Altja Fishing Village

Altja is what the north-coast fishing villages looked like before the Soviet border zone emptied them: one lane of low wooden houses running down to a stony cape, net sheds by the water, and boats hauled up on the grass. Much of it was restored in the 1970s under the national park, and it is kept as a lived-in village rather than a museum.

What you actually see

• The net sheds - the row of dark huts on the cape, the village's signature image.
• The village houses - thatched and shingled, behind picket fences.
• The swing hill - the big wooden village swing that is the traditional centre of midsummer gatherings.
• The coastal trail - a short walk along the shore past glacial boulders, with the Altja tavern in a restored farmhouse at the head of it.

When to go

Midsummer is when the swing hill and the Jaanipäev bonfire tradition are at their most traditional. May to September has everything open and the shore walk at its best. In autumn and winter the village is quiet and the sheds against a grey sea are the more honest picture.

Honest expectations

It is small - one street and a cape - and it shares visitors with the rest of Lahemaa, so summer middays bring a steady flow. There is no museum infrastructure; the village is the exhibit.

The houses are private homes. Gardens and yards are not open to wander into.

Nearby

Sagadi and Palmse manors are fifteen minutes inland. Käsmu, the captains' village, is along the coast to the west, and the two pair naturally.