North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve

This reserve covers roughly 458 000 hectares on land and 17 000 hectares at sea, stretching along the northern coast and combining forests, marshes, lakeshores, and the coastline of the Gulf of Riga. It brings together different environments in one place, with lakes, river gorges, sandstone cliffs, and coastal grasslands.

Latvia created a nature conservation area in 1990, which later became a biosphere reserve and received UNESCO recognition in 1997. This international status brought research programs and protection efforts that continue today.

People living here practice fishing, forestry, and farming in ways that have been handed down for generations. These traditional activities are still part of daily life and closely tied to the land's rhythms.

You can explore this place on foot using marked trails, climb observation towers for bird watching, or paddle along rivers to see natural sandstone formations. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit, when migration brings many birds and the landscape is most active.

This place contains the largest raised bogs in the Baltic region and wide coastal grasslands that host a rare habitat. Scientists and conservation teams work here to study these special ecosystems and understand how they respond to environmental changes.