One of the most interesting objects in Bigauņciems, the road begins at the seashore, crosses the Vecslocene River (there is no bridge, but hikers and bikers can get across it), and then continues as a forest road to Lake Melnezers.

This partly forested hillock stands 40 metres above the surrounding area and offers impressive views.  The fact that this was once a castle hill is attested by the presence of a moat and remnants of defensive fortifications.  It is thought that Lettigalian tribes settled here in the 10th century AD.  You can climb the hillock to take a look at the surrounding landscapes.

Eine der ältesten Ortschaften Litauens. Schon im 14. Jh befand sich hier eine Holzburg. Der 20 m hohe Merķine-Burgberg an der Mündung der Flüsse Merkys und Nemunas.

In Metsanurme Village Centre you can see restored old threshing barn, limestone barn oven and few tools that were used ages ago. You could be also interested in seeing an outdoor exhibition which focuses on historical agricultural tools. All of this is made to look interesting to not only locals but also visitors.

The historic stone, on which there is carved over 200 years old boundary-mark, sets the border between the Duchy of Courland and the Russian province. Nowadays, it sets the Babīte and Jelgava district boundary. The stone lies to the East of Kalnciems–Peat road (the south of the swamp Labais purvs) at the edge of a forest firebreak and it can be hard to find. To this end, the description of the road map may help: around 400 m south of the car parking lot at Lily Lake from Kalnciems-Peat road to the right (in the east) turns a forest road which leads down from hills Krāču kalni. It should be around 170 m to go until it abruptly turns to the right (to the southeast). Then you must go in this direction until after ~ 0.5 km to turn to the northeast where after further ~ 0.4 km of the current forest road intersection turn to the north. After ~ 0.4 km turn right (to the east) on a big firebreak, on the left (the north) side of which behind the drainage ditch during the non-leaf period there can be seen a rounded stone. Due to the poor condition of roads, the stone can be reached only on foot.

This is an ancient and important place for trade and craftsmanship on the left shore of the Rīga hydroelectric power plant reservoir.  It rises some 15 m above the Daugava River.  The Zemgale port that is described in historical documents is thought to have been located alongside the castle hill and at the mouth of the little Varžupīte stream.  Antiquities that have been dug up here suggest that the castle hill and its adjoining ancient settlement were populated until the late 12th century, when the importance of Daugmale began to shrink because of rapidly growing Rīga.  The foundations of the castle hill have been shored up.

This was an island after the Rīga hydroelectric power plant created a reservoir, and before that it was a peninsula on the Left Bank of the Daugava.  During World War I, there were massive battles between Latvian Riflemen and a much larger German army on Death Island.  On December 25, 1916, the Germans used poisonous gas against the Latvian troops.  In honour of this, the architect Eižens Laube designed a monument to fallen Latvian riflemen on the northern shore of Death Island.  It was unveiled in 1924.  Death Island can be reached by boat, and the trenches and graves there are of interest.  There is a pier for boats on the north-western shore of the island, and nearby is a location for leisure.  Some of the trenches and dugouts have recently been restored.  The battles were described by Aleksandrs Grīns in his masterpiece, “Snowstorm of Souls.”

Salos, Vaišnoriškė, Strazdai, Šuminai sind die bewohnten Dörfe im Augštaitija- Nationalpark, in denen historische Einzelgehöfte mit Holzgebäuden erhalten sind.

Stupeļu Hill is 3 km to the South of the Vecumnieki-Ilūkste road. There are no signs, so the castle hill might be difficult to find. The Great Stupeļu Rock, which is discussed further on in this guidebook, is also hard to find when there is vegetation. Stupeļu Hill is approximately 30 m high, and it was one of the highest castle hills in the historical district of Selonia. Archaeologists say that it was first abandoned at the beginning of our era and then populated again during the late Iron Age. It is interesting that iron was extracted and processed near the castle hill. Archaeologists believe that this is the site of one of the earliest “cities” in the region. To the West of the hill is the Great Stupeļu Rock, which is 6.7 m long, 5.6 m wide and up to 2.7 m high. Above ground, it is 35 m³ large, and it may have been a cult location. During archaeological digs in the late 1970s, antiquities from the 10^th to the 13^th century were found here.