To see Latvia with new eyes – lesser known but equally fascinating places and sites
Tourist guides are usually full of the most popular places to visit. However, hidden "treasures" found by chance are often even more impressive. These are the places and sites that only trusted travelers discover and where you can best catch the true feeling of Latvia. For lesser-known destinations to suit all tastes – from hikers and history enthusiasts to art and outdoor enthusiasts – check out this article.
For Latvians, there is no greater secret than the best mushroom spots, and it's the same with tourist treasures. For the few who love an unpretentious and genuine environment, it is not easy to discover places where you can go to rejuvenate your energy, experience the magic of nature, or listen to the history of a parish with genuinely warm hosts. At the same time, we are quite hospitable, and it gives us pleasure to make others happy, so this time some Latvian treasures will not remain hidden.
Hidden treasures in the nature
It's no coincidence that we're proud of our almost 500km of coastline, where you'll find not only popular white-sand beaches to spend the day lazing on, but also unspoilt natural gems where you can go on an exciting hike without meeting anyone. So next time you're looking for solitude by the sea, head towards Kurzeme. A more unusual walk is on the pebbly beach of Nida, where the seaside landscape is unusual in Latvia. The grandeur of the steep banks can be appreciated by starting the walk in the Ēvaži Nature Trail, which is situated in an accessible location – on the side of the Rīga-Kolka highway. During strong storms, the beach disappears under the water. Further along the coast, you may also have to conquer obstacles caused by trees washed out of the sea or trees fallen on the shore.
A beautiful and quiet seashore can also be found at the Užava Lighthouse, where you will initially have to follow a hiking trail, but you can continue further along the sea using the Jūrtaka route. Remember that you are in a nature reserve with unique natural values – gray dunes, forested seaside dunes and rare plant, moss, lichen and bird species. As with any place less affected by people, it is important to be responsible and respectful of the environment.
You will also be able to catch a sense of primitiveness in lesser-known nature trails in the middle of Latvia, for example, in Kvēpene, where you will find not only a castle mound of impressive size, created by adapting the steep banks of the Gauja valley and the surrounding ravines to the settlement, but also the Kvēpene Great Oak – one of the most impressive heritage trees in Latvia. Heritage trees are another of Latvia's lesser-known hidden treasures, especially if you manage to get to one of the really huge ones. The Sēja Great Oak, the Dzenīši Willow, which is the thickest willow in the Baltics, and the Staiši Great Oak, which has the widest canopy with 30 forked branches, are relatively easy to access. It's definitely worth looking at your planned route, as there's a good chance that there's another heritage tree worth seeing. And when you go looking for hidden treasures on nature trails, it's best to do it in all seasons, because you'll see the place with different eyes in each season. For example, the ghostly glow of the Katvari lime avenue in winter is replaced by its distinctive foliage in summer.
Places where hides history
If you're more interested in learning facts or discovering new things than nature, then going to places where history breathes is the way to go. Unfortunately, it is also rich in dark periods that have left their mark, which gives today's tourist a glimpse into the events of that time. If you don't plan to travel far from the capital, military heritage enthusiasts can visit the Mangaļsala bunkers, where you can see military structures from different centuries, from the Russian Empire to the Soviet era. A particularly striking testimony to the Cold War is hidden in Alūksne – the Zeltiņi Nuclear Missile Base. It was a secret military facility, where various hangars, rocket launching sites and bomb shelters are still well-preserved. For a more memorable experience, you can visit it with a local guide, but you can also go individually.
But you will get to know even more ancient history in Lielvārde's ancient Latvian wooden castle, which is an ideal reconstruction of a 10th-13th century building based on archaeological excavation materials from various places in Latvia. This place is also proof of how important a person's enthusiasm and passion is to create one. Everyone can feel it on a guided tour and listen to stories from the owner and author of the castle, which will allow you to learn about the people of ancient times, their way of life and customs.
The smaller, the more exciting
Instead of the big museums, you can go to smaller museums in the regions to find hidden treasures, which can surprise you with their originality and often with their rich collections. For example, at the Museum of Happiness in Indra you can explore the different paths of happiness in an ever-changing interactive exhibition, while at the Museum of Underestimated Things in Grobiņa you can see things that people have taken to landfill – antique radios, paintings and many other peculiar things that have been pulled out of the rubbish heaps. Even before the introduction of the deposit system, the Litene Bottle Garden was created to put glass bottles to good use, where more than 40 different environmental objects made from glass bottles can be seen in Gulbene.
When travelling to one of Latvia's regions, it's worth checking local tourism websites or visiting an information centre to find out what else, besides the best-known attractions, this place has to offer.
