The café is along the Rīga-Ventspils highway (A10). A summer terrace is available during the season.

Latvian cuisine: Beef tongue salad, chilled soup, stock with dumplings, “little farmer,” pork ribs, potato pancakes and crepes, whipped fool.

Special foods: Kharcho a la “Pie Jānis”.

After passing through Sigulda, the Forest Trail follows the River Vējupīte to Paradīzes Hill, where a steep staircase leads down into the ancient valley of the River Gauja and the ravine of the River Vējupīte. It continues to wind down smaller paths through meadows, crossing small rivers whose banks reveal sandstone outcrops. The last six kilometres of this section follow a smaller path down the Līgatne Nature Trails. You can see local wildlife animals and birds on this 5.5 km long trail. Further on the Forest Trail moves up the hills of the ancient valley of the River Gauja, before descending back down into the deep ravine of the River Līgatne, where the village of the former Līgatne paper mill is located. You can explore this attractive small village, visit the Līgatne spoon factory, winery and Līgatne caves. There is also the Līgatne Net Park with 4-7 m high net labyrinths among the treetops.

This part of the Forest Trail and Gauja National Park is characterised by a gradual transition from diverse, deciduous forests (ash, grey alder, oak, birch, linden) to coniferous stands.

The restoration of Kau Manor, which was originally constructed before 1241, was inspired by the colourful history of the manor, and the imagination makes it stand out from the other manors. Kau Manor has won the 2016 World Boutique Hotel Award in the category of the World’s Most Inspired Design Hotel.

Dabas liegumā "Lielie Kangari" atrodas 33 metrus augsts skatu tornis, kura virsotnē atrodas platforma, no kuras paveras skats uz Kangaru ezeru un Lielkangaru purvu. Dabas liegumā izbūvēta arī nepilnu divu kilometru gara pastaigu taka ar tiltiņiem un skatu platformu pie ezera.  Takas sākumā izvietotais veselības maršruts ikvienu apmeklētāju aicina kārtīgi izvingroties un izkustēties. Apmeklētāju informēšanai un izglītošanai visas takas garumā izvietoti arī informatīvie stendi ar fotogrāfijām, kas apvieno varenu stāstu un teiku kopumu par notikumiem, vietām, tēliem un parādībām dažādās apkārtnes vietās. 

During this trip you will visit the workshops of craftspeople, farms that breed horses, as well as various destinations where you can enjoy country goodies.  Ancient skills are now a modern application.

First you will stop in Ikšķile, and at the very beginning of the trip, you will visit a cellar that stores birch juice wine and taste sparkling wine.  In Skrīveri, you will be surprised by the transformation of milk.  A cosy café on the main street of the small town offers outstanding homemade ice cream featuring strawberry, anchovy and horseradish flavours.  In Koknese, you can supplement your wardrobe with a new leather belt, bag or stylish leather jewellery.  A farm that grows hemp will offer a small tour, as well as hemp delicacies.  The work of black ceramics masters in Latgale fits into modern interiors.  The Aglona Bread Museum offers a chance for visitors to bake their own loaf of bread.  The visit to the next farm will allow you to add tasty cheese that has been made from milk from Latvian brown cows.  The last stop in Latvia will be Daugavpils, which features an art centre featuring the work of the globally known abstractionist Mark Rothko, as well as the Daugavpils fortress, that was built in the 19th century and is an impressive military building.  This is one of the most popular tourist destinations.  From there you will travel to Lithuania, where you will visit several traditional farms.  The Ilzenbergo Dvaras estate has a bio-dynamic farm.  You will taste Lithuania's national sweets which are called šakotis.  You will visit the town of Anykščiai, which offers a hike along a trail that is above the trees.  A horse museum offers a look at old farm equipment.  Next you will visit farms that will inform you about traditional Lithuanian cuisine and the work of potters.  The Dubingiu horse farm offers horseback rides.  At the conclusion of the tour you will visit the unique Trakai lake castle (14th and 15th century), as well as Vilnius.

The Baltic Way was a unique demonstration at the Baltic, European and global level.  Never before had the residents of three countries joined hands in a single chain to link the capital cities of the three nations – Vilnius, Rīga and Tallinn.  The historical event occurred on the evening of August 23, 1989 and involved some two million people to recall events that had happened 50 years before – the conclusion of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that allowed the two superpowers of the day, Germany and the USSR, to divide up spheres of influence in Europe before the new world war.  The Baltic States lost their independence as a result of the pact.

The chain of demonstrators was some 600 km long, marking out the Baltic Way from Bauska to Rīga and then on to Sigulda, Cēsis, Valmiera and Rūjiena.  The route was known and used in the 14th and 15th century, or even earlier.  Testimony to this is given by the mighty castle hill at Mežotne and the ancient port alongside it.  The Bauska Castle was an important fort during the age of Livonia and, later, one of the residencies of the dukes of Courland.  Sigulda was well fortified on the banks of the Gauja River, with three stone castles nearby.  It was also a health spa.  Līgatne is important in industrial terms because of the paper factory that is there.  Āraiši is another ancient trade crossroad with a lake castle, ancient church, castle ruins and a famous windmill.  Cēsis is one of the historical diamonds of Vidzeme with its old town, the old and new castle, and the majestic views of the ancient Gauja River valley at the cliffs of Ērgļi.  Valmiera boasts of his St Simon’s Church, the Dāliņš stadium, its own theatre and the youthfulness of its own university college.  In Rūjiena, there is a monument to the Bugler of Tālava, which was carved by Kārlis Zemdega and installed in 1937 to commemorate the liberation of Rūjiena.  The monument survived all of the years after the war.  The engraving, “the bugler had to die, but the Latvians heard his call,” is very much in line with the Baltic Way on August 23, 1989.

Koņuciems of Pape is one of the few seashore fishing villages in Latvia to have preserved an authentic environment to the present day. The Latvian Open-Air Ethnographic Museum has a branch here, “Vītolnieki”, and this is an authentic and ancient fisherman’s farm. +371-2926-2283. The sad fact is that some people have built modern buildings in the village, and it has now lost its earlier untouched charm.