Wildlife tours

The tour is lead by the professional mycologist and combines the mysterious world of mushrooms with local culinary traditions. Latvia has ancient traditions involving mushrooms. For centuries they been used for eating.  Mushroom gathering tradition is well alive and persuaded in Latvia more than in any other European country. People carrying baskets full of mushrooms in autumn is common site in the country roads and trains coming into the city. Almost every Latvian has some secret mushrooming place and there are plenty of funny stories around the subject. There is even a mushroom gathering festival annually. Modern as well as traditional mushroom preparation is very popular. There are around 4100 mushroom species in Latvia, 1100 of those are cup mushrooms. About ¼ of these are edible. The most popular edible ones are various Boletus and Chanterelles. 
 

This is for people who enjoy forests, wildlife, local traditions and has a specific interest in the different species of funghi. Everyone could try their hand at mushrooming, identification and by the end of the day together with guide sort out the collected mushrooms. The tour passes several national parks and late back villages. The group will also visit to one of shitake mushroom growers for comparison reasons.

The tour passes through national parks and protected nature territories of interntional importance, following the sea shore. It also stops at small charming towns, several historic sites and traditional villages. During the tour you learn not only about rare and protected plants and local traditions but also enjoy beautiful landscapes, wilderness and solitude.

At the Ķemeri National Park you will follow a fenland trail, see wild meadows and stop at a bird-watching tower beside Lake Kaņieris. Then we explore the Engure Lake Nature Park where 22 types of orchids can be found. Next day thr route heads to Slitere National Park, the former territory of the Baltic Ice Lake and Litornic Sea. You will follow the Cape Kolka pine-tree trail and Peterezers Lake trail with ancient dunes and landscape. Then head to Stiklu Bog trail, in the largest bog territory in Latvia. At Užava you will discover the largest 'grey' dune in the Baltics before following the wild banks of the River Venta and visiting the charming town of Kuldiga, with its well-preserved wooden architecture and the widest waterfall in Europe. The route follows the Abava valley created by the melting of ancient ice. At Sabile you can stop at its famous Wine Hill - location of the most northerly grown grapes from which wine is produced - and follow a botanic trail with stops at the grandest oak tree in Europe. On the way to Riga, walk 5 km long Cena Heath trail which features low, high and transit bogs and related plants.

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.