#Turaida Estate

[jontycrane]

Sigulda

At the edge of Gauja National Park, Latvia’s largest, Sigulda made for a undemanding day trip from Riga, about an hour away by bus or train. A 1km long cable car provides good views of the heavily forested Gauja National Park, though to be honest the flowery ceiling of the cable car was probably more exciting than the scenery. Through the trees could be seen the ruins of the 13th century…

[passportandplates]

Disclosure: I was a complimentary guest of Sigulda Tourism and the Investment and Development Agency during my time here. All opinions and recommendations are my own. This post also contains affiliate links.

I’ve been on a roll with surprising destinations lately. I told myself I would make 2017 the year I explored lesser-visited destinations, and I took that promise particularly seriously in May. I started by traveling Estonia and Romania and ended my whirlwind adventure on a strong note in Latvia.

Rather than start my trip in Riga, Latvia’s capital, Chantell from Adoration 4 Adventure and I decided to head straight to the charming countryside town of Sigulda.

Although it’s located just an hour outside of Riga by train, Sigulda feels a world away, a charming town surrounded by gorgeous greenery and adventure activities. The scenery is seriously drool-worthy. So while many people choose to visit Sigulda as a day trip from Riga, I recommend spending a couple of days here instead. For nature and adventure lovers, this is the true way to experience all the wonderful things to do in Sigulda.

  Best Things To Do in Sigulda:

Learn about Olympic history at the Bobsleigh and Luge Track

Fun fact: Latvians are excellent at the luge, bobsleigh, and skeleton, and Sigulda is home to the giant track where the Olympians train. The country has won a significant number of medals in these sports and Sigulda has hosted numerous championships over the years.

So, what’s so cool about this track anyway? Well, not only is it over 1200 meters long, but it’s also six floors high. It’s one of the only tracks in the world that’s open to the public, where visitors can either walk down the track…or do a little bobsleighing of their own. They offer both summer and winter bobsleighing here, with sleds reaching speeds of 80-85 km (~50 miles) per hour! How’s that for a dose of adrenaline?

  Get in touch with your inner child at Adventure Park Tarzans

I’m not going to lie – I was a tad bit surprised when we arrived at Adventure Park Tarzans. Not only were there tons of children around, but the park was also HUGE – the largest outdoor adventure park in the Baltics, I later found out.

Despite being a bit of a fraidy cat, I’m also an adrenaline junkie (you can totally be both, right?) so I was super excited when our tour guide Lelde told us we could pick which adventure activity to do. We warmed up a bit with the 40 km (~24 miles) per hour toboggan, winding our way down the track, desperately pulling the brake when it got “too fast.” I should clarify that this was a one person ride, and I was just a tad too brake-happy. Oops.

Afterward, Chantell and I opted to do the Crazy Roller together. It’s essentially a large wheel that rolls up and down a hill. Let’s just say our vocal cords got a little bit of…ahem, exercise. We finished up our adventure excursion with a chairlift back up the hill, which offered beautiful views of the Gauja Valley. This is definitely a side of Sigulda that is not to be missed!

  Channel your princess powers at the castles

Despite being on the smaller side, Sigulda has an impressive THREE castles: Turaida Castle, The Sigulda Castle Complex (including both the Castle of the Livonian Order in Sigulda and Sigulda New Castle) and the Krimulda Historical Centre.

I’ve made this the year I travel to lesser-visited destinations. Last month, @adoration4adventure and I were sponsored guests of @enjoylatvia, and our first stop was the nature and castle-filled town of #Sigulda. I’m a city girl through and through but it was nice to spend a couple of days being one(ish) with nature and pretending to be a princess peering over my balcony at Turaida Castle 👸🏽. Stay tuned for my blog post, coming this week! #enjoylatvia #atklajlatvijunojauna @enjoylatvia

A post shared by Sally • Food & Travel Writer (@passportandplates) on Jun 20, 2017 at 1:50pm PDT

Turaida Castle: To call Turaida a simple castle would be like calling Big Ben a clock. While there’s a beautiful stone castle on the Turaida grounds, it’s actually a museum reserve, containing both an estate and a castle, a large garden, a church and more. One of the most memorable parts of Turaida is easily the Rose of Turaida Memorial, in memory of a Latvian girl who sacrificed her life for love…think of it as the Latvian Romeo and Juliet story, with just as depressing of an ending. Anyway, you can easily spend half a day exploring the Turaida grounds – be sure not to miss the garden with the multi-faced statues.

