Walking

This section of the Forest Trail leads through the entire Gauja National Park and gives an opportunity to see all the most beautiful places and sights of this national park of more than 100 km. Gauja National Park is the oldest and largest national park in Latvia. The ancient valley of the River Gauja is the deepest river valley in the Baltic states. The banks of the River Gauja reveal colourful sandstone outcrops, which are reflected in the water. The sights are most wonderful in springtime, when bird cherry trees are in full bloom, and in autumn, as the trees turn red and yellow. The ancient valley of the River Gauja has a distinctive terrain relief that can fluctuate by up to 80 m. The largest part of the road leads through forest paths, along the river, and exits the woods in Līgatne and Sigulda.

Almost half of the park is covered by forest. Gauja National Park is known for the great diversity of specially protected forests, featuring herbaceous spruce forests, slope and ravine forests, as well as mixed broadleaf forests.

Die Ostsee wird an der westlichen Küste von Kurzeme das Großmeer genannt. Hier gibt es hauptsächlich Sandstrände. Der Bereich des Großmeeres ist die am wenigsten bevölkerte Küstenregion in Lettland. Gleichwohl befindet sich dort auch die drittgrößte Stadt Lettlands Liepāja. Steilufer steigen vor Ihren Augen zwischen Pāvilosta und Sārnate empor. Die Dörfer sind ruhig und dünn besiedelt. Am Anfang der Route können Sie sich das militärische Erbe der Sowjetunion im Kriegshafen von Liepāja anschauen, in Pāvilosta regionalen Räucherfisch probieren und von dem Leuchtturm Užava eine der schönsten Aussichten der gesamten Route auf die Küste genießen. Die Route endet in der Hafenstadt Ventspils. Dort gibt es ein reiches Freizeitangebot und verschiedene Sehenswürdigkeiten, insbesondere für Familien mit Kindern.
 

Auf dieser Wanderroute werden Sie den größten Teil der westlichen Küste von Estland von Pärnu bis Tallinn sehen. Sie werden die beliebtesten Kurstädte von Estland besichtigen: Pärnu und Haapsalu. Sie werden an vielen kleinen Buchten, Kaps, Fischerdörfern und zugewachsenen Wiesen vorbei gehen. Im nördlichen Teil werden Sie am eindrucksvollen Pakri Felsen vorbeikommen. Dort können Sie eine der schönsten Landschaften in dieser Umgebung sehen. Stellenweise wird es Sandstrände und Aufschlüsse von Dolomiten geben. An den zerklüftetsten und feuchtesten Orten werden Sie Waldwegen und Pfaden entlang gehen. Bei der Wanderung werden Sie das militärische Erbe der Sowjetunion in der Stadt Paldiski besichtigen können.

Diese lange Wandertour ist für erfahrene Wanderer vorgesehen, die einen großen Teil der Küste von Lettland und Estland zurücklegen und sich einen vielseitigen Eindruck von der abwechslungsreichen Landschaft, der Natur, den Vögel und den Tieren der Ostseeküste verschaffen möchten. Der Baltische Küstenwanderweg führt teilweise Sandstränden entlang, und teilweise auch Steinstränden mit kleinen Kieselsteinen. Manchmal schlängelt sich der Weg durch Küstenwälder oder durchquert ein Fischerdorf. In Estland gibt es viele Auen, Lagunen und flache Buchten. Deshalb muss man stellenweise über Küstenpfade und -wege gehen. Am Ende der Route ist schon mehr die nördliche Natur von Estland zu verspüren. Ein Teil der Route führt durch wenig bewohnte Küsten, an denen Sie mit sich alleine sein können. Sie werden aber auch bemerkenswerte Städte besuchen. Sie werden beide Hauptstädte besichtigen: Rīga und Tallinn. Genießen werden die Gastfreundschaft der Kurstädte Jūrmala, Pärnu und Haapsalu. Bei der Wanderung werden Sie auch die Regionen der kleinen ethnischen Kulturen kennenlernen: die Liven in Lettland und die Einwohner der Insel Kihnu in Estland.

After passing through Sigulda, the Forest Trail follows the River Vējupīte to Paradīzes Hill, where a steep staircase leads down into the ancient valley of the River Gauja and the ravine of the River Vējupīte. It continues to wind down smaller paths through meadows, crossing small rivers whose banks reveal sandstone outcrops. The last six kilometres of this section follow a smaller path down the Līgatne Nature Trails. You can see local wildlife animals and birds on this 5.5 km long trail. Further on the Forest Trail moves up the hills of the ancient valley of the River Gauja, before descending back down into the deep ravine of the River Līgatne, where the village of the former Līgatne paper mill is located. You can explore this attractive small village, visit the Līgatne spoon factory, winery and Līgatne caves. There is also the Līgatne Net Park with 4-7 m high net labyrinths among the treetops.

This part of the Forest Trail and Gauja National Park is characterised by a gradual transition from diverse, deciduous forests (ash, grey alder, oak, birch, linden) to coniferous stands.

This tour will give you an impression of the eastern part of Latvia, which is less populated and also less popular among tourists. You will first arrive in Aluksne and explore the town, which is located at Alūksne highland, on the shore of Lake Alūksne. It is worth visiting Temple Hill – an old Latgalian castle mound and the place of the old town, Sun bridge, and the Castle manor park, Alūksne Lutheran Church and the Bible Museum. After staying there overnight you will go by bus to the start point of the hike in Ape. This Forest Trail section winds through a hilly farmland landscape, then enters a large dark forest, occasionally interrupted by the blue surfaces of lakes. After Peļļi, it crosses the Latvian/Estonian border and winds along the shores of the lakes Smilšājs, Sūneklis and Ilgājs for 2 km on the Estonian side, known as Paganamaa (translation: Devil's Land). There it descends and enters the Korneti-Peļļi subglacial depression, one of the most impressive ravines in Latvia. The Forest Trail returns to Latvia at Lake Ilgājs and, after a steep climb, takes you through a hilly area to the Drusku castle mound. Here you can enjoy a beautiful view. At the end of this tour, you will reach Korneti. The section is located in the protected landscape area “Veclaicene”.

