Soomaa National Park

Soomaa National Park (also know as Soomaa rahvuspark) is a 390 km² park located along a groups of bogs, meadows and riverside forest (it's name means land of bogs and literally it's the largest area of bogs in Estonia). Located in both Pärnu and Viljandi Counties it has four main bogs (Valgeraba, Öördi, Kikepera and Kuresoo).  In spring (between March and April, sometimes called the 5th season) raining makes the water level increase 5 m. Some of the species of the NP are wolves, lynxs, bears, wild porks or elks as well as more than 180 species of birds

How do I arrive to Soomaa National Park?

 The area isn't as hard to reach as other Estonian National Parks because it isn't far from Pärnu or Viljandi.

• Bus: there's a daily bus to Riisa (aprox. 1 hour), 6 km far from the visitor center from Pärnu.
  
• Car: to reach the National Park you can drive from Viljandi to Tipu (aprox. 30 minutes), Sandra (aprox. 35 minutes) or Riisa (aprox. 40 minutes) while from Pärnu it can also be reached Riisa (aprox. 35 minutes), Sandra (aprox. 45 minutes) or Tipu (aprox. 45 minutes).

 Once in the Park the best ways to move around the park are the car or simply walking.

History

According to the legends they were inhabited by witches (sometimes believed to be traditional healers). The area has been quite isolated and protected because of the bogs and it has been used by partisans to hide and fight agains occuping forces. Since the 20th century the area where the National Park has lost inhabitants, losing tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The area became a National Park in 1993 and Soomaa was awarded by European Commission as a supreme nature holiday destination in 2009.

 

What can I visit in Soomaa National Park?

It's recommended to visit the park using a traditional canoe called haabja (typical of Ugro-Finnish cultures) made of a single poplar log. These are some things to do in this National Park, explained now according to the village where they are or the nearest one:     

• Tipu: 19 inhabitants settlement in the part belonging to Viljandi County. 
  • Soomaa National Park Visitor Center (9-17 Mon-Fri, 10-18 Sat-Sun from Jun to Aug; 10-16 Wed-Fri from Sep to May): visitor center the area of Kõrtsi-Tõramaa where getting information of the NP, watch a documentary introducing it or enjoy the permanent exhibition.
  • Beaver Study Trail (2.3 km): incredible path by some streams where observing beavers and the dams built by them. It starts at the visitor center and it's sometimes known as Koprarada.
• Sandra: 41 inhabitants village belonging to Põhja-Sakala municipality in Viljandi County.
  
  • Meiekose Study Trail (5.6 km): former roadbed where seeing the flooded meadows of Tõramaa river mouth with ancient oak trees.
  • Lemmjõgi Study Trail (5.8 km): route along the bank of Raudna river up to where Raudna and Lemmjõgi rivers join where traces of beaver activity can be seen.
  • Kuuraniidu Study Trail (1.4 km): boardwalk through an ancient drained peatland forest with enourmous mighty aspens (caused by storms and time). It can be dangerous under strong winds due to falling trees!
  • Near Sandra there's the small village of Iia that has Lake Öördi Study Trail (2.4 km) where enjoying Öördi Bog, the only bog in Soomaa National Park which is a residual lake of the former large Ice Lake.
  • Not far from here there's also Johann Köler House-Museum (booking on advance), aa small museum placed in the childhood home of Johann Köler, the founder of Estonian national painting and first Estonian painter with academic degree in art.
    
• Riisa: 22 inhabitants village belonging to Tori municipality in Pärnu County.
  
  • Riisa Study Trail (4.8 km): trail by footbridges through the picturesque Riisa Bog and the forest by Navesti river, providing views of marshland with pools too. It's interesting to listen to the silence of the bog or see it from the observation tower.
  • Ingatsi Study Trail (4.3 km): trail firstly through marsh forest and then reaching Kuresoo bog. It has an observation tower on the bog ridge.
• There are other trails like Hüpassaare Study Trail (4.4 km), in the village of Karjasoo, that goes through another drained peatland forest and then it starts to rise till arriving to Kuresoo Bogs. Here there's also Mart Saar House-Museum (10-17 Wed-Sun), a small museum that introduces the visitor to the Estonian composer Mart Saar, the first Estonian composer who merged Estonian folk songs with contemporary sounds.
  
• There is a hiking route named RMK Hiking Route Oandu-Aegviidu-Ikla / Hüpassaare-Kopra (56 km) that goes from Hüpassaare campfire site to Perlimetsa campfire site.

