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Not far from the Rīga ring road on the Right Bank of the Daugava is a monument designed by the sculptor Ģirts Burvis in 1994, which is dedicated to the Livs of the Daugava region and their Mārtiņsala leader, Ako,  who led a battle against the Holy Crusades in 2016.  Around the monument is a large area for leisure and perambulations.  This is one of the loveliest locations in the lower reaches of the river.  A bit further along are information stands about the history of the banks of the river before the construction of the Rīga hydroelectric power plant.

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Old fishermen village, which was first mentioned in 1429. Before WW2 Juodkrante was popular resort in Europe and it still has its traditions nowadays. Village has an unique scenery with its wooden houses, promenade, Lutheran Church (1885), Lithuania's Art Museum Hall and much more.

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4 days

The route leads through beautiful flower gardens of Kurzeme and Žemaitija. The largest in Latvia collection of Dwarf Bearded Iris is found in Kandava. Mierkalni is the largest daylily garden in Eastern Europe, with more than 1000 varieties. The owner also produces fruit and berry wines.  In the Talsi Hillocks Nature Park there is the Kurzemnieki apple growing and processing apples (dried apples, apple chips, juices). It also grows Roman snails. The Upmaļi environmental and health farm produces teas, herbs, plant oils, special balms, cosmetics, plant-based soaps, etc., under the brand name AnnA Bermans. Latvia’s oldest magnolia, 50 years old, is found at Sauleskalni arboretum. Over 100 varieties of peonia are grown in Ziedoņi peony garden. The owners of Maras Manor offer stories of historical German manors in the area.  Milk Estate Berghof houses a milk museum. Exotics flower and tree cultivars are found in Māra Lindes dendrological gardens. Turaidas farm produces herbal teas and sacks thereof as souvenirs or gifts, using lemon balm, raspberry, tansy, alchemilla, Plantago major and linden. In Nīca village, 7 decorative gardens maintaining the local gardening tradition are open for visitors. Rucava arboretum displays a collection of magnolias. The largest Japanese garden in Europe (16 ha) is a home to collection of traditional aromatic plants and vegetables.  Palanga Manor housing the Amber Museum and Birutė Park is one of the best-preserved manor complexes in Lithuania. Kretinga Manor Park is one of the oldest surviving 16th–18th century manor parks in Lithuania. Klaipėda University Botanical Garden has a coastal ethnographic garden with flower arrangements characteristic of this area. Klaipeda, the most popular seaside resort town in Lithuania. The Sea Museum and Dolphinarium are among the most famous attractions there. Šilutė Manor has two parks – an English landscape park with walking paths and the forest park known as Varnamiškis, or “Crows’ Forest”. Pakalnė is a unique traditional fisherman’s homestead with garden plants typical of the Lithuania Minor region.

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1 day

Dodieties ekskursijā, lai gūtu ieskatu lauku profesijā un dzīvesveidā, kā arī iegūtu jaunus iespaidus un labu atpūtu visai klasei. Ekskursijas sākumā apmeklējiet savvaļas dzīvnieku parku, kura voljēros dzīvo ~ 200 dambriežu. Tālāk dodieties uz saimniecību, kur aug vairāk nekā 100 augu sugu un šķirņu -  ekskursija pa saimniecību, augu stādu iegāde, tēju, augļu un ogu degustācijas. Pēc tam apmeklējiet Skrīveru pārtikas kombinātu, kurā iespējams iegādāties gardās Gotiņkonfektes un doties ekskursijā. Brauciena noslēgumā - Skrīveru mājas saldējums ar stāstījumu par saldējuma gatavošanu un degustāciju.

