The first part of this section of the Forest Trail winds along the magnificent River Piusa valley, then, at Härmä Village, it turns towards Obinitsa, an important cultural centre of Setomaa, the Land of Setos. Here you can discover the traditions of the local Seto people, for example the fine handicraft of the Seto women. After Obinitsa, the Forest Trail leads through beautiful pine forests rich in heather, descends back into the depths of the River Piusa valley and ends at the Piusa caves. The Piusa sandstone caves are the result of hand-mining glass sand from 1922-1966. The biggest wintering colony of bats in Eastern Europe is located in the caves. When accompanied by the guide, you can visit the observation platform at the Museum cave.

Poems are dedicated to trees in the garden sourrounding the memorial house of Edvarts Virza, a Latvian poet and writer who wrote a legendary novel about the lives of Latvian farmers. The beautiful 18th century Mazmežotne castle is renovated by a grain farmer’s family. The Rundāle castle is known as Latvia’s true jewel of Baroque and Rococo architecture featuring also a rose garden with over 2200 varieties of roses. At Brukna manor you will see a vegetable garden that is arranged as a Renaissance park, a rose garden and a vineyard. Pick your own blackcurrant berries at Bāniši berry farm. A beautiful landscape garden is open for visitors at Gundegas house.  200 year old oaks adorn the Vārkavas Park.  Riekstiņi is an authentic single-family Selonian farm with a specific spirit and ambience. At Kaldabruņa you will visit an art gallery housed in a hay-shed together with a hay museum. Grape selection and cultivation was the great passion of Pauls Sukatnieks, and his memorial garden is worth visiting during the harvesting time. Dvietes Manor is proud of its 19th century landscape park and a stone bridge. Daugavpils, the 2nd largest city of Latvia, is famous for the renovated  19th century Daugavpils Fortress housing museums. Sēlija tree nursery offers a tour of their apple orchard, apple storage and production facilities. Enjoy a glass of apple juice and stories of vinemakers. Berķenele is the memorial house of Rainis, the distinguished Latvian author and social activist.The Rokiškis Regional Museum and Manor is one of the most important cultural centres of the Aukštaitija region. The Liudvika and Stanislovas Didžiulis Homestead Museum garden features traditional Lithuanian apple tree cultivars, flowers and herbs. The A. Baranauskas and A. Vienuolis-Žukauskas Memorial Museum presents culture, literature, history, agrarian culture, and technical history in the Anykščiai region. Traditional Lithuanian flower garden can also be seen at the Bronė Buivydaitė Memorial Museum. In Anykščiai you can enjoy the Treetop Walkway and Labyrinth Park, and take a train ride on Aukštaitija’s narrow-gauge railway. In Traupis Botanical Garden you will find everything from perennial flower collections and rock garden to a flower clock and decorative pool with aquatic plants. The interior of the Taujėnai Manor house was decorated extensively with the Radziwiłł family’s portraits, sculptures, hunting trophies, and antique weapons. Take a walk around the Ukmergė Old Town and enjoy the view from the old fire tower. Survilai Homestead offers a barefoot trail walking on pine cones, swamp, peat, clay, gravel, polished glass, pine-tree needles, straw. The Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas Botanical Garden exposes the Lithuanian Heritage flower garden plants according to their botanical classification. At Tadas Ivanauskas Homestead at Obelynė Park you will see a collection of 300 species and forms of plants, including some of the oldest trees on the planet – the ginkgo biloba and the dawn redwood. In Kaunas you will see the Oldest Apple Tree in Lithuania – almost 360 years old, 8 metres tall, with a girth of 285cm at a height of 1.3m. The tour ends in Kaunas, Lithuania's 2nd largest city that was the capital of the country from 1920 until 1939.

This workshop manufactures belts, bags, jewellery (pendants, brooches, bracelets), as well as covers. It offers book binding services and prepares souvenirs. Tours are available for groups of up to 50 people. You can try your own hand at the crafts, taste teas, and cook soups on an open fire.

The Rūķīšu tēja farm is one of the leading producers of medicinal plants in Latvia.  The company ensures the quality by growing and harvesting plants that are dried, stored and packaged very carefully.  The farm uses no aromatises, no preservatives, dyes or thickeners.  Group tours will enjoy tasty teas and recommendations on those that should be purchased.  Products are sold at very attractive prices.  The farm offers a wide range of medicinal plants from which teas can be produced.  Pay a visit when the plants are blooming and each little area has a unique and typical colour.  

Atrodas skaistā vietā – pašā Daugavas krastā. Ēdina, klāj galdus, piedāvā braucienus ar kuģīti pa Daugavu.
Latviešu virtuve: Aukstā zupa, cūkgaļas ribiņas ķimeņu mērcē, kartupeļu pankūkas, mājas kotletes, pelēkie zirņi, plānās pankūkas ar ievārījumu.
Īpašais ēdien: „Mazā raganiņa” – cūkgaļas karbonāde ar sēnēm.

The cafe is situated in the shopping centre Sala in Jekabpils, on the right back of the river Daugava. The cafe’s premises are comfortable and decorated with fresh flowers. It is a place where you can have either breakfast, dinner or supper.

Working hours: 9.00 - 20.00

The monument is on a hillock along the lovely shores of Lake Alūksne and alongside Pleskavas Street (P 40).  The monument was unveiled on June 20, 1923, by Latvian President Jānis Čakste and was designed by the sculptor Jūlijs Miesnieks.  It features a shield with crossed words, and the text reads “For fallen soldiers from the 7th Sigulda regiment, 1919-1920), and on the other side there is a text “Better to take my head than our fatherland.”  The monument was torn down during the Soviet occupation (1953) and restored in 2009.

Jēsū – Kepu ceļa malā pie Leti (Läti) ciema ir izveidots autostāvlaukums ar putnu vērošanas torni, no kura paveras skats uz Hallistes upes palieņu pļavām un tuvējā ciema apkārtni. Stipru palu laikā arī no šī torņa redzamā apkārtne (izņemot ceļus) var atrasties zem ūdens. Laba putnu vērošanas vieta. Läti tulkojumā no igauņu valodas nozīmē Latvija.

Svartå Manor is one of the most precious manor houses in Finland with a history of more than two hundred years. The countryside hotel consists of five different historical buildings situated in an idyllic park with a scenic river flowing nearby. Near the manor is a restaurant and a museum, where you can take a tour.