Cape Pechak (Bolshoy Solovetsky Island)

Cape Pechak is the southern tip of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island, about 8–9 km from Solovetsky village and the monastery. It is one of the most popular walking and cycling routes on the Solovki: here the tundra runs straight down to the White Sea.

Above the cape rises Pechak Hill, about 26 metres high and partly covered with shrubs. A wide valley separates it from the rest of the island, so from the sea, approaching from the east or west, the cape looks like a separate island. The shore is a patch of tundra with dwarf trees, reindeer lichen and large boulders. The view opens wide over the sea, and on a clear day other islands of the archipelago can be seen.

From 1939 to 1957 the Northern Fleet Training Detachment was based on the Solovki, and its defences survive at Cape Pechak as the remains of dugouts and pillboxes. Several prehistoric sites are known along the way to the cape, but many lie under a thick layer of turf and are hard to find without an archaeologist.

The road starts in the southern part of the village, at the square of former camp barracks, and passes the Solovetskaya Sloboda hotel. About 3 km out of the village it passes the Peregovorny Stone. Further on it crosses pine taiga, mixed birch woods and bogs, so the scenery changes several times along the way. Flights from Arkhangelsk serve the islands all year round and boats run in summer; there is no road or rail link.