Livonian Order

New Castle

The Castle of the Livonian Order and Sigulda New Castle are located within walking distance of each other, despite the fact that they look completely different. The Sigulda New Castle was built in 1878 with a distinct Neo-Gothic style whereas the Livonian Order was built in 1207 in a medieval style, initially built to be a fortress. They’re both in the same compound, and you can actually climb up the towers for beautiful views of the surrounding forest. The coolest thing about this area is the stage that was built in the open courtyard; here, they hold outdoor picnics, concerts, and cultural events when the weather is warm. How cool would it be to tell people you’re casually dancing the night away in a castle? #Goals.

  Marvel at the sandstone of Gutman’s Cave

Traipse through the Gauja National Park to get to Gutman’s Cave, the widest and highest cave in the Baltics. It has a ton of cool inscriptions and carvings on the walls, and many claim that the spring water has healing powers. This cave also plays a central role in the tragic Rose of Turaida tale that I linked to above.

  Hike to Krimulda Manor

Views!

This was before all the stairs, obviously!

The Manor

Krimulda is technically Sigulda’s fourth castle although all that remains are a pile of stones, due to its destruction in 1601. Now, the most notable part of the Krimulda grounds is the manor, which has since been transformed into a rehabilitation center. The surrounding complex still has various houses and cottages standing. Plus, the walk from the center to the edge of Krimulda is truly picturesque – we spotted some beautiful paths, river views, the main bridge and even ran into the Walking Stick Park. However, to get up to the Krimulda Manor, you have to “hike” aka climb a TON of stairs. Not only did I wear sandals (not the smartest decision) but I was definitely huffing and puffing my way up all those stairs. My two-week foodie binge while on vacation was definitely catching up to me #SLIGHTregrets.

  Get outdoorsy with Makars

Hello from Latvia! Sponsored by @enjoylatvia: @adoration4adventure and I look like total kayaking pros in this shot but if you watch my Instagram story, you'll see some of the *ahem* detours we took to get to shore 😂. We traveled to Ligatne, a small city outside of #Sigulda, to kayak 6 km through the Gauja River…I'd say we both did well considering we thought we'd be on a sailboat until we arrived 🙊. Thanks to Makara camping for the adventurous day! #enjoylatvia #atklajlatvijunojauna

A post shared by Sally • Food & Travel Writer (@passportandplates) on May 19, 2017 at 3:08pm PDT

Just outside of Sigulda is Ligatne, a small town located on the Gauja River. This was also the location of one of my favorite Sigulda activities: a 6 km kayaking adventure with Makars. Chantell and I totally expected to be on a sailboat (I think we were channeling inner laziness or something) so we were a little surprised when we realized our option was to either canoe or kayak. Nonetheless, we totally enjoyed our kayaking tour…despite the fact that I led us directly into sand on the edges…twice. I’m really dangerous and clumsy with all activities, honestly. Anyway, one of the awesome things about Makars is all the cool outdoor activities they offer. Not only can you kayak and canoe, but you can also do stand-up paddle boarding, camping, safaris, and more.

  Pose for photos at the Walking Stick Park

Walking sticks are a symbol of Sigulda, due to their popularity with hikers. Back in the day, paths were incredibly rough and rocky, so sticks were a necessity. Now, they’re more of a tourist gimmick. Fun fact: they’re symbolically painted in red and green ink because those used to be the only paint colors people had access to during Soviet Times. Anyway, these sticks are so important to the town that they’ve created an entire park around them. It reminds me of a real-life Candyland!

