One Day Around Sigulda and Allaži

Overview
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Cyclists will enjoy the variety in sights — beautiful forests on the banks of the primeval valley of the River Gauja and landscapes of Allaži Nature Trails.

The route covers several excellent nature objects extraordinary on the local level, such as Lake Linezers, Černausku Stone, Černausku Secular Oak, and Mežmuiža Springs.

	Best time to go End of April–September. Particularly beautiful during the blooming of dandelions and bird-cherry trees.
	Route Sigulda – Stīveri – Allaži Nature Trails – Inčukalns –Gauja Village – Viesulēni – Sigulda.
	Distance ~43 km
	Duration One day.
	Difficulty level Moderate.
	Road pavement Asphalt, gravel roads, forest roads and farm tracks.
	Starting point/ destination Sigulda Railway Station Square.
	Way marking Marked in the section from Gauja Village to Sigulda.
	Distance to Riga 53 km.
	Public transportation Circular route with convenient train traffic (railway line Riga–Sigulda).
	Worth knowing! Some route sections might be sandy, and muddy during wet weather. Local map is recommended. Mežmuiža Springs and Lake Linezers are located on private land, and the entrance is for a fee. Respect the placed information signs! Hiking outdoors is at one’s own risk. Emergency services: 112.
	Recommendation The route can be started and ended at Inčukalns Railway Station.

	1. Sigulda Railway Station
	2. Spring Saltavots One of the most productive springs of Latvia. Its waters flow into a small spring circus, stay in an artificial basin, and over a rapid then flow into an artificial water body located in Lorupe Valley — the Ancīšu Pond.
	3. Allažu (Stīveru) Lutheran Church
	4. Mežmuiža Springs An extraordinary geologic object for Latvia. Depending on the level of precipitation, from some to more than ten springs can flow into the Kaļķugrava Slope; as these merge together, they create a steep, waterfall-like rapid brook. This course of water flows into the mill pond — a pot-like hollow with bluish green, clear water. In order to protect the springs, calcareous tuff, forests of slopes, and boreal forests, as well as other significant habitats, a protection zone has been established. Pay attention! The scarp along the margins of which the Kaļķugrava Nature Trail is installed is the ancient bank of Silciems Periglacial Choked Lake. Thanks to the calcareous rock and the slope, a rich deciduous forest with oaks, linden trees, ash-trees, elms, aspen trees, and bird-cherry trees, rowan-trees and hazels in the underwood has developed there. Blue, white, and yellow anemones, and bitter pea-vines are found in vast areas during spring. Mezereons are blooming. Here one can get to know the common lady-fern, Herb Paris, Solomon’s seal, asarabacca, dog’s mercury, hedge woundwort, and other plants. The jet-black ant, which is rare in Latvia, can also be spotted. The large-sized decayed trees are home to beetles rarely found in Europe — the hermit beetle and Liocola marmorata beetle; while traces of woodpeckers are seen on tree trunks. A parasite plant — the purple toothwort is seen in spring. One may encounter the grass-snake as well. There are also some secular oaks — a place to study moss and lichen.
	5. Ezernieki Karst Sinkholes One of the largest karst sinkhole systems in Latvia. Nearby are also two smaller lakes — Vecezers and Linezers, where irregular fluctuations in the water table are observed. Over the last few decades, it has been observed that water in Lake Linezers is partially or completely disappearing through an approximately 9 m deep funnel — swallow hole. A trail leads around Lake Linezers and to Pandu Bog.
	6. Černausku Stone Located in a fir-tree forest close to the road Inčukalns–Allaži. Length — 5.2 m, width — 4.6 m, height — 1.7 m.
	7. Černausku Secular Oak One of the largest oaks in Latvia with a 7 m circumference, and the projection of the 22 m high crown is 390 m2. Very scenic. Pay attention! Large and old oaks are also a sort of micro-habitats. Their bark is home to various algae, moss, and lichen. At its feet or on the trunk, there are rare mushrooms like hen of the woods, beefsteak fungus, Hapalopilus croceus, and the ceramic fungus. Tree hollows can be home to dormouse, bats, hermit beetles, or any of the owls. The crown is a nesting place for many bird species.
	8. Settlement Gauja
	9. Katlapu Rock Small sandstone outcrop on the left bank of the River Gauja. From Katlapu Rock, there is a view over the primeval valley of Gauja. Pay attention! Should you be quiet enough, you might spot wild boar or roe deer. Wild boar dug-ups are seen in the vicinity. Sandstone outcrops on the banks of Gauja are a significant habitat for various plants, lichen, moss, and insects. From top of Katlapu Rock, the sand alluvion islets and bunches of trees are seen in the river. By staying longer on the riverside, one might spot the goosanders, wild ducks, and common sandpipers. Should you be lucky, you shall see the kingfisher.
	10. Ziedleju Cliffs There are nice places around Ziedleju Cliffs to watch and pick wild mushrooms.
	11. Lorupe Ravine
	12. Ķeizarskats and Ķeizarkrēsls Opposite of Piķenes Cliff on the left bank of the River Gauja, there is the massive Beites Cliff, which is crossed by a deep ravine of a brook. On its western side, there is the viewpoint Ķeizarskats or the View of an Emperor, which is located ~67 m above the level of the River Gauja offering an outstanding view towards Krimulda and Turaida Castle. While on the eastern side of the ravine, there is the large wooden chair Ķeizarkrēsls or the Seat of an Emperor.
	13. Mound Kaķīškalns From top of the mound, there is a very good view over the primeval valley of the River Gauja.
	14. Korde Track
	15. Sigulda Bobsleigh and Luge Track
	16. Lakstīgala Ravine A deep ravine with a small brook dividing the left side of primeval valley wall of Gauja leaving Sigulda Bobsleigh and Luge Track on one side and Sigulda Hospital on the other.