A Day in the Fairy Tale Land that is Lahemaa National Park

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Sure, visiting cities is fun and a good way to experience a new culture, but I love to see the natural beauty of a place by getting outdoors. Tallinn, Estonia would turn out to be no exception. So at 11am on my first full day in the Baltics, I met Victor from Vivir Europa to go on a tour of Lahemaa National Park along with 3 other curious travelers. Originally from Spain, Victor runs tours in both English and Spanish. Aside from tour guiding, his other stellar talents include being an Estonia expert, van driver, blogger, and conversationalist extraordinaire. Being quite knowledgeable on a variety of subjects, our day’s discussion topics of the day ranged from technology to travel and everything in between. Since there are an abundance of attractions in Lahemaa, Victor asks the group what they’d find interesting and tailors the tour around that.

We began our tour at the cutest Rapunzel-like tower with an even cuter old lady inside hosting the teeny café on the ground floor. She gave us a brief history of the tower, which originally belonged to a farmer, and then we got to explore the upper 3 floors and balcony.

As if the tour hadn’t started out fairy-tale enough, we saw some storks on our way to the next destination – the bog!

For me, the Viru Raba bog was the highlight of our day in Lahemaa. It was absolutely gorgeous and my first time experiencing this kind of landscape. The ground in a bog appears normal, but actually doesn’t support much weight since there is water underneath the peat. This spooky feature is the source of many legends in the Baltic nations. To hike through the bog we had to stay on a boardwalk which distributed our weight. The walkway was sometimes built on top of the previous boardwalk which had begun to sink into the depths of the bog!

Upon entering the bog, the trees resemble many forests you have seen before. Venturing inwards, the trees become smaller because their roots aren’t able to hold on to anything and the anoxic water and soil make it difficult for them to make much progress. Only specific kinds of shrubbery can thrive in this unique environment.

About half way through the 4km walk, there was a lookout platform which lent a terrific view of the bog and ponds. I could’ve stayed up there all day, but there was so much more of Lahemaa to see!

Our next stop was at a traditional roadside restaurant to get some lunch. The roof was made of straw thatching! And inside were typical Estonian dishes served by ladies who didn’t speak English with no other tourists in sight. A truly authentic experience.

After some hearty nourishment, we drove through the coastal town of Käsmu and spent some time on the beach occasionally climbing around the giant boulders in the water. The water was beautiful and the weather was warm, but after a short dip, we headed on to the next spot – a secret of Lahemaa and the tour highlight for most in our group.

Our penultimate stop was a former Soviet submarine demagnetization station – a mouthful to say and really neat to explore. The concrete jetty expands into the cove in a large L-shape with some other docking stations built within. The structure has been abandoned, stripped down, and covered with graffiti (unfortunately all of us failed to notice the famous Pop-Eye graffiti which Victor teased us about, so if you see it, please send me a photo!). The further out on the jetty we walked, the windier it became. The cove is really beautiful, so although the station is cool, it’s also kind of an eye sore.

The final destination on the tour was the Jägala Waterfall. This was originally intended to be our first stop, but a commercial was being filmed there when we had stopped by in the morning. Although not very tall, the falls are overall stunning. You can view the falls from afar, from below, and from above as well as walk right across. It was a memorable end to a day in Lahemaa National Park.

If you’re in Tallinn, I highly recommend getting out to see Lahemaa. Other attractions which I didn’t get to see include massive manor houses, more cute coastal villages, traditional taverns, and gardens galore. Especially if you’re traveling on your own, contact Victor at vivireuropa@gmail.com. You’ll get the most out of your day in the park, meet other travelers, and most of all, have a thoroughly excellent time doing so!

{Disclaimer: I don’t make any money from this blog (at the time of writing) and my trip to Lahemaa was as a regular non-blogging traveler, so you can know my recommendation is earnest!}