Viru Bog Trail

Viru raba sits at the western edge of Lahemaa and is the bog most first-time visitors to Estonia actually see, because it is under an hour from Tallinn and the whole route is on boardwalk. It is a genuine raised bog, thousands of years old and several metres deep in peat, rather than a landscaped substitute.

What you actually see

A loop of around three and a half kilometres, starting in wet forest and opening out onto the bog proper: a spongy carpet of sphagnum in rust, ochre and green, dotted with stunted pines that are far older than they look, and black pools that reflect the sky. An observation tower near the middle lifts you above the pines and shows the shape of the whole bog.

The colour changes completely with the season. In late summer the moss reds up and cloudberries and cranberries appear along the edges of the boardwalk.

When to go

• Late August to September - berries, low mist in the mornings, best colour.
• Winter - snow on the boardwalk, the pools frozen, very few people.
• May to July - green and busy, and the mosquitoes are serious.
• Early morning - bog mist is the reason photographers come here, and it burns off fast.

Honest expectations

It is flat, easy and popular. On a summer weekend the car park fills and the boardwalk has a steady stream of people on it, which is not what most visitors picture when they hear the word bog.

Stay on the boards. The surface either side looks solid and is not, and the pools are deeper than they appear.

Nearby

The rest of Lahemaa National Park - the manor houses at Palmse and Sagadi, and the fishing villages of Altja and Käsmu - is directly east along the same road.