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The tower of St John’s Lutheran Church in Cēsis, which is one of the oldest stone buildings in Vidzeme, offers a view of the historical centre of Cēsis, and a wide area all the way to Zilaiskalns Hill. There is also the western tower of the ruins of the Cēsis castle, one of the strongest fortresses of the Livonian Order in the Baltic region, and it offers a grand view of the castle’s park.
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The trail climbs up and down along the bluffs of lower River Pilsupe and reveals a fascinating sight of three white dune exposures (the largest is called the White Dune). The trail is 900m long, and the White Dune is ca 20m high. It has formed ca 6000 years ago, in the period of the Littorina Sea which is a foregoer of the Baltic Sea. Here the first Stone Age settlement on the North Western coast of Latvia has been found in 1934 by geologist S. Burhards. In the sand, some 500m from the sea, he found some pottery fragments, a sandstone hone, a piece of flint, parts of bones and an amber bead. He handed the findings over to the National Museum of History. In October 1934, the site was checked by archaeologist E. Šturms, who found the archaeological layer, typical for such settlements, in the landslides of the Pilsupe riverbanks. In 1936 he started larger excavations to continue by 1938. Totally seven, chronologically different settlements were detected and many artefacts found, including fragments of the so called Sārnate and pit-comb pottery, as well as some pieces of corded pottery. Based on these findings, the settlement is dated back to the beginning or middle of the 3rd millenary B.C., and it has been inhabited till the beginning of the 2nd millenary B.C. Especially remarkable are three clay figures in human shape which have probably been used for some religious cult purposes.

Since 1993, archaeologist Ilzes Loze has discovered several pit-comb ware culture settlements in large area around Pūrciems village. They are known in research literature as „the Ģipka settlements”.

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Viena no 19. gs. sešdesmito gadu sākumā būvētās St. Pēterburgas – Varšavas dzelzceļa līnijas stacijām. Kaut arī sliežu ceļš joprojām turpinās Baltkrievijas virzienā (tālāk – pamests), Marcinkones dzelzceļa stacija ir pēdējā, līdz kurai pasažieri var nokļūt ar vilcienu no Viļņas (3 reizes dienā). Arī kravas vilcieni tālāk nekursē. Stacijas ēka ir izcils koka arhitektūras un stacijas kompleksa apsaimniekošanas piemērs. No Marcinkones dzelzceļa stacijas virzienā uz Čepkeļu purvu savulaik ir bijis izveidots šaursliežu dzelzceļš, kuru izmantoja kokmateriālu izvešanai. Tā vietā šobrīd ir saglabājies vecs meža ceļš, kur plānots izvietot šaursliežu dzelzceļu tematikai veltītu informācijas stendu.

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Stupeļu Hill is 3 km to the South of the Vecumnieki-Ilūkste road. There are no signs, so the castle hill might be difficult to find. The Great Stupeļu Rock, which is discussed further on in this guidebook, is also hard to find when there is vegetation. Stupeļu Hill is approximately 30 m high, and it was one of the highest castle hills in the historical district of Selonia. Archaeologists say that it was first abandoned at the beginning of our era and then populated again during the late Iron Age. It is interesting that iron was extracted and processed near the castle hill. Archaeologists believe that this is the site of one of the earliest “cities” in the region. To the West of the hill is the Great Stupeļu Rock, which is 6.7 m long, 5.6 m wide and up to 2.7 m high. Above ground, it is 35 m3 large, and it may have been a cult location. During archaeological digs in the late 1970s, antiquities from the 10th to the 13th century were found here.

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The Gardening Institute is the leading scholarly centre for fruit and vegetable research in Latvia.  The institute specialises in selection and introduction of plant cultivars that are suitable for cultivation under the agro-climatic conditions in the Baltic countries, have high nutrition value and are rich in fibre content.

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Atrodas vēsturiskā rātslaukuma dienvidu malā. Jaunā rātsnama celtniecība (itāļu renesanses stilā, arhitekts O. Dīce) tika pabeigta 1860. gadā. Iespaidīgo celtni, kas nulle kā atjaunota, ir vērts apskatīt gan no āra, gan iekšpuses. Ir restaurēts rātsnama pulkstenis, ārējā fasāde, iekšējie interjeri un Lielā zāle.

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This homestead on the banks of the Rauna River breeds various kinds of fish.  During the winter, you can fish for various salmon-type fish, and in the summer you can fish for sturgeon, blue-char, tilapia and trout.  You can purchase fish, and tastings are available for groups of visitors.  Sillakas is approximately 3 km from Liepasmuiža.

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The Pinnu (Dievekļa) Sacrificial Stone is at Ulmale, some 300 m from the Liepāja-Ventspils highway (there are signs). This is a very beautiful and distinct bowl-type rock, and the indentation at the top is 15 cm deep and up to 61 cm in diameter. It is thought that this was an ancient cult location, particularly between the 16th and 18th centuries.

