About us

The place

Vanaase lies in Hindsa village, in the Luhamaa corner of Setomaa, on top of Saarõmäe hill, 210 m above sea level. The main house was built in 1900 and restored as a retreat centre in 2021–2023. It has a large hall for up to 15 people and an equally spacious dining room with a long table.

Of the long five-part granary only two sections have survived, and they have been rebuilt as guest houses: two double rooms and two four-bed rooms. Guests have their own washrooms: four toilets, two of them with a shower.

The big 80-metre pond has a comfortable swimming jetty, singing frogs and grass carp that keep the pond clean. Cranes are frequent visitors, both by the pond and elsewhere on the lawns.

The two-hectare, carefully mown lawn keeps the mosquitoes away. A disc golf course with four baskets but changing geometry keeps you entertained. Landscape Appreciation Platforms™, placed at spots with beautiful views, offer rest for the legs and the mind.

Who we are

We are Viktor and Irina. In 2021 we bought the Vanaase farmstead in the Luhamaa corner of Setomaa with the idea of founding a meditation retreat centre here – where Estonia, Russia and Latvia meet.

Life at Vanaase goes on all year round, but we take guests only in summer – from May to September. That way the place gets its rest, and we have the energy to be truly present with every group.

Our work has been given a boost (three times, no less) by the Setomaa Edendüsfond, the Setomaa development fund.