Riisa Bog

Beaver Study Trail

Where can I eat in Soomaa National Park?

This National Park has almost no places to eat so it's a good idea bringing food.

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Posted in: Estonia,Europe,National Park

Hiiumaa

Hiiumaa (Dagö in German and Swedish) is a 989 km² island with 10,623 inhabitants in the western part of Estonia, being its second largest island. The largest town is Kärdla and it forms the County of Hiiu. The island keeps being covered with pine, spruce and juniper forests (as it used to be) with windmills, lighthouses and small villages that seem to be lost in time.

How do I arrive to Hiiumaa?

 The best way to reach Saaremaa is by the ferry from Rohuküla, close to Haapsalu, to Heltermaa. 

• Plane: there are two daily flights to Tallinn from Kärdla airport. It's located 5 km east from Kärdla and there are buses to Kuressaare Bus Station.
• Boat: there are boats to Heltermaa from Rohuküla (aprox. 1.5 hours), close to Haapsalu, 7 to 9 times every day. But there are also 2 daily boats from Trigi, in the north of Saaremaa, to Sõru in Hiiumaa (aprox. 65 minutes).
• Bus: there are 2 daily buses to Kärdla from Tallinn (aprox. 3 hours 45 minutes), stopping in Suuremõisa, Heltermaa, Rohuküla and Haapsalu. There is also a daily bus to Käina from Tallinn (aprox. 2 hours).
• Car: if you rented a car, you can use the ferry to cross it too.

Once in the island these are some of the best ways to move along it.

• Bus: the main bus station is Kärdla one, from where there are many unfrequent buses to other parts of the island like Kõrgessaare (aprox. 20 minutes), Käina (aprox. 30 minutes) or Sõru (aprox. 1 hour).
• Car: if you rented a car you can reach every point in the island of Hiiumaa in less than 1 hour.
• Bicycle: this island is perfect to do some cylcing with many roads without traffic and secondary roads to explore.

What can I visit in Hiiumaa?

These are many things to do in this island, explained now according to the village where they are or the nearest one:     

• Suuremõisa (Storhovet in Swedish, Großenhof in German): 216 inhabitants village in the eastern part of Hiiumaa.
  

  

  Suuremõisa Manor

  • Suuremõisa Manor (10-17 from Jun to Aug; 9-16 Mon-Fri from Sep to May; 2€/ 1.50€  adults/ kids): 18th century manor that belonged to Ungern-Sternberg family, a quite wealthy family. It's not preserved in the best way possible but its English-style gardens are quite nice.
  • Less than 1 km away, in the small village of Pühalepa (Pühhalep in German), it's placed St. Laurentius Lutheran Church, the oldest building in Hiiumaa (13th century) with an appealing 20th century stained glass and a nearby cementery with circular crosses.
• Käina (Kärrdal in Swedish, Kertel in German): 3,278 inhabitants town in the northern coast of Hiiumaa. It's the capital of Hiiu County and the most popular and visited town in the island.

  

  Ruins from St. Martini Church

  • Ruins of St. Martini Church: ruins that witness a former church from the year 1500 destroyed during WW2.
    
  • Rudolf Tobias House-Museum (11-17 Wed-Sat from May to Aug; 3€/ 2€/ free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids): humble birthplace of Rudolf Tobias, composer of some of the first orchestra pieces in Estonia. There's a windmill in the back of the house.
  • On the way south, 13 km far from Käina, it can be found Kuriste Estonian Orthodox Church. This church was completed in 1873 and is the only Orthodox church to have survived in the island.
    
• In front of Käina it is placed Kassari, an 8 km long island that is connected to Hiiumaa with two roads, an important bird reserve.
  
  • Kassari Exposition Building (11-18 Tue-Sun from May to Aug; 3€/ 2€/ free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids): museum about the history and diversity of Hiiumaa with curious objects such as stuffed wolf that attacked the inhabitants of Kassari in 1971, a 1955 Russian TV or a jewel from Tahkuna lighthouse.

    

    Kassari Lutheran Chapel

  • Kassari Lutheran Chapel (11-16 from Jun to Aug): nice chapel with straw ceiling from 1801 with an unfrequent pulpit and all the masses are done with candles (this part of the island has no electricity). From here there's an small trail (2 km) to a small bay.
  • Sääre Tirp: fine 3 km stretch of sand, a beautiful place to walk and, on the way, there's a popular beach.
• Kärdla (Kärrdal in Swedish, Kertel in German): 3,278 inhabitants town in the northern coast of Hiiumaa. It's the capital of Hiiu County and the most popular and visited town in the island, whose importance is due to a textile factory from 1829. It's located on the edge of one of the best kept metheorite craters in the world.

