Protected area in this region existed long before the establishment of the park, but the Soviet authorities were afraid of leading Estonians to nationalist ideas. Only after years of preparation and lobbying they have finally reached an agreement. After this, also Latvia and Lithuania in the years 1973 and 1974 declared their national parks.

In translation, the Lahemaa National Park means “Land of Bays.” At present it is one of the most popular tourist sites in Estonia, with about 300,000 tourists a year. Most of them come here in high season. But the park has a unique atmosphere also during off-season, it is then transformed into a magical and unspoilt countryside. Lahemaa National Park is a home to 838 kinds of plants and 50 species of mammals. You can meet here brown bears, American mink or lynx. In the trees there are 222 kinds of birds and in the rivers you can find salmon or trout.

Lahemaa National Park is situated at the coast of the Gulf of Finland, where several deep incisions create one bay after another. Sea coast is very rugged. National park icludes also four major peninsulas and the series of islands. About 480 km2 of the land is covered by forests, remaining 220 km2 are the waters of the Gulf of Finland.

Lahemaa National Park is a typical example of the Estonian countryside, it is mostly flat or slightly wavy to a maximum height of 115 meters above sea level. A large part of the park is occupied by marshes, moors and forests. Travelers will find fourteen lakes and several waterfalls that drop down from the rock cliffs from a height of about 60 meters. Lakes are either coastal or ice type. The park offers a lot of interesting places, however, one of the most attractive are typical stone fields, which were brought here by Scandinavian melting glaciers.

The area is very quiet and populated mainly with rural population. Apart from the natural scenery there are also many historical and cultural monuments. Near the eastern end of the park you can find a renovated castle in Palmse dating from the 13th century. In the years of 1677-1923 the entire territory belonged to the Baltic German family von der Pahlen. But the castle was later nationalized and used as a recreational facility for Estonian National Guard called Kaitseliit. The reconstruction works on the castle began after the establishment of a national park in 1971.

View Lahemaa National Park (Land of Bays) – the largest and oldest national park in Estonia in a larger map

The post Lahemaa National Park (Land of Bays) – the largest and oldest national park in Estonia appeared first on Europe Explored.

Abruzzo National Park is surrounded by the mountain peaks, reaching an altitude of 2000m. Among the mountains the river Sangro creates the way through the narrow gorges to wide open valleys and occasionally through small villages.

Local information centers offer a multimedia presentation, about all the peculiarities of the surface and beneath the surface of Abruzzo National Park.

Walking through the park is a very nice rest. I recommend the route number 11, which leads to the Valle delle Rose. The trip takes less than 5 hours and you will surely see the red mountain goat, or deer.

Very nice is also a trip along the trail BN1, which leads to a beautiful viewing point from which you have open views across the valley Pescasseroli. It is a 50 minutes walk from the town Pescasseroli.

The settlement Barrea has a lot to offer as well. It covers the lake Barrea, several churches, and Nature Reserve Lago di Pantaniello.

View Abruzzo National Park – natural beauty in Italy in a larger map

The post Abruzzo National Park – natural beauty in Italy appeared first on Europe Explored.

Finnish forests offer not a large number of species. The importance of landscape and forestry has only pine, spruce and birch. With considerable isolation of the country and small population, many species that are now very rare in othe rparts of Europe, survived in the wild here. In southern and central Finland, you can normally see the elk, the largest of nearly seventy species of mammals. There are living several hundreds of brown bears. In addition, there are living arctic foxes, wolves, lynx, marten, muskrat, beavers, otters, wolverines, lemmings, hares and hedgehogs.

All the water in Finland is so clean that also in Tampere – Finland’s third largest city, you can find trouts in the lake that is in the middle of the city.

The post Finland – Northern Lights appeared first on Europe Explored.