Minimum norm — 100 kilometers a day: a resident of Pinsk cycled through all districts of Belarus
Dmitry Lenkavets from Pinsk is, perhaps, one of the most famous and active cycling tourists in Belarus. In seven years, he has covered more than 50 thousand kilometers, visited all 118 districts of the country, writes Times.by.
“If you want to learn about the world, start by studying your Homeland”: this idea began a passion that became an important part of Dmitry Lenkavets’s life. He visited almost all tourist attractions and created one of the most detailed thematic resources about Belarus — the website LDD.by, which twice became a laureate of the republican competition “Get to know Belarus”.
Times.by met with Dmitry to find out how a geographer by education became a cycling tourist, why he doesn't plan routes, and why he creates an interactive map of Belarusian sights. And he shared with us a list of what, in his opinion, every Belarusian should see.
From the first shot to 50 thousand kilometers
It all started with a camera. About ten years ago, Dmitry bought a digital Canon and started walking the streets of his native Pinsk in search of interesting shots.
“Through the lens, a new perspective on the city opened up,” he recalls. “It turned out that we have very beautiful architecture. I started photographing historical buildings and, at the same time, became interested in their history: when they were built, by whom, why.”
Two years were spent exploring Pinsk. When the city was studied inside out, Dmitry decided to expand his geography. He started with the most popular tourist attractions: Mir, Niasvizh, Hrodna, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Ruzhany, Pruzhany. But very quickly he realized that traveling by public transport was not his style.
“You are tied to hotels, transport, time,” he explains. “It's like you learn something new, but you always owe someone something. I started looking for a way to avoid this.”
So seven years ago, he bought his first bicycle: “I bought special clothes, bags, and now I have everything with me on the road: home — a tent, sleeping bag, mat; kitchen — a gas burner.”
Pedestrian street in Pinsk. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
The first cycling trip during his vacation in the summer of 2020 was a trial and the shortest: 12 days, 1420 kilometers. He didn't set any specific goals — just to see what would happen. During this time, he saw Mir, Niasvizh, Liuban, Navahrudak, Kreva, Halshany castles, swam in the largest lake Narach, spent the night on Dzyarzhynsk Hill — the highest point in Belarus.
“You are tied to hotels, transport, time,” he explains. “It's like you learn something new, but you always owe someone something. I started looking for a way to avoid this.”
So seven years ago, he bought his first bicycle: “I bought special clothes, bags, and now I have everything with me on the road: home — a tent, sleeping bag, mat; kitchen — a gas burner.”
The first cycling trip during his vacation in the summer of 2020 was a trial and the shortest: 12 days, 1420 kilometers. He didn't set any specific goals — just to see what would happen. During this time, he saw Mir, Niasvizh, Liuban, Navahrudak, Kreva, Halshany castles, swam in the largest lake Narach, spent the night on Dzyarzhynsk Hill — the highest point in Belarus.
Highest point of Belarus. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
“In those 12 days, I saw and accumulated more impressions than in all the years of my life before,” Dmitry admits.
When he returned home and opened the apartment door, a strange feeling overwhelmed him: "I look — some carpets, furniture... I think: 'What is this?' I wanted to wave my hand, turn around and go back. A normal person should arrive, take a shower, rest for a few days. But in my thoughts, I wanted to get on my bike and continue riding. At that moment, I realized: cycling trips will be with me for a long time."
And so it was. He immediately wrote another vacation request and two weeks later set off on his second cycling trip – covering 1700 km in 13 days. And then on the third, fourth... tenth.
Today, his list includes eight cycling trips around Belarus and two to Russia: from Pinsk to St. Petersburg and Moscow and back.
How to visit all 118 districts of Belarus in three years
In the first three years, he cycled through all 118 districts of Belarus. But he did it differently from most travelers. Dmitry is a geographer by education, so orienting himself in the terrain is not a problem for him.
Lake Svitiaz, view from the tent. Photo: Dmitry Liankavets
"I'm not exactly a standard tourist," he admits. "Tourists carefully plan their routes: they plan in advance how to go, where to spend the night. My principle is different: I just search online for objects that interest me – castles, palaces, churches – and then I orient myself on the spot, open a map and see how best to get from one object to the next."
Dmitry doesn't have drawn-out routes in his head. He has a list of points. From point to point, he improvises. If he learns about some new interesting place along the way, he might turn and save it.
