The tour combines the most beautiful southern parts of the Forest Trail in Lithuania and Latvia. The route starts in Druskininkai, Lithuania, and for the next day you will walk through forests of the Dzūkija National Park. After getting to Vilnius and Kurtuvėnai Regional Park, two sections of the Forest Trail will take you from Dengtiltis to Šaukėnai. Since it is among the most forested areas of Central Lithuania, the Kurtuvėnai Regional Park with its glaciated valleys is a wonderland of forests, waters and wetlands. The Forest Trail will run along small forest paths, tourist trails, beautiful tree alleys and wetlands. Next you will take public transportation to reach the Žemaitija National Park, where you will taketwo sections of the Forest Trail from the pilgrimage town of Žemaičių Kalvarija along the lakes of Plateliai, Ilgis and Beržoras to the town of Plateliai. It is one of the most beautiful towns of Samogitia taking pride in its manor park and the viewing platform on Lake Plateliai. Žemaitija National Park takes pride in its old pine and fir forests, as well as mixed forests.
Next, you will drive through Klaipėda and Liepāja to reach Kuldīga in Latvia. The trip starts in Kuldīga – a jewel among the old towns in Kurzeme. The town centre is home to historic buildings dating back to the 17th – 19th century, Venta waterfall, the old bridge over the river Venta, gourmet restaurants and a local farmer’s store in the centre of the town. 

From there on the Forest Trail takes you along the riverside promenade in Kuldīga, continues through the nature park “Abavas senleja” from Renda to the wine and cider town Sabile and Kandava. The section along the Abava River Valley Nature Park is the most diverse river valley in Kurzeme in terms of landscapes and terrain. The final section of the tour takes you to the Ķemeri National Park, which is an important place for the protection of wetlands. As to the town – Ķemeri – it is the former balneological and sulphur springs resort.

The tour ends on the seaside – the village of Bigauņciems, from where you can easily get to Rīga. Optionally, one can take a detour along the Lake Sloka trail with its bird-watching tower or pay a visit to the “Forest House” – the visitor’s centre of the Ķemeri National Park.

Beliebte und eine der ältesten Straßen in Jurmala zwischen Dzintari und Majori. Die 1,1 km lange Straße mit Wirtshäusern, Sommercafés und Souvenirladen.

The owner of the farm offers attractive tours during which you will learn about chinchillas, animal enclosures, as well as quails which you can view and purchase.

The Peppermint Hut offers various teas, cookies, candies, honey with peppermint and peppermint syrups.  Periodically, new products area added to the range. Creative workshops are used to produce peppermint soap, plates with images of peppermint, decorative candles and many other things. The owner of the house also uses peppermint to produce powders and facial tonics.

This beautiful castle (1797-1802) is seen as the most brilliant example of Classicism in Latvian architecture.  It, like the Eleja Castle, was designed by the architect of the royal court in Russia, Giacomo Antonio Domenico Quarenghi and the architect Johann Georg Adam Berlitz.  The ornate interior was unique for Kurzeme at the time when the castle was built.  Empress Catherine II gifted the castle to Charlotte von Lieven (1742-1828) after Charlotte served as governess for the empress’ grandchildren.  An agricultural school operated in the building from 1921 until 1941, and it was very much damaged and pillaged during World War II.  Restoration began later, when the Mežotne experimental selection station was housed in it.  The lovely building houses a hotel and can be toured.  Around the castle, which is on the banks of the Lielupe River, there is one of the most beautiful English-type gardens in Latvia – perfect for a stroll.

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.

Kihnu is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga, with an area of 16.4 km2. It is only 7 km long and 3.3 km wide. Kihnu's cultural space and traditions are included on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. There are four villages on the island and the islanders still wear national dress as everyday apparel. The unique atmosphere of the island can be experienced during a guided day programme. Kihnu Mare, the local guide, has developed her own traditional culture network with the people who have the know-how and skills to demonstrate for visitors the different aspects of Kihnu culture: the language, the traditional clothes, farming and fieldwork, handicrafts, the preparation of traditional foods, folklore, church life, singing, and dancing at weddings and village parties, as well as their traditions surrounding the sea, fishing, seal hunting and living with nature.

Kaltene features several homes where shipbuilders used to live – Caurnāši, which was home to the Bertliņi family, Ilmati, where six ailing ships were built, Maizītes, where the Stahl family of ship builders built 16 two-mast and three-mast ships, and Dambekalni, which was once one of the first canned fish factories on the coastline.  To the side of the sea are the old boat piers of Kaltene.  In 1936, a board pier was built by the Freijs family from Roja.  It was 200 m long and had room for some 50 boats.  All that is left are wooden poles that have been eaten away by the sea and time.  If you want to learn about the specifics, difficulties and challenges of fishermen today, visit Ervīns Vilciņš in Ķirķrags.  He will tell interesting stories on the basis of his experience.  You can watch as he fishes in the morning and then taste the fish that he has caught. (Source: Roja TIC)