Alutaguse National Park

Alutaguse was declared a national park only in 2018, pulling together reserves that had been protected separately for decades. It is the largest forest massif in Estonia - pine, spruce and birch over raised bog, with very few roads through it - and it holds the country's densest populations of brown bear and lynx.

What you actually see

• Forest and open bog - long stretches of both, with boardwalk trails at the accessible edges.
• The Kauksi shore - the sandy pine beach on Lake Peipus.
• The Kurtna lakes - around forty small lakes clustered in a former glacial delta.
• Flying squirrel country - Estonia's only surviving population, strictly nocturnal, so almost nobody sees one.

When to go

June to September has the boardwalks dry, berries in the bogs and water warm enough to swim at Kauksi. Winter is the best time to read what lives here, because tracks in snow show what the forest hides. Late spring is very wet underfoot away from the boardwalks.

Honest expectations

There is no single viewpoint or headline sight. The park is a large quiet forest, and its value is in walking through it rather than arriving somewhere.

Wildlife watching here is a matter of luck and patience, and organised bear hides are run by private operators outside the park. Turning up hoping to see a bear from the road will not work.

Nearby

Kauksi beach on Lake Peipus is at the southern edge. The Baltic Klint coast, Valaste waterfall and the mining museum at Kohtla-Nõmme are all within an hour north.