Bicycle or walking tour:
along the Võhandu River.
To Meenikunno bog
To Kiidjärve ant-kingdom
To Piusa sandstone caves
From our location
in Süvahavva village, we shall walk or ride 5 km wild path on high banks of the river.
We reach pine woods and Märaläte ("Broodmare Spring"). The spring comes out
a small sandstone rock near the river from the height of 2 m. It is affluent all the year round.
Unviewable from the river, it has been a shelter and stronghold for people who have been forced
to hide themselves in different historical times.
Other route to opposite direction of the first described is one kilometre: You can
visit a holy place of ancient Estonians, hill of Kalmate - funeral place of great
war leaders and common people, as well, ground for rituals and ceremonies.
Just beside the place is the chamber of chief God Uku, it is in sandstone cave named
Sõjatare (Camber of War) just at the river.
Length of the route 8 km.
You begin to meditate of the essence of Universe when standing by famous meteor craters
in Ilumetsa (Beauty forest).
The biggest of them is named Põrguhaud (Hell Grave): the Master (of hell) himself is said
to live there. Ilumetsa is the greatest fir tree forest in Estonia: the average height of trees is 33m,
diametre 36 cm, there is 600 tm of wood per hectare (4 times more than in fir tree forests usually)!
2.4 km a path, built of timber, leads Your journey through the bog. There are also a
watchtower and 2 cabins with camping grounds.
The path in Meenikunno is nearly 4.8 km. Meenikunno bog nature reserve
was founded to protect flora, ground water, islands and lakes in the bog area.
The reserve is rich of birds ( 40 species ), the bog area serves for stopover
for thousands of cranes every year.
The Meenikunno bog is over 6000 years of age, having formed as a result of an icy lake swamping.
In the neighbourhood of the bog nature reserve there are Lake Nohipalu Valgjärv ( White lake ),
which has the most transparent water of lakes in Estonia ( transparency 8m ) and Lake
Nohipalu Mustjärv ( Black lake ), having nearly the brownest water lakes in the whole
Europe ever have.
You cannot leave Estonia without visiting the place!
Akste ant kingdom in Kiidjärve woods is an area of colonies of great ants, one of the most unique
in the whole Europe.
They have over 2000 nests here, biggest of them with diametre over 4.5 metres and the highest of them
with the height of more than 2.5 metres. Some of the ant nests are about 100 years of age.
There are as much as 3 billions of great ants in the kingdom.
The route in the forest is 3 km.
Total length of the former mine of sand for glass is up to 20 km.
Five species of bats occupy them now and so the artificial caves have become
the most largest location for bats in Eastern Europe. The caves are interesting for
wanderers.
There is a route of 1.5 km there for tourists.
The caves in Piusa hide yet undiscovered secrets both for romantics and scientists.