Soomaa National Park, National park and Ramsar wetland site in southwestern Estonia.
Soomaa National Park is a protected area in southwestern Estonia covering roughly 390 square kilometers of raised bogs, floodplain grasslands, forests, and four winding rivers: Navesti, Halliste, Raudna, and Lemmjogi. The park contains diverse ecosystems that shift and change throughout the seasons.
The Estonian government established this national park in 1993 to protect extensive wetlands, which gained international Ramsar designation in 1997. The protection status represented a major commitment to safeguarding one of Europe's largest wetland areas.
Local people use traditional wooden dugout canoes called haabjas, which were recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021. This craft remains central to how communities move through and understand the waterways.
Visitors enter through the Visitor Centre, which provides information about nature trails, workshops, and seasonal activities such as canoeing, hiking, and cross-country skiing. The best time to visit depends on your interests: spring and summer for water activities, winter for snow-based experiences.
During spring thaw or heavy rains, water covers about 17,500 hectares of land, creating a fifth season where boats become the main way to travel. In these moments, the entire region transforms into a vast waterscape with countless routes.
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