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

Thatched and shingled houses behind picket fences, the row of dark net sheds on the cape - the village's signature image - and the swing hill with its big wooden village swing, the traditional centre of midsummer gatherings. A short coastal trail leads along the shore past glacial boulders.

The Altja tavern, in a restored farmhouse, serves the old coastal dishes and is a destination in its own right.

When to go

• Midsummer - the swing hill is where Lahemaa's Jaanipäev bonfire tradition is at its most traditional.
• May to September - everything open and the shore walk at its best.
• 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.