A day walk into the Great Kemeri Bog, on what is probably the best known boardwalk trail in Latvia. Raised bogs are strange places to stand in: flat, open, full of small pools and stunted pines, and completely unlike the forest that surrounds them. Early morning, with mist still sitting on the water, is when most people understand why it is worth the trip.

What you walk through

Kemeri National Park protects one of the largest raised bogs in the country, and the trail crosses it on a wooden boardwalk rather than open ground. The park is also known for its mineral waters and therapeutic muds, which is what drew people here long before it was a national park, and for a level of biological diversity that is unusual even by Latvian standards.

Practical details

• Format: one-day guided walk
• Where: Kemeri National Park, west of Riga
• Price: from EUR 45 per person
• Guided by: Edgar Pless
• Terrain: boardwalk across the bog, level walking

How to book

This hike is arranged directly. Write to [email protected] with the dates you have in mind and how many of you there are, and I will come back with times and a meeting point.

Questions people ask

What is a raised bog?

A peatland that has grown upward over thousands of years until its centre sits higher than the ground around it, fed only by rainfall. That is why the vegetation is so distinctive, and why the surface is too fragile to walk on without a boardwalk.

Is Kemeri worth visiting if I have already seen Gauja?

They are opposites, which is the point. Gauja is a wooded river valley with height and viewpoints. Kemeri is flat, open and watery. Seeing one does not really prepare you for the other.

Do I need special footwear?

The bog itself is walked on boardwalk, so nothing specialised is required. Ask me when you book and I will tell you what the ground is doing at that time of year.

Deciding between this and the other two walks? Compare all three side by side.