estonia.

Along Lake Peipus, they built communities with their own religious traditions, food habits and crafts. Fishing became important, as did the cultivation of onions – something that still characterizes the area today. Visit Estonia estimates that there are around 15,000 Old Believers in Estonia and eleven registered parishes.

Peipsimaa Museum - museum of the Old Believers

Peipsimaa Museum is a museum of the Old Believers, which we visited. The museum is located in Tiheda, just south of Mustvee. Here we received a really interesting guided tour.

In the past, Old Believers always wore black (except on important holidays) and were not allowed to drink alcohol or smoke. Today the rules have been relaxed and most wear plain clothes, but many pray several times a day and most follow a strict diet.

Many days of the year have special food rules; for example, one day you can eat rice but not eggs, while another day you can eat eggs but not rice. The children usually attend Russian-speaking schools, together with Russian-speaking children who are not Old Believers, and in order to avoid the complexity of all the food rules, the children bring their own lunch boxes.

We were invited to tea at the museum and were taught how to drink as the Old Believers did in the past. We put a sugar cube in our mouths, poured the tea into the saucer and drank, as we Swedes did in the past.

Sibulatee – the onion road along Peipus

The road through the Old Believer villages along the lake is usually called Sibulatee, Lökvägen. The name comes from the extensive onion cultivations, and during late summer you often see onions for sale outside the houses.

Onion farming has become a strong part of the area's identity and food culture. Several events related to onions and local food are also held throughout the year, including markets and the long Peipsi Food Street.

Visit to an onion farmer

We had the opportunity to visit one of the onion growers at Lake Peipus. Here, they grow all Onions. The onion grows well in wet soil and also tastes different from other onions.

Making a living from onion farming, however, is difficult. The onion farmer we visited told us that he grows two tons of onions a year ”as a hobby,” and sells them to tourists who come by. Many in the area are retirees and use onion farming to supplement their pensions.

The onion goes through different phases, and in the first year it looks like the flowers in the picture below.

In addition to onions, carrots, peas and various plants that can be used for tea and as medicines were grown.

We were invited to tea and a delicious pie with onion filling. It is nice along the lake, but the area is gradually depopulating and no one here knows what the future will be. There are not many jobs here, and the young people choose to move to Tartu, which is a university town full of young people.

Kallaste – small town by the lake

We continued south along the lake to little Kallaste, which is located right on the shore of Lake Peipus. The town is known for its Russian-speaking and Old Believer history, as well as for the special sandstone cliff by the lake. Kallaste is not a major destination in itself, but it is a nice stop when driving along the western shore of Lake Peipus.

We continued south along the lake and took a look at the cosy little town of Kallaste, which with its 800 inhabitants is Estonia's smallest town.

Alatskivi Castle

Not far from Kallaste is Alatskivi Castle, a white fairy-tale castle with towers and battlements that was completed in 1885. The castle was built after inspiration from Balmoral Castle in Scotland and was designed by the landowner Arved Georg von Nolcken himself.

We had a guided tour of the castle, which was very nice and interesting. The owners were forced to give up the castle during the communist land reform, and then moved most of the interior to Germany. The interior today has been recreated to look like the original, but since it is not original, unlike in other castles, it is good to sit down wherever you want.

In the past, the basement floor was only occupied by servants, and there is now an exhibition about them. The castle also houses an exhibition on the Estonian-Swedish Eduard Tubin, who comes from this region.

We had lunch at the castle's restaurant; super good perch and an equally good cheesecake. There is also a newly opened café at the castle, and those who want to stay over can sleep in one of the castle's four rooms. You just have to be prepared to perhaps get a visit from the (nice) ghost of the castle. One of the tower rooms is built without a door - and that's where the ghost lives!

Free camping at Lake Peipus in Estonia

In the evening we free-camped on the beach in Varnja. Absolutely fantastic! Here we were, all alone, on a beautiful beach. There were also barbecue areas, toilets and garbage disposal at the beach. Rules and options for overnight stays can change, so always check the current signage and local rules before stopping with your camper.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

There is of course more to see and experience around Estonia. Here are some tips:

• Narva in Estonia
• Things to do in Tartu
• The cliffs of Ontika
• The highest mountain in the Baltics

Programme "Promoting Estonia as a Tourism Destination" is supported by European Union Regional Development Fund.