“How long do I stay at an object? It all depends on interest,” the traveler explains. “If I visit a castle for the first time, it might take half a day to walk around it from all sides. And sometimes I might only stop for a couple of minutes, take a few photos, and then continue on my way.”
Almanski swamps. Photo: Dmitry Liankavets
To cycle 100 kilometers a day is a minimum norm for Dmitry. He calls it a magic number. But sometimes, he would cover 280 kilometers a day with a full load.
"I haven't set any records, there's no point in that, I'm not an athlete. I enjoy the process itself, new places, new roads, new sights, new people, and communicating with them. First, I traveled around Belarus, saw all the objects that were most interesting to me, and then I started to go beyond its borders, to Russia. But I'm still planning trips around Belarus, and not just one."
A travel website that became the best blog in Belarus
When Dmitry was preparing for his third trip, his son, who was studying to be a programmer, suggested creating a website.
“My son built the platform, and I started filling it with my materials and photos. I uploaded a couple of articles — people became interested, and I continued to develop the site,” he says.
Now LDD.by (named after Dmitry Dmitrievich Lenkavets' initials) is not just a blog, but one of the most detailed guides to Belarus. The website already contains hundreds of articles about sights: castles, churches, palaces, manors, natural objects. The resource twice became a laureate of the republican competition “Get to know Belarus”: in 2022 in the nomination “Material of the Year. Tourism Blog”, and a year later – in the nomination “I know Belarus”.
At the same time, Dmitry ended up at the competition almost by chance: “A local journalist called me, told me about the competition, and suggested applying. The site was only half a year old then. I came after work, sent a few of my photos, and wrote that I wasn't claiming victory, but was participating to support cycle tourism.”
Waterfall on the Vyata River. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
Over the years, Dmitry has taken thousands of photos — the archive is so large that he doesn't have enough time to write articles for all of them and share them with readers. Some of them can be seen on the website and in social networks. Some have been used in printed publications about Pinsk and the Brest region, in the National Atlas of Belarus, and on tourist websites.
In 2025, he received a diploma in the nomination "Photograph of the Year". In the "Get to know Belarus" competition for non-professionals, there are only three nominations — he has already won two of them, and received a diploma in the third.
The most detailed map of Belarus's sights
Dmitry does not plan to stop there. On his website, he is creating an interactive map of Belarusian sights, which, according to his idea, will become the most detailed in the country.
“The map already exists, but it’s only about thirty percent filled,” he clarifies. “Of course, I started with Pinsk. By the way, it’s the second city after Grodno in terms of the number of sights!”
Church in Gervyaty. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
The map currently features over 1000 objects. They are divided into categories (layers) — palaces, churches, castles, natural sites, etc. Each object is provided with a name, a photograph, brief information (year of construction, architectural style), and a link if there is a detailed article about it on the website.
You can already filter categories of attractions: leave only castles or only points on the screen. You can also choose the base map; OpenStreetMap is used as the default, but you can also choose Google, Yandex, and satellite maps, and the attraction points will be displayed on top of them.
“I don’t set specific deadlines for myself. After all, this is a huge amount of work that I do alone, purely out of my enthusiasm. But I hope everything will work out,” he says.
A lone warrior
Dmitry, as a rule, travels alone. This is a completely conscious choice: the format of his trips is not suitable for everyone. Especially when it comes to long trips of 2 thousand kilometers, as in the case of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
“It is clear that a person should be able to cover 120-150 kilometers a day on such a trip. And if there are no sights along the way, then even all 200,” says Dmitry.
Salihorsk mountains. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
However, he has like-minded people. With his local colleague Sergey, he embarked on his fourth trip around Belarus, and with his colleague Gennady from Mikashevichy, he went to St. Petersburg.
For short distances, within the district, for a day or two, Dmitry often travels with his family.
Where next?
Dmitry is not tired of cycling trips and certainly does not plan to take a break or change them to a more comfortable format in the near future. Now, a new journey is planned. Most likely, it will be the Golden Ring of Russia: Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Suzdal, Vladimir.
“I want to see the ancient temples and monasteries that everyone talks about,” he shares his plans.
He also has another incredible secret dream: to cycle from Pinsk to the ocean — ideally to all of them, but for now, a cycling trip to the Arctic Ocean seems most probable. Perhaps it will be next year.
But Dmitry doesn't forget about Belarus either. He says that he has not yet visited all the sites, there are a number of remote places he hasn't reached yet.
