Gauja National Park is Latvia''s oldest and largest national park — nearly a hundred kilometres of ancient valley where the river has carved its way through red sandstone over a million years. This is a full-day excursion covering the park''s most important sites and explaining why this region is called the Switzerland of Latvia.

We start at viewpoints over the valley, where the geography of the river bends is clearly visible. Then we visit the sandstone outcrops and caves — Gūtmaņala, the largest in the Baltics, with a spring that never freezes. In the afternoon we see one of the park''s castle ruins and walk forest trails where rare plants grow and black storks nest.

The route adapts to your pace and interests — more time on the trails if nature draws you, longer at the castles and museums if history does.

Gauja National Park — nature beauty and history