{"id":147608,"date":"2025-06-06T01:46:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T22:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/?p=147608"},"modified":"2025-06-03T19:06:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T16:06:54","slug":"two-national-parks-in-virumaa-offer-visitors-a-wonderful-nature-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/two-national-parks-in-virumaa-offer-visitors-a-wonderful-nature-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Two National Parks in Virumaa Offer Visitors a Wonderful Nature Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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A duck feasting on cranberries caught the attention of a nature guide<\/b><\/h2>\n

Signe Ohakas<\/b>, who works as a nature guide for the Wanderlust Matkad company in Lahemaa National Park, says she visited Lahemaa as a little girl. The first time she remembered the Palmse Manor, the K\u00e4smu Devil’s Field, and the endless forests.<\/p>\n

Today, Ohakas likes Lahemaa’s diversity. “There is a lot of forest here, but there are also bogs, capes, and islands. And old fishing villages, manor culture, and boulders that were transported from Finland during the Ice Age.”<\/p>\n

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Nature guide Signe Ohakas enjoys the diverse nature of Lahemaa. She says she especially enjoys hiking in forests and bogs. Photo: Jorge Jim\u00e9nez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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According to her, Lahemaa’s great advantage is its proximity to Tallinn, from which the national park can be reached in an hour. So a day trip is easy. The connection to Finland is interesting. People used to go fishing from Lahemaa to Finland, and local villagers have practiced the zebra trade, or bartering, across the Gulf of Finland over time, she says.<\/p>\n

The name Lahemaa also has a link to Finland. The name was first used by the Finnish geography Professor Johannes Gabriel Gran\u00f6<\/b>, who worked at the University of Tartu in the 1920s.<\/p>\n

Signe Ohakas, who often visits Lahemaa with groups, says that she especially enjoys hiking trips to forests and bogs. The trip is crowned by a feast in the lap of nature. She spends a lot of time in nature, and says that experiences come to her everywhere. \u201cIt\u2019s an experience for me to watch how hikers notice and learn something new in nature. Or it\u2019s an experience when I see a bog red with cranberries or a duck feasting on cranberries. I didn\u2019t even know that ducks ate cranberries before.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Signe Ohakas also leads canoe trips in Lahemaa National Park. Photo: Tanel Murd\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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She has many favourite places in Lahemaa. One of them is the Majakivi\u2013Pikan\u00f5mmi nature trail, which has different types of bogs, an old forest, and a high observation tower on top of a hill. \u201cThere\u2019s also a Majakivi boulder the size of a house, which you can climb up the stairs to.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also mentions the K\u00e4smu Devil\u2019s Field, which is the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The K\u00e4smu Captains Village has an interesting history, so it’s worth visiting the K\u00e4smu Maritime Museum, Ohakas suggests. The northernmost corner of the Estonian mainland, the Purekkari Peninsula, is also impressive. “You feel like you’re on the edge of the world there.”<\/p>\n

Ohakas likes how nature, history, culture, and village communities are closely intertwined in Lahemaa. She recommends going to one of Lahemaa’s idyllic villages or manors. Lahemaa’s museums also allow you to get close to nature. “The Sagadi Museum has a recently renovated forest museum, the interactivity of which will take you away. There are RMK nature centres in Oandu and Palmse, where you can get practical tips and maps for hiking in Lahemaa.”<\/p>\n

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Remo Savisaar is one of Estonia’s best-known nature photographers. In the Alutaguse region, he is fascinated by the wilderness, old forests and rare species that inhabit them. Photo: Remo Savisaar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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“I had to choose between a great grey owl or a bear.” \u2014Alutaguse offered its best to the photographer.<\/b><\/h2>\n

Alutaguse National Park has become an important place for nature photographer Remo Savisaar<\/b>. My first trip to Alutaguse in 2013 has left a deep impression on my mind. \u201cAt the time, I was a guide for an Italian nature photographer. Previously, I had only driven through Alutaguse. I remember the days I spent there well and the species I observed. The highlight of the trip was definitely my first flying squirrel, and the call of a barn owl that I had heard before that. A month later, I returned to Alutaguse, this time to photograph bears.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Savisaar, what makes Alutaguse special is the diversity of nature and old forests. \u201cAlutaguse has very little human settlement, and there are still many old forests. The landscape is varied, and offers shelter to many species. It is a real bear kingdom\u2014and not only that. In Alutaguse, you can encounter the extremely rare great grey owl, of which only zero to three pairs breed in Estonia.\u201d Bears are a common sight in Remo Savisaar\u2019s photos. Many of them were taken in the wilderness of Alutaguse, and most of the time spontaneously without a hiding place. So a nature photographer with experience in bear stories is enough.<\/p>\n

One of the most memorable bear stories happened when Savisaar was photographing great grey owls. A large bear appeared from the forest near the photographer. \u201cI decided to sneak up on the bear and try to take a few pictures, but at the same time keep an eye on the great grey owl, because it was still a priority. The plan worked, and later the bear disappeared into the forest. I focused on the great grey owl again, but suddenly I noticed another bear behind me. And in a really good place. Then there was a dilemma\u2014should I choose the great grey owl or the bear as my subject? I thought for a moment, and decided to focus on the great grey owl.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The great grey owl is a rare breeding bird in Estonia. Remo Savisaar photographed this individual in Alutaguse. Photo: Remo Savisaar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cLater, when I was walking to the car, my thoughts were still on the bear, which had been near the great grey owl\u2019s nesting forest. I decided to investigate the birch grove where the bear might be. And there the bear was, only 25\u201330 meters from the great grey owl\u2019s nesting tree. The bear was sitting in a clump of saplings, and exploring the surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savisaar was able to photograph the bear in complete peace. So the Alutaguse photography trip was a success, and at the same time the bears had made a lasting impression on the man.<\/p>\n

Savisaar says that he spent many months at a time with the great grey owls. \u201cOne of my photography projects started in April, and lasted until September. I saw how the great grey owl chicks developed into adults, and left their nests,\u201d he says. \u201cI visited Alutaguse over a hundred times during the photography project. It was a great privilege to become part of the owls\u2019 lives, and experience impressive moments in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savisaar has many favourite places in Alutaguse. One of them is the old primeval forest of Poruni. \u201cI always want to go there again. Poruni is a beautiful and species-rich forest area.\u201d Savisaar also recommends Poruni forest to Finns, but reminds them that there is a lot to see on the way there. It is worth hiking, for example, to the Selisoo pine trees and the shores of Lake Peipus.<\/p>\n

The nature photographer has one important tip: \u201cI definitely recommend going on a hike early in the morning\u2014then you can see and hear more!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lahemaa National Park<\/b><\/h2>\n