Estonia's nature is full of raw and ancient power, and the possibilities for healing are endless, and national parks are the place to immerse yourself in nature. As you walk along the hiking trails, you can see a variety of landscapes suitable for all types of activities, such as swimming, picnicking or camping along the way. In Estonia, forests, lakes, islands and other natural things are "key protection objects", let's walk into the six major national parks of Estonia and see the most primitive scenery of nature!
Lahemaa National Park
Northern Estonia
Estonia's first and largest national park
Founded in 1971, Lahema National Park is Estonia's first and largest national park and one of the largest in Europe. Lahemaa takes its name from the four peninsulas on Estonia's north coast, which are separated by four bays. Lahemaa means "Land of Bays", or "the land of the bays". Of this vast land area of about 74,784 square kilometers, 268,74 square kilometers are water.
©Priidu Saart
Lahma National Park is an ideal place for hiking and nature viewing. Here you will find rocky and sandy coasts, picturesque swamps, towering pine trees and cliff forests. The river flows over limestone cliffs, revealing irregular rocks left over from the Ice Age.
Majakivi Nature Hiking Trail
©Priidu Saart
It is also one of the most important forest reserves in Europe, where many large mammals live. The southern part of the national park is covered by large areas of forest in the Kõrvemaa area, home to elk, wild boar, brown bears, lynx, foxes and other wildlife.
Bear watching
©Priidu Saart
Lahma National Park is one of the "Top 100 Sustainable Destinations 2020". During the campaign, Lahema National Park used the European Park Day event in Estonia as a proposal to show how a national event could be organized through cooperation with a smaller budget and less time to prepare. As the pandemic eased, the national park joined forces with 60 service providers to give people the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities and visit local small businesses.
Travelers with more time can also choose to stay at a picturesque manor hotel in the forest.
Vihula Manor Hotel Vihula manor
©Priidu Saart
Soomaa National Park
West/South Estonia
A swampy land with "Season 5"
©Hüpassaare study trail
Known as the 'fifth season', Soma National Park's flood season is flooded each spring when the snow melts and visitors can only enter by canoe or kayak to get a glimpse of nature after the flood. Soomaa means "swampy land". There are many swamps in the park, they can be winding, vast, deep and quiet. Soma National Park is a wetland area in Pärnu and Viljandi with five large wetlands, also known as the pristine natural land of Estonia. Nature exploration is plentiful, with the fifth season allowing people to explore the beauty of the area in a canoe, and guided tours of the ice in special kicksleds when the ice is frozen.
©Jarek Jõepera
The national park is also home to many birds and animals, elk, wild boar, lynx, wolves and bears, and the aquatic landscape is also "designed" by local influencer Beaver, which is the star of animal watching tours.
©Sven Zacek
Soma's human history dates back to the Stone Age. The ancient and fascinating natural memories are reflected in the traditional poplar wooden boats, which visitors can learn how to make in Soma.
©Sandra Urvak
Every time Estonia celebrates its famous "fifth season", melting snow and ice in early spring converge among meadows and woods, forming wonderful waters in submerged low-lying areas. At this time, canoes became the most common and used means of transport in the Soomaa region. The traditional Estonian canoes (also translated as Soma canoes, Soma longboats) are called "haabjas" and can still be seen in Soma National Park today.
Although canoes are not unique to Estonia and have been used around the world for thousands of years, traditional canoes in the Soma region of Estonia have a special traditional structure and are now an important part of Estonian culture and the entire Finno-Ugric culture. At the same time, due to special geographical and climatic reasons, these traditional means of transportation have never been abandoned and have been used to this day. In December 2021, the Soma Canoe was officially inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Vilsandi National Park
Island district in northwestern Estonia
A national park surrounded by the ocean with spectacular island scenes
Dotted with 150 islands, the majestic Vilsandi National Park – the mighty Kiipsaare Lighthouse in the middle of the sea, home to 247 species of birds, singing and singing. The total area of Vilsandi National Park is about 24,000 hectares, of which 2/3 is covered by the ocean.
