Pechory has a monastery that never closed, which in Russian history is nearly a miracle. The Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery, founded in 1473 around a set of caves in a sandstone ravine, has been in continuous use for over five hundred years, even through the Soviet period. The reason is an accident of geography. Between 1920 and 1940, the town belonged to independent Estonia, under the name Petseri, and the monastery stayed open under a government that did not persecute it. By the time the Red Army arrived, in 1940, and later when Stalin turned a blind eye after the war, it had become too well known to close, and it survived the anti-religious campaigns.
The caves are the heart of it. Monks carved galleries into the soft sand, and for centuries buried their dead in niches along the walls, so that the passages are lined with hundreds of simple graves, each marked with a name. Visitors can go down with a candle and a guide, and the air is cool and still. Above ground, the monastery is a compact fortress, with whitewashed walls, golden domes, and a church built into the cliff, and it is a lively place, with pilgrims, monks, and a bookshop. Dress modestly, with covered shoulders and knees, and women need a headscarf.
The town lies in the westernmost part of the Pskov region, a few kilometres from the Estonian border, and the area has a distinctive character, with Estonian-built houses from the interwar period, the Setu people, a small Finno-Ugric community that straddles the frontier, and a feel of an end of the line. Because it is a border zone, you should carry your passport, and be cautious about riding off toward the frontier.
The riding is easy and rural. The road from Pskov runs through farmland and small villages, with long straights and gentle rises, and a surface that is mostly decent. Summer is the main season, and May to September is the sensible window. Rain is frequent, and the land is green.
Fuel and food are easy, since Pechory is a town of thirteen thousand with several stations, shops, cafés and a few hotels. It is the best place for supplies for miles around, and you should fill up before heading to Izborsk or the villages. Go down into the caves, if you can, and notice how the sound changes. Outside again, the bells will seem louder.