  

  Long House of Hiiumaa Museum

  • Hiiumaa Museum (10-17:30 from May to Sep; 10-17 Mon-Sat from Oct to Apr; 4€/ 2.50€/ free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids): museum located in the Long House, former dwelling for directors of Hiiu-Kärdla textile factory. Nowadays it has expositions about the factory, the reconstruction of a worker's house and local works of art.
  • Kärdla Beach: although it can't be considered spectacular this beach is quite nice and has a park quite close (located in a former Swedish cementery).
  • St. Ristija Johannese Lutheran Church: Neo-Gothic church built for the workers of the factory in 1863.
• Not far from Kärdla there's a place know as Ristimägi or Hill of Crosses, place where the last Swedish inhabitants celebrated the last religious ceremony before Catherine the Great expelled them in 1781. The tradition says that the inhabitants should leave a cross.

  

  Mihkli Farmstead Complex

• Malvaste (Malmas in Swedish): a 3 inhabitants small village in the northern part of Hiiumaa. Here it can be visited Mihkli Farmstead Complex (11-18 Tue-Sun from May to Aug; 3€/ 2€/ free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids), an originally Swedish farm that shows how rural life used to be. And there's a smoke sauna that brings an extraordinary experience (but it should be booked on advance).
• Tahkuna Peninsula: peninsula in the northern part of Hiiumaa where there were fierce battles between Nazi German and Soviet armies during WW2. In the municipality of Tahkuna (Taknenäset in Swedish, Tachkona in German), with 7 people and the place that names the peninsula, has some interesting sightseeing points like Hiiuma Military Museum (10-18 Tue-Sat from May to Sep; 3€/ 1.50€   adults/ retiree and students), small museum that shows military equipment, photografies, uniforms and many other things, placed in a former border police headquarters. In the northernmost point of the island it's placed Tahkuna Lighthouse (10-19 Tue-Sun from May to Sep; 3€/ 2€   adults/ retiree and students), a 43 m lighthouse from 1874. Here there's also a monument to conmemorate the victims of the ferry Estonia (1994) and a labyrinth.

• 

  Kõpu Lighthouse

  On the way to the western part of Hiiuma it is a good idea to take a moment to visit Reigi Lutheran Church, a Gothic small church with nice works of art from the 16th to 18th centuries.
  
• In the western part of Hiiumaa there are two interesting lighouses. One of them is located close to Kõpu, a village with 35 people; Kõpu Lighthouse (10-20 from May to Sep; 3€/ 2€   adults/ retiree and students) is a pyramid-shape lighthouse, considered one of the oldest unstopped lighthouses in the world, dating back to 1531 (although the current tower was rebuilt in 1845). It's one of the symbols of Hiiumaa. In the border of that peninsula is locate Ristna Lighthouse (10-20 from May to Sep; 3€/ 2€  adults/ retiree and students), second lighthouse of Kõpu placed in a place where, on the other side of Baltic Sea, Stockholm is just 200 km away.

  

  Exhibition at Sõru Museum

  Here you can find Surf Paradiis, an excellent point to practice surf, kayak, diving or just sunbathe.
• In the sourthern part of Hiiumaa, close to the ferry harbour to take ferries to Saaremaa, there's the village of Sõru (Serro in German) and visiting Sõru Museum (11-17 Wed-Sun from Jun to Aug; 11-16 Wed-Fri from Sep to May; 2€/ 1€  adults/ retiree and students), small museum with works from the kids in the village, black-and-white photographies of fishermen and farmers, as well as old tools.

Where can I eat in Hiiumaa?

This island doesn't have have a bad culinary offer, mostly based in Kärdla. Some of the most interesting places to eat are Gahwa Cafe (Põllu 3), Linnumäe Puhkekeskus (Heltermaa Maanteeamet), Kuur (Sadama 28) or Rannapaargu (Lubjaahju 3) in Kärdle or the Estonian restaurants Lest & Lammas or Vetsi Tall, in the island of Kassari.
There is a kind of renaissance of craftswork with shops like Kassari Museum, Heltermaa Craftswork House and Hiiu Wool Factory in Vaemla.

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Posted in: Estonia,Europe