Kiipsaare Lighthouse
©Priidu Saart
The park began as a bird sanctuary in 1910 and was established as a nature reserve in 1957. Today, the main goal of the park is to protect the wildlife and coastal landscape of the area.
The landscape of the park islands is breathtaking, such as the sand dunes on the Harilaiu peninsula, the Alvar meadows, the cliffs of Elda and Soeginina, and the famous Vilsandi Lighthouse.
©CP Creatives
Matsalu National Park, Matsalu National Park
Western Estonia
A paradise for bird lovers
Located in western Estonia, Matasaro National Park covers Matsalu Bay and its coastline, the Kasari River Delta, nearly 50 islands, and the Väinameri Sea. It is one of the most important waterfowl habitats in Europe and is a paradise for bird lovers.
©Erik Karits
©Remo Savisaar
Matasarou National Park is home to 4,000 hectares of Kasari Meadow, the largest remaining flat meadow in Europe, and an important nesting ground for maize, spotted and sandpipers. More than 2 million waterfowl fly over the national park each year, of which more than 230,000 stay for shorter or longer periods.
The Matasarou Coastal Meadows is one of the largest in Europe, and its low vegetation and reed-free waterline are important habitats for nesting wading birds. In addition, grazing beef cattle here can help maintain meadows, and you can also encounter white-tailed eagles and black-bellied sandpipers.
©Priidu Saart
In addition to birdlife, Matasarou National Park is committed to the conservation of semi-natural habitats endemic to Western Estonia, including coastal and flood meadows, tree-grass meadows, reed fields, islets and Muhu Strait cultural heritage.
©Priidu Saart
Matasarou National Park is the only European Diploma for Protected Areas (European Diploma for Protected Areas) among the Baltic countries, reflecting the biological, geological and landscape diversity of the national park. It is also part of the Muhu Protected Area of the Helsinki Convention (HELCOM). In 2015, the European National Park Alliance awarded Matasarou National Park a sustainable tourism certification, making the park the first national park in Estonia to receive the second prize.
This year, visitors to Matasarou National Park from 26 September to 2 October will also be able to learn about the Matasarou Nature Festival through images of one of Europe's largest bird habitats and reserves. The festival introduces and honors new nature-themed films and their producers, and features nature photography exhibitions and workshops.
Karula National Park
Southern Estonia
The lake and mountains are full of greenery
Karura National Park is Estonia's youngest national park – it was only added in 1993 and is the smallest national park in terms of area, at just 123 square kilometres. Although the area is small, it is also full of treasures.
©Visit Estonia
The nature of Karura National Park is very diverse. In the northern part of the national park, thousands of years of human activity have created the landscape of semi-natural habitats. Here, sparsely populated farms are set against the backdrop of fields, pastures, forests and lakes. Most of the population in the national park area is concentrated here. The southern part of the national park is covered in lush forests, dotted with swamps and lakes. Karula National Park has the largest forest complex in southeastern Estonia, with more than 70% of the national park covered by forests.
©Kaidi Joesalu
As glaciers retreat, many lakes have emerged in the mountainous Karura region, 38 of which are located in Karura National Park. The largest lake here is Lake Ähijärv, which covers an area of 176 hectares and has a winding coastline. The deepest is Lake Savijärv – about 18 metres deep.
Alutaguse National Park
Northeast Estonia
The newest Estonian national park
The newest member of the Estonian family of national parks and the sixth national park, Alutaguse National Park covers 43,000 hectares in northeast Estonia, covering Estonia's largest taiga and swamps and Estonia's longest sandy beach, offering a rich and varied natural landscape while preserving the traditional culture of northeastern Estonia.
©Karl Adami
Some of Alutaguse's landmarks include the Smolnitsa dune area on the northern shore of Lake Peipus, the Narva River and the Puhatu wetlands – one of the largest wetlands in Northern Europe. Here, golden eagles nest and Siberian squirrels and brown bears roam the woods.
©Remo Savisaar
For a trip to Estonia, national parks must be on your bucket list. Pure, serene, peace, primitive, mysterious, ancient... There are abundant natural tourism resources to explore. Beautiful landscapes and a green lifestyle that celebrates nature make Estonia's national parks a top destination for nature lovers.