The Forest Trail leads through smaller paths, arching around Vangaži Lutheran Church and the Werewolf Pine. On its way to the Hunting Palace, it passes the garden created by opera singer Anna Ludiņa and then follows the Hunting trail. The first side ravines with the pronounced relief of the ancient valley of the River Gauja can be seen here. One of them is located by Inčukalns Velnala (Devil’s Cave), surrounded by small river channels of the old Gauja. From there, the Forest Trail continues through meadows and crosses the Murjāņi–Valmiera motorway, where the recreation park “Rāmkalni” is located. In this park, there is a café, shop and active leisure centre with a sledge track.

On this route you will mainly see pine forests of various ages, as well as the botanical plantation with 80 tree and 120 shrub species. By the end of the section, the landscape features sandstone outcrops – Devonian sedimentary rocks and habitats protected in Latvia.

One of the most beautiful sections of the Baltic Coastal Hiking Route in Matsalu National Park, which leads through the agricultural lands and coastal meadows located near Matsalu Bay, where thousands of migrating cranes and geese gather in autumn. There are excellent birdwatching sites with towers near Haeska village (coastal meadows, shallow coves, small islets, cattle pastures) and at Cape Puise (coastal meadows with pastures, shoals). The most panoramic views of the sea and strings of islands can be seen in the surroundings of Põgari-Sassi and Puise nina

This long tour of Latvia includes some of the best and most beautiful parts of Jūrtaka in Latvia. Hikes along the sea alternate with trips and excursions in the cities. You will go along the coast of the Baltic Sea from Mazirbe to Kolka, seeing Slītere National Park and Livonian villages. You will see Engure Nature Park and the overgrown seaside meadows that are suitable for bird watching. Along the way, you will be able to purchase smoked fish from local fishermen and learn about fishing traditions in Latvia. Further, the route will take you through the most popular seaside resort in Latvia, Jūrmala; you will also have time to visit the capital city - Rīga. The second part of the route runs along the Vidzeme coast from Saulkrasti to Svētciems. In terms of landscapes and views, the most multifaceted section of the Baltic Coastal Hiking Route in Latvia, which includes both sandy and rocky beach, coastal meadows, reeds, dunes, sandstone outcrops, forests, capes and small coves, fishing villages and pubs.

Маршрут предусмотрен для путешественников, которых привлекает большой и частый перепад рельефа, а также для тех, кто жаждет увидеть и на себе испытать впечатляющие берега глубокой древней долины Аматы, передвигаясь по мало тронутым лесным тропам. Тропа, проложенная на правом берегу реки, петляет как по нижней, так и по верхней части долины, поэтому местами необходимо преодолевать перепад высоты более чем 40 метров.
Это можно считать своего рода геотуристическим маршрутом, так как он знакомит с обнажениями доломита и песчаника девонского периода. Маршрут проходит по национальному парку «Гауя». Ночевать можно в палатках или местах туристического  ночлега.

Maršruta informācija no Latvijas Lauku foruma​​

This is the longest of the Forest Trail tours, where you will hike on many beautiful forest nature trails in Latvia and Estonia. These nature trails are part of the Forest Trail and this tour is suitable for self-drive tourists, who wish to hike different sizes of trails and get an impression of the forest diversity in both countries. You have the possibility to see the northern coniferous forests with spruces and pines, broadleaf forests, wet floodplain forests and picturesque forests growing on slopes and ravines. You will also see the most interesting tourist sights in Latvia and Estonia, which are close to the Forest Trail. In Latvia you will visit Sigulda, the historic Ligatne papermill village, medieval Cesis, the River Amata valley, which is located in Gauja National Park. Then you will drive to the less populated eastern part of Latvia – the Northern Gauja protected landscape area, Aluksne Town and hike in the Korneti-Peļļi subglacial depression, one of the most impressive ravines in Latvia. You can climb to Drusku castle mound – the highest and steepest of all the castle mounds in Latvia, When entering Estonia, you will see the highest point of the Baltics – Suur Munamagi Hill, where the observation tower is built. Further on the tour will lead you to the River Piusa valley, Obinitsa, with the culture of Seto people. You will hike in the historic Varska resort town, which is very close to the Russian border. Then you will reach Tartu and Lake Peipsi, which is the 5th biggest lake in Europe. You will hike in the Kurtna landscape reserve, see the Ontika limestone cliff, Valaste waterfall – the highest in Estonia. Finally you will hike in one of the beautiful wooded areas in Estonia – Lahemaa National Park. The tour ends in Tallinn, where you can enjoy the medieval Old Town and many other attractions.

This section of the seacoast of Vidzeme is of outstanding scenic beauty with a lot of rocky capes and boulders in the sea alternating with small, sandy coves where the small streams and rivulets, which dry out in summer, flow into. Occasionally, the beach is completely covered with the gray backs of stones. In Zvejniekciems you need to make a detour around the estuary of the Aģe River and the Skulte port. In some places, small patches of reeds appear, while near Tūja you will see the first sandstone outcrops. Some part of the route can be covered via the beach or via a trail meandering through the dune forest with old pines. At the end of the route, you can see the unique lamprey fishing method - Svētupes nēģu tacis.