Sorve Lighthouse

The Sorve peninsula runs south from Saaremaa for some thirty kilometres, narrowing to a spit that points across the Irbe strait toward Latvia, and the lighthouse stands at the end of it, a concrete tower of about fifty metres built in 1960 replacing earlier structures destroyed in the war. It can be climbed in season for a view along the peninsula and out over the strait, with the Latvian coast visible on clear days. The peninsula itself is thinly settled, with fishing villages, juniper heath, shingle beaches and a considerable number of wartime fortifications and a military museum at Sorve, since heavy fighting took place here in 1944.

What you actually see

• The lighthouse - the concrete tower at the peninsula's end.
• The spit - the narrowing land pointing toward Latvia.
• The strait view - the water and the Latvian coast on clear days.
• Peninsula villages - the fishing settlements along the road down.

When to go

May to September, when the tower is open for climbing and the road is easiest; hours are seasonal and the lighthouse is closed in winter. Wind on the spit is strong year round.

Honest expectations

Climbing access is seasonal and limited hours. The peninsula road is long and the drive from Kuressaare takes about an hour each way. The spit is exposed and windy. Facilities at the tip are minimal.

Nearby

Kuressaare lies north; Panga cliff is on the northern coast of Saaremaa.