Pirms dodamies tālāk – Skaistkalnes virzienā, var izmest nelielu loku līdz Lejeniekiem, kas atrodas skaistā vietā – Mēmeles kreisajā krastā, 6 km austrumos no Bauskas. Latviešu dzejnieka Viļa Plūdoņa (1874. – 1940.) memoriālais muzejs dibināts 1968. g. viņa dzimtajās mājās „Lejeniekos”. Zemgales daba un vecmātes stāsti būtiski ietekmēja nākamā dzejnieka daiļradi. Šeit nokļuvušie var apskatīt ratu un etnogrāfisko priekšmetu kolekciju, izstaigāt Plūdoņa taku vai apmeklēt dzejnieka un viņa radinieku atdusas vietu netālu esošajos kapos. Bērniem noteikti jāiegriežas “Zaķīšu pirtiņā”.

One of the biggest castle hills in Estonia, which is surrounded by walls built of stone. It is mentioned in Livonian Chronicle of Henry as one of the best fortifications at that time.

The guest house is located in Varnja Old Believers village and on the Onion Route - a destination on the shores of Lake Peipsi, the largest lake in Estonia and the trans-border lake of the European Union. It is about 45 km from Tartu.

It offers the oppurtunity to experience authentic accommodation in a real home of an Old Believer family. Everything from the furnishing up to spoons and forks is as authentic as possible.

The house has three rooms that can accommodate up to 10 people.

Additional services: smoke sauna, Finnish sauna, plastic sauna, sauna in a tent, outdoor hot tub, boat rental, bicycle rental, camping, lake safari on a Karakat (wintertime only), boat house accomodation. 

The complex is on the northern shore of Latvia’s second-largest lake, Lake Rāzna.  The windows of the “Kastānis” café offer a view of one of the loveliest lakes in the country.
Latvian cuisine: Fish, sorrel and cold soup barley porridge, grey please with bacon, sautéed pork ribs with cabbage, fish dishes, homemade cheeses and stuffed apples with honey.
Special foods: Grated potatoes with meat and onions.

The Gauja National Park, established in 1973, was Latvia’s first national park, and it has a wealth of tradition in environmental protection and tourism. Indeed, the GNP is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Latvia. The main “artery” of the park is the ancient Gauja River valley, which was left behind when Ice Age glaciers receded. The valley is 95 kilometres long, with many tributaries that are also in deep ravines with massive sandstone cliffs from the Devonian period. The deepest part of the river valley is at Sigulda, where it is 85 metres deep.

The territory has a great diversity of species – some 900 plant species in all. The Gauja is Latvia’s most popular river for water tourism, and many tourist accommodations are found along its shores. The Gauja National Park is one of the best-appointed protected territories in Latvia in terms of nature trails and tourism routes. Nature trails at Līgatne pass along paddocks of wild animals – the largest and most complete object of its kind in the Baltic States. The park also features cultural monuments of pan-Baltic importance – the Turaida Museum Reserve, the medieval old town of the city of Cēsis with its famous castle ruins and St John’s Church, the lake castle at Āraiši, etc. Visitors centres are found in Sigulda, along the Līgatne nature trails, and at the Zvārte rock. The administration of the GNP is building a new and modern visitors centre in Sigulda.

The farm offers various goodies, including cheese, butter, cream, cottage cheese and fresh eggs.

The Lazdiņi farm is one of the most modern farms in Latvia, located in the Krimūni Parish in the north-western part of the Zemgale lowlands.  The farm focuses on grain farming (~1,100 ha), processing and storage.  Owner Juris Lazdiņš is the chairman of the largest non-governmental organisations in the field of agriculture, and by contacting him in advance, agriculture experts and future experts can go there to exchange experiences.  The farm is surrounded by the typical landscape of the Zemgale lowlands.

A bit less than one kilometre from the Aizkraukle castle hill, the church can be seen from the Rīga-Daugavpils highway (A6).  The church was built in 1688 on the steep banks of the Daugava River Valley, and old Daugavpils road can still be spotted.  Between 1896 and 1899 the church was rebuilt in Neo-Gothic forms.  Inside is an important altar painting by Augusts Annuss, “Lord Help Us, We are Sinking.” There are memorials to local people such as Col Jorģis Zemitāns and Archbishop Arnolds Lūsis.  A legend says that the steeple of the church is crooked because it was hit by a German military plane during World War II.

1.2 km to the south of the centre of Ģipka and on the side of the Jūrmala-Kolka road (P131), this church makes it hard to believe that the rock church was built very recently – after 1992, because it was burned down during the Soviet occupation in 1979.  Ironically, the Dundaga forestry fire safety post was housed in the steeple of the church after World War II.  The ornate altar and organ were destroyed in the fire, but the altar painting, “Christ on the Cross,” was saved.  The church is now once again open for business.

The nature park in the Ogre River valley is found along the middle section of the river. It has been established so as to protect the unregulated river valley and its surrounding territory, as well as biological diversity and habitats. For instance, this is an area in which rare park-type meadows can be found in Latvia. The Ogre is one of Latvia’s most popular rivers for water tourism in the spring, particularly downriver from the town of Ērgļi, where the technically complicated Braži rapids are found.