Mushrooming

Mushrooming is one of the most popular autumn activities in Latvia. The tour is lead by a professional mycologist and combines the mysterious world of funghi with local historic heritage and mushroom preparation traditions. Mushrooming starts at one the most popular mushroom pickers' sites in the suburbs of Riga. Then it's on to try various locations in the mushrooming paradise of the Gauja National Park, walk nature trail along the Amata river and have a picnic at picturesque outcrop Zvārtes Rock. Further on, the route reaches charming Ungurmuiža Manor park with its ancient oak trees and some specific fungal species. Next the tour visits a shiitake mushroom grower and mysterious Zilaiskalns hill featuring a highland landscape as well as the flatlands of Lake Burtnieks. Zīle Forest is a rare European biotope with ancient oak forest and park type meadows while the natural coniferous forest at Mežole is one of the richest interms of biological diversity. Here you can find mushrooms which are indicators of natural forest. You also visit oyster mushroom growers along the route. Then it's Āraiši reconstructed Bronze Age settlement built on a lake where there are good examples of how mushrooms can damage and destroy man made objects. At one of the guest houses the chef will demonstrate how to cook your collected mushrooms the local way.

Autumn is a peak bird migration time when huge flocks frequently cross the sky above your head. Cranes perform impressive displays in the fields. There are still some dragonflies and butterflies to see, plus wild animals including wild boar, deer and beaver. The landscape acquires its beautiful autumn colours while we people can enjoy oursleves gathering the wild autumn harvest - mushrooms, cranberries, cowberries and much more.

From Riga the tour goes along the Vidzeme sea coast with areas of Devonian sandstone, coastal meadows and numerous places to watching wading birds. At Salacgriva you visit the traditonal lamprey weirs and can taste them grilled. The tour goes to Seda bog, which is an important nesting site for water birds. Here you might see several types of geese, swans and cranes as well as some mammals and dragonflies. Then the route goes to natural coniferous forests at Mežole with great biological diversity. Next the tour focuses on mushrooms and berries in the Gauja National Park which also provides great views of the river valley with some steep Devonian banks with several medieval castles and manors perched on top. Then the tour goes back to Riga and on to two important national parks. Ķemeri National Park has a Black Alder trail through wet forest, ideal for spotting woodpeckers. In contrast the Big Heath trail passes though a landscape of raised and transit bog and sulphurous springs. At Slītere National Park you have a wildlife day visiting a beaver lodge, tracking variousforestanimals and possibly seeing some of them. Cape Kolka offers excellent costal migration action. The tour goes along the steep sea coast of Jurkalne, stops at Ventspils town for lunch with a bracing walk along its breakwater, then turns inland towards Riga. On the way there are stops at the Abava ancient valley and Sabile wine hill.