“There are a number of objects that I have seen from the outside, but I want to visit them inside, and there are objects that I simply liked, and I want to see them again — Belarus is actually rich in interesting sights, and my website is direct proof of this.”
“If you want to learn about the world, start by studying your Homeland. Belarus is a beautiful country. You just need to want to see it! You don’t need any special skills to go on a cycling trip. Only desire — nothing more. You just need to take, sit down, and go!” says Dmitry.
Every Belarusian should see this — a list from Dmitry Lenkavets
Castles: Mir, Niasvizh, Navahrudak, Lida, Kreva, Old Castle in Hrodna.
Palaces: Puslowski Palace in the tract of Merechevshchyna (also called Kosava Castle), Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace in Gomel (many original exhibits are preserved in the museum there), Bulgak Palace in Zhylicy, Hatouski-Kozel-Paklewski estate in Chyrvony Bierah, Sapieha Palace complex in Ruzhany, Butrymovich Palace in Pinsk.
Town Halls: in Niasvizh, Chachersk, Vitsebsk.
Defensive Churches: Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Muravanka, Church of Archangel Michael in Synkavichy, Church of St. John the Baptist in Kamai.
Monasteries: active Euphrosyne of Polotsk Monastery in Polotsk, Zyrovicy Monastery in Slonim District, and former Franciscan Monastery in Pinsk.
Puslowski Palace in Kosava. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
Orthodox Churches: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Church of the Transfiguration in Polotsk, Kalozha Church in Hrodna, Assumption Church in Sarya, St. Nikita Church in Zdzitava — the oldest wooden church in Belarus.
Catholic Churches: Trinity Church in Hierviaty (Neo-Gothic in all its beauty), Corpus Christi Church in Niasvizh (its crypt houses the ancestral burial vault of the Radziwill princes — the third largest burial site in Europe), Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier in Hrodna, Bernardine Church in Budslau, Franciscan Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Pinsk, Trinity Church in Ishkoldz — the oldest un-reconstructed church in Belarus.
Protestant Churches: Lutheran Church in Hrodna, prayer houses in Kobryn, Kalodziscy, Olshany.
Muslim Mosques: in Ivye, Navahrudak, Lavchytsy, Minsk.
Synagogues: in Bykhaw, Hrodna, Slonim.
Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Muravanka. Photo: Dmitry Lenkavets
Chapels-Vaults: Azheshka in Zakazelija, Reytanau in Hrushauka, Zavisha in Uzda, Svyatopolk-Mirski in Mir, Skirmuntau in Maladova.
Archaeological sites: the Yurovichi archaeological site open to tourists — the oldest site of primitive man in Belarus (excavations are still ongoing at Aghave-1, and its official declaration as the oldest will only be recognized after official reports from archaeologists after the completion of excavations), the settlement "Berestye" and the settlement in Turaŭ.
Fortresses: Brest, Babruysk, Hrodna, and I will specifically highlight the only fortified house in Belarus — Nonhart House in Voranava district.
Memorial complexes: "Brest Fortress", "Khatyn", "Monument to Children - Victims of War" in Chyrvony Bierah, "Battle for the Dnieper" in Loyew, "Lyasnaya" in Slawharad district, memorials to soldier-liberators and "Partisans of Polesie" in Pinsk.
Yurovichi settlement. Photo: Dmitry Liankavets
Monuments: Millennium of Brest, Gediminas in Lida, Algirdas in Vitsebsk, Napoleon Orda in Ivanava, to the founder of Kamianets Fortress, Lew Sapieha in Slonim, Dostoevsky in Dostoyevo, Pinchuk in Pinsk.
Unusual monuments: to wolves in Lahishyn and Vawkavysk, to a fox in Berezino, to cucumbers in Olshany and Shklov, to a bearded owl in Ivacevichy, to Baron Munchausen in Hlybokaye.
Mountains: Swedish Mountain in Vawkavysk, Castle Mountains in Navahrudak, Hrodna, Kapyl, Salihorsk mountain ranges, from Mount Mayak the best views of the Braslaw Lakes open up.
Springs: Blue Spring in Slawharad District — the largest spring in Belarus, St. Michael's Spring in Kamianets District, mineral springs in the forest lakes of Ushachy District.
Trees: Tsar-Oak in Malaryta District (according to information on the plaque near the oak, it is 800 years old — the oldest tree in Belarus), Patriarch-Oak in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, 600 years old, Queen Bona's Oak in Duboye Park in Pinsk District.
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