In the region · Ida-Viru County
Forest and bog area, north shore of Lake Peipsi
Alutaguse municipality covers much of the county's south: Estonia's largest continuous forest, the Kurtna lake district with more than forty lakes, and the northern shore of Lake Peipsi with the sands of Kauksi. Population is thin; there are more bears and beavers than in most of Europe.
"There is nothing to see here. That is exactly what people come for."
3 · Experience
More than forty lakes in a small area — Estonia's densest lake district, formed in glacial deposits.
Why it belongs to the storyMining and water extraction have affected water levels here — even the most natural landscape in the region is tied to industry.
A sandy beach on the northern shore of Lake Peipsi with dunes and pine forest. Peipsi is Europe's fifth largest lake, and the eastern border runs through its middle.
Why it belongs to the storyA second border water body with a completely different character from the Narva River: here the border is a horizon, not a fortress wall.
Boardwalks across bog inside Estonia's largest forest massif; watchtowers where you hear only wind and birds.
Why it belongs to the storyThe contrast that makes the region legible: one hour from an industrial landscape to a place with nothing but bog.
