Kemeri National Park

The centrepiece is the Great Kemeri Bog, a raised peat bog thousands of years old, crossed by a boardwalk that has become one of the most photographed spots in Latvia. Out on the moss the horizon opens, pools mirror the sky, and stunted pines stand in the peat like bonsai.

History

Bogs began to form in Latvia in the postglacial period, around 10,000 years ago, as the climate grew warmer and more humid (Wikipedia, Ķemeri National Park).

What's there

• The bog boardwalk - a long and short loop across the raised bog, with a viewing tower over the pools; the big loop is around three and a half kilometres.
• Bog pools - dark, still and reflective, at their best at sunrise and sunset when they mirror colour.
• Sulphur springs - the smelly mineral water that made Kemeri a spa town a century ago, near the abandoned sanatorium.
• Birdlife - the mire and coastal reeds draw cranes, black storks and huge spring and autumn migrations.

When to go

Sunrise for the mirror pools and the light; that means arriving before dawn in summer. Autumn adds colour to the bog pines. The boardwalk is exposed with no shade, so midday summer heat is hard.

Before you go

The magic is the light on the pools, and midday flat light does not deliver it - this is a place worth an early alarm. The boardwalk is popular and can feel busy on summer weekends despite its length. The spa ruins are genuinely derelict and fenced in places.

Nearby

Jurmala's long beach and wooden resort architecture are twenty minutes east; the whole park sits on the same railway line back to Riga.

Key facts