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In the workshop it is possible to learn about the process of creating and the usage of pottery of different historic periods, as well as other household goods. Archaeological pottery is presented. The Middle Ages man-carried clay bread oven, frying-pan, drinking cups, the pilgrims’ water bowls. All the works are handmade in the moulded ceramics style and burned in the clay kiln.

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Pitas ir pēc inovatīvas žāvēšanas tehnoloģijas radītas augļu, ogu un garšaugu garšvielas, kuras ražo mājražotāja Lorita Miķelsone. Mājražotāja labprāt ļaus nodegustēt un iepazīstinās ar Pitām jebkuru interesentu, uzņemot apmeklētājus Skaisto un praktisko ideju dārzā Dobelē.

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This is the widest water fall in Latvia – 249 metres wide and up to 1.75 metres high.  This is an interesting natural, cultural and historical object in that it is linked to various events and legends.  Duke Jacob of Courland invented equipment to catch fish.  It was fastened to the cliffs of the waterfall, and this created the tale of a city where salmon and other fish who were leaping across the waterfall fell into the nets and were thus caught in the air.  During Jacob’s rule, there was talk about digging a canal around the waterfall to ensure shipping, and work began on the project.  During the early 18th century there was the idea that the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea could be connected via the Venta, Nemuna and Dnieper rivers.  Turkish prisoners of war continued to dig the canal, but the local dolomite cliffs were a problem.  Attempts to blow up the cliffs led to damage to nearby buildings, so the work ended.  The impressive ditch can still be seen today.  In 2012, a wooden pathway was installed on the right bank of the Venta to offer a good look at the waterfall.  It is worth visiting here during various seasons of the year, when different types of fish migrate.

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This is a route for hikers and bicyclists, starting at the village of Vaidava and then moving along the eastern shore of the narrow Lake Vaidava, which has steep cliffs around it. The trip covers the Veļķi baronial estate, the “Swedish pine”, the famous Vaidava (Metimne) hillfort, a series of streams, the great Rubene rock, the Vaidava baronial estate on the western shore of the lake. After that, the trail leads the visitor back to the starting point.
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“Vēveri” is located 7 km to the North of the centre of Vecpiebalga and offers a look at typical and authentic farms and craftsmen’s operations from the Piebalga landscape in the 19th century. You will wee ancient tools and household objects, as well as a recently restored windmill.

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The Lācīši farm can be found in the Galgauska Parish to the Southwest of Gulbene.  One of the largest farms in Northeastern Vidzeme, it specialises in grain farming (577 ha), rapeseed farming (295 ha), and various grasses.  It is also a dairy farm with some 100 cows to produce meat and breed calves.  There is an interesting room for meetings and presentations, with large glass windows opening up to the cattle barn.  The farm actively makes use of EU funding.  Contact the farm in advance for tours and exchanges of experiences.

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This is a cemetery that was originated in the Middle Ages and used until the beginning of the 20th century.  A mossy stone fence surrounds the cemetery.  Interesting elements in the cemetery include the grave of Heinrihs Jakobsons (1832-1911), who was the first schoolteacher in Mazirbe (the old metal cross is to the left of the main gate), a pine tree of national importance and has a circumference of 3.17 metres (during the Soviet Union someone drilled a hole in the trunk of the tree to access honey), the grave of Niks Freimanis (1845-1908), who is said to have been the prototype for a character in a story and play by Marģers Zariņš, and the Werewolf Grave, which relates to countless ghost stories, including the claim that it is the only known gravesite of a werewolf in Latvia.

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No Vilces muižas pa pastaigu taku var aiziet līdz pilskalnam (12 m virs apkārtnes, labiekārtots), kas atrodas Vilces un Rukūzes upīšu satekā. Atradumi liecina, ka cilvēku apmetne šeit ir pastāvējusi jau vidējā dzelzs laikmetā. Pilskalna piekājē atrodas atpūtai labiekārtotā Zaķu pļava. Nostāsti vēsta, ka Vilces grava bijusi laupītāja Kaupēna slēpšanās vieta.