  Other cool things to do (that we missed):

Hiking in Gauja National Park: There are SO many hiking trails in Gauja National Park. While we did a few short ones and leisurely walked through, there are plenty of longer trails for the more intense hikers out there. The park is huge with a variety of activities that can be enjoyed by all ages.

Mežakaķis amusement park: In case Tarzan isn’t enough for you, Mežakaķis offers an obstacle course of various degrees of difficulty that includes lots of physical activities that I would likely fail at. But hey, Sigulda is all about being an adventure destination!

Cable Car over Gauja River: This is an excellent way to see some beautiful views of Sigulda from the top. Romantic ride for 1, anyone?

“Fly” at the Aerodium: The Aerodium is a vertical wind tunnel that allows you to experience what it’s like to free-fall….without actually free falling. It actually looks SUPER fun and I would have 100% done this if I’d had more time in Sigulda!

Bungee jump from a cable car: Yeah, you didn’t misread that. You can bungee jump with an epic view of the Gauja River. They don’t operate every day so be sure to check the website when planning!

  Where to Eat in Sigulda:

Doma

Appetizer at Hotel Sigulda

Main at Hotel Sigulda

Dessert at Hotel Sigulda

Mr. Biskvits

Doma: Doma is the café where farm to table ingredients meet a relaxed ambiance. While their menu is simple, the flavors certainly aren’t. Our dishes exploded with flavor and were perfectly portioned for us to leave full, but not stuffed. Chantell and I shared both the burrito and the home burger, both of which were delicious.

The Restaurant at Hotel Sigulda: I’m going to be honest…I almost never eat at hotel restaurants. In my experience, the food is often mediocre and overpriced. The opposite was true for the restaurant at Hotel Sigulda.The menu was quite extensive and showcased many local Latvian dishes. As guests of the restaurant, we were served an amazing and beautiful three-course meal: dried beef with edible flowers, chicken breast with a turnip puree, and a gingerbread dessert with ice cream. SO. GOOD. Not only was the service exceptional, but they took our dietary restrictions very seriously, which I appreciated. This was by far the best meal I had in Sigulda.

Mr. Biskvits: After several people recommend Mr. Biskvits as a good lunch spot, Chantell and I made it our mission to try it. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get lunch there because it was SO busy but we did stop by for an afternoon cake and caffeine boost before our train to Riga. Judging by our one slice of cheesecake and how busy it was for lunch, I’d say this is a solid bet as a good spot to eat.

  Where to Stay in Sigulda:

Photo Credit: Chantell from Adoration 4 Adventure

Chantell and I were guests of the lovely Hotel Sigulda. We seriously couldn’t have asked for a better location. It was a 5-minute walk from the train station and had its own delicious restaurant, which I wrote about above. The room was clean and comfortable and the staff was incredibly friendly. Plus, there’s a buffet-style breakfast included as well. Win!

Otherwise, find some great deals below! Booking.com (function(d, sc, u) { var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0]; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true; s.src = u + '?v=' + (+new Date()); p.parentNode.insertBefore(s,p); })(document, 'script', '//aff.bstatic.com/static/affiliate_base/js/flexiproduct.js');

  Getting Around:

We explored Sigulda both by car and by foot. If you have some extra time in the town, I definitely recommend walking or renting a bike, as both are great ways to see the various sites while enjoying the scenery. If you’re pressed for time (i.e. you’re on a day trip from Riga), then I recommend renting a car for the day or for a couple of days so you can explore without feeling rushed.

While many people opt to only visit Riga, Latvia’s capital, I suggest making time for Sigulda as well. This charming small town has more to offer than meets the eye and is a haven for nature lovers and adventurers. Come for a couple of days or more for a leisurely travel destination.

  Tell me: Do you prefer visiting big cities or smaller towns? Share in the comments below!

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  Best Things to Do in Sigulda, Latvia: Where Nature Meets Adventure Disclosure: I was a complimentary guest of Sigulda Tourism and the Investment and Development Agency…