Ecotourism
Estonia

The Lahemaa National Park, founded in 1971, is the oldest one in Estonia. The area has high landscape diversity. The wide northeast-southwest directional forest zone splitting Estonia into two major landscape regions arrives at the sea in Lahemaa. The coastline is very curvilinear with peninsulas switching over to bays. Stony forelands are stretched far toward the sea. In the direction of inland the former coastal cliff adds diversity to the landscape. The coastal cliff has been crucial in the formation of waterfalls and rapids on North Estonian rivers. In many places the former coastal landforms, huge erratic boulders having witnessed the power of the last glacier, and semi-natural alvar communities can be seen. The settlement pattern of Lahemaa is closely linked with the natural environment. The households in coastal villages face the sea and follow the coastline, forming lane-type villages. Villages positioned at some distance from the sea in the North Estonian plateau form more compact settlements. The visitor and information centre o the national park is located in Palmse. The Palmse manor has been completely renovated. There are several hiking tracks i Palmse with moderate length of 3-5 km.