The largest town in South-Eastern Latvia is on the banks of the Daugava River, which is the border between Latvia and Belarus at this location.  The border runs down the middle of the river.  Piedruja has two parts – Piedruja and Aleksandrova, which are separated by a central street (the V 631 road).  Piedruja emerged from the Druja town that was on the left bank of the Daugava.  During the 17th century, the two parts were owned by the Stapekha dynasty of Lithuanian aristocrats.  It is worth strolling through the town, because the low-level wooden houses are reminiscent of buildings that are exhibited in open-air ethnographic museums.  Piedruja is neat and tidy, with two churches and the Daugava rock that are part of a local hiking trails.  Aleksandrova has a tourist accommodation, “Piedruja,” which offers special soirées in the Lettigalian, Russian and Belarusian style.  Please be aware that you need a temporary permit to enter the border zone.  The Border Guard facility is in Piedruja and at a place where there was a Daugava crossing point comparatively recently.

The Volkenberga Castle was built in the 13th century by the Livonian Order, and it was practically impregnable, as it was on top of Mākoņkalns hill.  These were among the first fortifications in Latgale, and only fragments of the castle remain today.  Architect Pēteris Blūms has said that this was a special type of fortification.  Legends say that after the lord and lady of the castle died, the property was divided up among their three daughters – Roze, Lūcija and Marija.  Each sister built a new castle on the land which she inherited – Roze built Rēzekne, Lūcija built Ludza, and Marija built Viļaka.  A memorial plaque at the foot of Mākoņkalns hill recalls the visit which pre-war Latvian President Kārlis Ulmanis paid to Latgale in 1938.

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.

Находится за Гробиньским водохранилищем на берегу реки Аланде (ул. Пиладжу, д. 3). Туристический клуб «Ога» с 1 мая 2013 года планирует здесь организацию разных связанных с жизнью викингов мероприятий, во время которых можно будет войти в образ викинга, отправиться в поход на корабле викингов (в соответствующей одежде) по реке Аланде, а также познакомиться с окрестностями, которые связаны с тематикой викингов. Рядом с поселением установлена деревянная фигура викинга с рогами (от коров, пасущихся на Витиньских лугах на берегу Лиепайского озера).

The memorial site with a 1936 monument produced by the sculptor Kārlis Zāle is located in Smārde near the Smārde-Tukums road.  It commemorates 38 soldiers who fell during World War I.  Between 1915 and 1917, the front line was near Smārde.  Many men were killed, and they were buried at the local swamp.  It was only after the war that they were reburied in Smārde, Kūdra, Ķemeri, and Sloka.

Celta ~ 1560. g. vietā, kur agrāk atradusies Sakas osta. Dievnamā apskatāms > 170 gadus vecs kuģa modelis. Vietējie ticēja, kas tas aizsargā jūrniekus un bojāejas. Šāda tradīcija Latvijā ir novērojama tikai dažās baznīcās. Baznīcu var apskatīt arī no iekšpuses.

"Sabiles laivas"  Talsu novadā piedāvā laivu nomu, laivu un laivotāju transportu.

This fairly large wooden bridge across the Rīva River is a fairly unique phenomenon in Latvia, but it is one of few, if not the only bridge of its type.  The bridge is in a convenient and easily accessed place, and of interest is the fact that it was once part of the Liepāja-Ventspils railroad that was installed during the first half of the 20th century.