This outing combines fine dining at one of the most beautiful estates in Latvia with an outdoor experience at a cranberry plantation tasting cranberry-based products.

The Bīriņi Castle complex is part of Latvia’s national architectural heritage. The Neo-Gothic main castle building is surrounded by a picturesque park and buildings including the stables and the water tower, which showcase the country’s industrial heritage. The castle hotel is a very popular venue for wedding celebrations.

The cranberry plantation in Laugas swamp at Gundegas Farm was started in 1989 as a research farm. Cranberries are well known for their refreshing taste and medicinal qualities. They are used both for culinary purposes and in traditional medicine. Today six types of cranberries are grown in Latvia. The cranberry plantation offers the opportunity for guests to ‘pick-your-own’ during the harvest in September.

This is the largest exhibition in the Baltic States to feature the Semigalian material culture during the Iron Age.  There is a wealth of ornamentations, weapons and household objects, including the largest collection of swords in the Baltic States.  The exhibition is housed in the rebuilt defensive rooms of the wooden castle of Tērvete which existed here in the 12th century.  During the second weekend of each August, there is an international Semigalian festival which is the largest Medieval festival in the Baltic States.

The single-storey wooden building, located in the centre of Ventspils, boasts an antique interior that repurposes various household and craft items from the past. Latvian cuisine: lamb soup, fried bull testicles, grilled pork, pork ribs, oven-fried pork shank, pork chop, rye bread cake, cottage cheese cream.

Was mentioned in 1387, where it was called Domesnes.  That was the name until the early 20th century.  A ledger at the Irbe-Ģipka church states that there were four farms in Kolka in 1770 -- Krogi, Ūši, Vecvagari and Kabriki.  In 1844, a school for vergers was established, and Nika Polmanis worked there as a teacher.  Kolka's first school was built in 1881, and Livonian Kārlis Bernšteins (1881-1951) worked there for nearly half a century as a teacher.  The Dundaga riots that began in 1859 were led by Livonian Nika Šūbergs (1833-1884), the son of the owner of the Sārnasti farm.  At the end of the 19th century, there were 392 residents in Kolka, and in 1935, 145 of the 343 residents were Livonians.  During the mid-1980s, 13 Livonians spoke their language freely.  Kolka is the only coastal Livonian village that continued to develop during the frontier regime of the Soviet Union, because it was the centre of a fishing kolkhoz.  The number of residents increased rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s because new homes, a school, a people's centre, a kindergarten and several fish processing factories were built there.  Today Kolka has 700 residents and is the largest village along the Livonian coastline.  The "Līcis-93" fish processing factory is there, and local fishermen and smokers of fish work in the village.  The Kūolka Livonian Centre and the Livonian ensemble Laula operate there, as well.  The Ūši farm offers tastings of Livonian foods.

The teahouse is in a lovely location – the southern part of Pilssala Island, near the pedestrian bridge over the Driksa River.

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.

This three-day route will allow you to visit one of the most unusual landscapes in the Baltic States - the Curlandian dunes. You will also visit interesting territories here in Latvia - the Pape Nature Park and the Liepāja Naval Port. The port is worth visiting while it still retains some of its Soviet-era "charm". New and unprecedented impressions will also be assured by two unique manmade objects - the "Town of Rock" and the "Town of the Absurd", which are both unique not only at the Baltic level, but in a far more extensive sense.

This is one of the most important cultural centres in Augštaitija, and the nobility of the buildings is emphasised by a park and ponds.