Korvemaa Nature Reserve

Korvemaa covers a stretch of glacial landscape southeast of Tallinn where retreating ice left eskers, long winding gravel ridges running through the forest, along with kettle lakes, raised bogs and heathland. Marked trails run through it, including a section of the long-distance route from Oandu to Ikla, with RMK forest huts, campfire sites and bog boardwalks along the way, and the terrain is varied enough to make walking here different from the flat forest of much of the country. Aegviidu, on the Tallinn to Tartu railway, is the usual access point, which makes the reserve reachable without a car. Elk, deer and beaver are present.

Highlights

• Esker ridges - the glacial gravel ridges running through the forest.
• Kettle lakes - the water bodies in the hollows between them.
• Bog boardwalks - the raised paths across the mire.
• Forest huts - the RMK shelters and campfire sites on the trails.

When to go

May to October for walking; the bogs are best in late summer when cloudberries and cranberries ripen. Winter brings skiing on marked tracks from Aegviidu. Spring can be very wet underfoot.

What to expect

Trails are marked but a map is needed. Facilities are basic forest huts, not accommodation. Mosquitoes and ticks are serious from May to August. Distances between shelters are substantial.

Nearby

Aegviidu is the rail access point; Lahemaa lies north.

Key facts