A former manor barn, located by the lake in Raiskums, 8 km from Cēsis, where bread and beer is made.

Offers beer brewed according to ancient traditions, bread and smoked meat prepared following the recipes of ancestors. Bread is cooked in a wood oven with natural sourdough.

The special taste is obtained in the wood-fired beer brewing pot and old countryside bread making oven.

Guided tour and tasting.

The attractive potter is a member of the “Potter School,” and he uses knowledge from his ancestors. The “Malny Wylky” workshop offers a look at traditional pottery work, including a foot-powered potter’s wheel and a firing pit that uses firewood and the smoke technique. You can examine and purchase the finished products. Vēsma, in turn, is an oil painter and will demonstrate her artworks.

This is Latvia’s first major hydroelectric power plant, and construction along the right bank of the Daugava began in 1936.  The plant was designed by the architect Eižens Laube.  The first hydro-aggregate (17 MW of capacity as the largest plant in Latvia) was switched on in 1939.  A second round of construction occurred between 1976 until 1979, the result being a new building on the left bank of the Daugava, increasing the capacity of the plant to 260 MW.  Another round of reconstruction occurred between 1998 and 2001 on the left bank of the Daugava (the HES-2 plant).  The Energy Museum is now there.

Nepilnus 3 km garā taka iepazīstina ar dziļo Imulas ieleju – Abavas kreisā krasta pieteku. Īpaši iespaidīga ieleja izskatās bezlapu periodā, kad ir apjaušami tās izmēri un formas. Viens no takas iespaidīgākajiem objektiem ir Buses jeb Matkules pilskalns. Apskatāmi citi objekti – Baznīckalns, Bedrīšakmens, Ķauķa kalns ar avotiņu. Atrodas dabas parkā „Abavas senleja”.

The Livonian Order built a castle made of bricks and fieldstones in this location in 1253.  The building measured 72 x 40 metres and had a three-story residential area and a gate tower at its centre.  An entrance for soldiers was installed at the height of the second floor of the fortified wall during the 14th century, with barriers and four bastions installed during the 16th and 17th century.  Legend has it that the daughter of a knight was bricked into the wall and that there was once a secret underground passage to the Lutheran church that is 200 metres away.  The park includes the “Ancient Seashore” promenade, featuring plaques with quotes from Zenta Mauriņa and Jānis Rainis.

The tour introduces modern day life in rural Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and includes visits to small farms raising livestock and producing delicious foods, and to ethnographic villages preserving the traditional lifestyle in a contemporary environment. The tour also involves sites of historical and cultural interest.

The tour gives a look beyond the usual tourism sites to get to know the three Baltic states more deeply. It starts in the historic Latvian capital, Riga, followed by the Gauja National Park with its castles, manors and walking trails. Climb the tower of medieval Turaida Castle for amazing views over the valley and visit the ancient jewellery master in the castle of the charming town of Cesis. 

Across the border in Estonia, walk streets with elegant villas at Parnu sea resort before catching a ferry to Saaremma island. Ethnographic Koguva village, ancient churches and windmills are typical of the island, as is an embroidering tradition. Then it's off to Tallinn with its medieval Old Town and to the rocky landscapes of Lahemaa National Park with fishing villages and manors. Try Estonian national dishes at the pub in Altja. Driving back, stop at the university town of Tartu. In Latvia again, visit goat farms and a traditional black bread bakery. Then the tour heads towards the west coast with the cities of Liepaja and, across the border in Lithunaia, Klaipeda. Next is the incredible Curonian Spit. Before Vilnius, take a detour to Grutas Park with its bizarre Soviet statuary. Finish the journey at picturesque Trakai Castle in Lithuania and Rundale Palace in Latvia.

To view the Daugava River from a different perspective, visit the Liepkalni bakery, which offers tours in a Viking longboat that is called “Lāčplēsis” and can carry up to 24 people.  The Daugava has always been an important transport corridor for many species and animals that arrived in Latvia because of that, as well as for people and tribes that lived along the banks of the Daugava River and the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Where the little Rumbiņa river flows into the Daugava (on the left bank of the little river opposite the Lielvārde park), there is the Dievkalns castle hill that has been reduced by the waters of the Daugava.  It is also known as the Cepure hill.  According to antiquities that have been found here, representatives of Baltic tribes lived here from the first millennium BC to the 6^th or 7^th century AD.  The level of the Ķegums hydroelectric power plant can be reached by a staircase from which the best view of this object can be found.