This tour combines culinary experiences with visiting popular tourist attractions in southern Estonia. You will visit Võru and Rõuge, enjoy the southern Estonian landscape in Haanja Nature Park from the top of Suur Munamägi, the highest hill in the Baltics, and will be sincerely welcomed in Setomaa, the land of Setos - an ethnic and linguistic minority carrying on their unique heritage traditions. Setomaa has been inhabited for about 8,400 years, which makes it one of the oldest human settlements in Estonia. On this tour, you will taste Estonian wines made from locally grown berries and fruit, visit a goat farm offering superb goat’s cheese, and will be served a hearty country meal in a rural homestead.

The itinerary starts and ends in Tartu, but it can be extended to/from Tallinn and Riga.

Work on the park began in end of 18th century, when it was a landscape park with trails for strolling and a system of pathways, benches and bridges.  The 196-ha park is one of the largest estate parks in Latvia, and in dendrological terms it is one of the richest ones, with more than 200 varieties of trees and bushes, including 127 foreign ones.  The park encircles the village of Kazdanga, including the Kazdanga Castle and the territory to its north, where you will find the burying grounds of the Manteuffel family.  These were established at the very beginning of the 20th century, but the work was interrupted by World War I.  The park features leisure areas and decorative elements.  The castle was built around 1800 by the European-level architect Johann Gregor Berlitz after a design by architect Giacomo Quarenghi.  The ensemble included a Cavalier House, a granary, a residential home, a stable, a bridge across the valley and other structures.  An agricultural school was opened in the castle in 1924.  Today it is the Kazdanga Museum, with the local Tourism Information Centre..

The café is on the edge of the Jēkabpils-Rēzekne road (A12) in a lovely location by a pond where guests can fish for perch, pike, tench and carp.  Eastern cuisine and fish dishes are offered.

Latvijas Valsts mežu laivu bāzē, kas atrodas Kaņiera ezera dienviddaļā (redzama no Lapmežciema – Antiņciema ceļa) kopā ar laivu bāzes ēku apvienots skatu tornis, no kura lieliski pārredzama ezera austrumdaļa.

Construction of the Sigulda castle was begun by the Order of Brethren of Swords in 1207, but in 1236 it was rebuilt for the needs of the Livonian Order.  The building suffered much damage during wars in the latter half of the 16th century and the early part of the 17th century.  It was burned down during the Great Northern War and was not restored.  Visible today is the south-western wing of the castle’s convent building and the main gate tower, behind which is the internal forecastle with an open-air stage that offers an impressive view of the ancient Gauja River valley.  The new Sigulda castle was built between 1878 and 1881, and it was owned by Count Kropotkin.  From 1923 until 1940, the castle housed a centre for writers, and during the Soviet Union it was a hospital for cardiology patients.  Since 2003, the Sigulda Administrative District Council has been located here.  The buildings that have been preserved include a wooden home (mid-19th century), where the Kropotkin family used to live, a granary (late 18th or early 19th century), the home of the gardener (19th century) and a brick wall (19th century).  If we go to the north-eastern direction, we will find the Vējupīte valley less than two kilometres away.  It includes the shallow (3.6 m) but high (6.1 m) Pēteris cave and the deep Pūču valley with the little Kraukļupīte River.  At the place where the two valleys come together we find the Satezele castle hill (its flat surface is 90 x 75 m), where, in the early 13th century, the oak castle of the ruler of Livonian lands, Dabrelis, was once found.  Nearby is the Kraukļu valley, with 11 m sandstone walls and a cave that is 5.2 m deep.  Nearby is the Paradise (Painter) hill, which offers a lovely landscape that has been painted and photographed since ancient times.  There is a Ferris wheel in the western part of Sigulda that is open during the summer, as well as an aerial tram that is the only transport vehicle of its type in the Baltic States and was installed in 1969.  The cable that carries the tram is 1,060 metres long and links the shores of the ancient Gauja River valley between Sigulda and Krimulda.  The cable is approximately 40 metres above the Gauja.  The south-western part of Sigulda features the mighty Beite cliff which is split by a deep stream valley.  To the west of the cliff is the Emperor’s View viewing area that is 67 m above the Gauja and offers a good view of Krimulda and the Turaida Castle.  A viewing area was established here in 1862, when Tsar Alexander II of Russia visited Sigulda.  The wooden Emperor’s chair is to the east of the viewing area.  The Turaida Museum Reserve is in the place where the shore is split by deep valleys carved out by streams.  It features several outstanding monuments that are as much as 1,000 years old.  Of note are the Turaida Estate (21 buildings), the grave of the Rose of Turaida, the Turaida Lutheran Church (1750), which is one of the oldest wooden churches in Latvia) and the Turaida Castle.  Folksong hill, which is nearby, is used for various thematic events.

Šis ir viens no 6 ceļojuma maršrutiem sērijā "Baudi laukus!", un tas aicina apmeklēt Lauku Labumus – visdažādāko veidu un nozaru saimniecības un uzņēmumus, kas atvērti apmeklētājiem, piedāvā ekskursijas, nogaršot, apskatīt un iegādāties savus ražojumus. Tur apskatāmi mājdzīvnieki, mūsdienīgas lauku saimniecības, amatnieku darbnīcas, iegādājami lauku produkti – maize, medus, mājas vīns un alus, siers, ogas, augļi, zivis, gaļa, dārzeņi, tējas un citi laukos audzēti labumi. Pa ceļam iespējams ieturēt pusdienas lauku krodziņos. 

Informatīvi bagāta un interesanta dabas izziņas taka, kas ved pa Gaujas tuvumā esošajiem krasta biotopiem – boreāliem mežiem, nogāžu mežiem, gar vecupi, jauktiem lapu koku un platlapju mežiem, kā arī parkveida ozolu pļavām. Ziemeļgaujas aizsargājamo ainavu apvidū esošie meži ir vieni no sugām daudzveidīgākajiem Latvijā. Taka ir marķēta, izveidotas skatu platformas, izvietoti informatīvie stendi.

Kopējais takas garums: 2,2 km

The tour introduces a variety of attractions and values outside big cities revealing the true character of the countries. Visitors will experience the beauty of nature in national parks, charming ambience of rural manors, visit traditional rural farms and skilful traditional artisans and craftsmen.