Hiking in Sigulda - Gauja National Park Tour

Tour Type

Hiking Tour

Tour Duration

~8 Hours

Location

Vidzeme - Central Latvia

Tour Season

April - November

One day hiking tour in Latvia to one of the country's most picturesque and popular tourism destinations - Gauja National Park at Sigulda, Krimulda, Turaida - region also called as Switzerland of Latvia by locals. During this hiking tour you will see Sigulda medieval castle ruins, hills, caves, cliffs, impressive forests and wonderful sights of river Gauja valley.

About The Tour

Tour Description

If you enjoy taking long walks in nature (80% of the route) also mixed with the city (20% of the route) and relaxing from the noise of the busy city life, this hiking tour in Latvia will be the right choice.

It's a beautiful hiking route in Gauja National Park that offers multiple sightseeing spots and interesting objects to visit. Hills of the river Gauja valley offer picturesque views of the area, forests are great to enjoy peace and bird songs, while Sigulda medieval castle will mix a little big of the culture into the hike.

Tour Highlights

  • Feel the breath of history and drink from a natural water spring in Goodmans Cave
  • The Gūtmaņala (Goodman's Cave) grotto is the most popular and vast cave in Latvia. It was formed in the course of 10,000 years by water gradually eroding sandstone. The grotto is a protected geological site and the oldest tourist attraction in Latvia. Gūtmaņala is 10 m high, 12 m wide and 18.8 m deep, and notable for inscriptions on its walls, the oldest of which date back to the years 1668 and 1677.

  • Walk around Sigulda castle ruins and sea the new castle
  • The Order of the Brothers of the Sword began building Sigulda castle in 1207. Initially, it was a castellum-type fort; following the defeat of the Brothers of the Sword in 1236, the Livonian Order modified it. During the Great Northern War, the castle was destroyed and never restored again. The south-west section of the convent building with Gothic window lintels and the main gate tower have survived to the present day.

  • Walk through Krimulda castle ruins and Krimulda manor complex
  • Not far from the manor house, there stand the ruins of the 13th century Krimulda Castle which belonged to the Riga Dome Charter until the year 1566. In later centuries the castle owners were both Poles and Swedes who destroyed the castle in 1601, to prevent the Poles from settling down there.

  • Enjoy a day hike in the Gauja National Park
  • The Gauja National Park is the largest and oldest of the national parks in Latvia, characterized by great biological diversity, variety of landforms, natural springs, sandstone outcrops, picturesque views and unique natural, cultural and historical monuments.

  • Be amazed by the views over the river Gauja valley
  • Take a breat and admire the scenery from the Big Devils cliff overlooking place

Additional information

  • Total distance of the hike is ~15 km (~9 miles)
  • Total ascent and descent during the hike is ~170 meters.
  • Hike takes place on hard sand footpaths (90%), boardwalks (5%) asphalt (5%).
  • Please wear flat shoes suitable for walking.
  • The tour operates in all weather conditions, please dress according to the weather and wear proper shoes for walking.
  • This tour is not recommended for people with limited mobility.

Map of the tour

Tour Price and Booking

From 45 EUR*
Price includes:
  • Hotel pick up and drop off
  • Transportation
  • Admission fees
  • Guide
*Price is provided for the complete groups! To get quote for your group size click "+Inquire / Book"!
10 EUR
Price includes:
  • Detailed itinerary
*Price is provided for the whole tour program!
Learn more about Self Guided Tours!
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About this region of Latvia - Vidzeme

The Wild Side of North Latvia

EDEN 2011 Turaida and sigulda

Vidzeme (Northern Latvia)

Reviews of this tour on TripAdvisor

"Very nice"

Reviewed December 7th, 2021
Maria from Netherlands

Very nice excursion, the guide was really nice and knew a lot about Latvia, very interesting. The park was beautiful.

Visited December 2021

"Excellent day hiking in Kemeri National Park"

Reviewed September 5th, 2021
Emma from Malta

Had an excellent day trip to Sigulda with Janis. Sigulda is very beautiful and charming. Saw castles, rivers, nature, caves, parks, church and did a lot of trekking, climbing, etc. Also got to hear nice anecdotes and folklore about Latvia and the Baltics.

Visited August 2021

"Sigulda-Switzerland"

Reviewed May 25th, 2019
Usha from India

Had an excellent day trip to Sigulda with Janis. Sigulda is very beautiful and charming. Saw castles, rivers, nature, caves, parks, church and did a lot of trekking, climbing, etc. Also got to hear nice anecdotes and folklore about Latvia and the Baltics.

Visited May 2019

"Wonderful Tours!!"

Reviewed June 13, 2017
Kelly from USA

The two day-trips we took with Rihards (“Hiking in Sigulda” and “Baltic Sea Coast & Jūrmala”) were the highlight of the three weeks we spent in the Baltics. Both trips were so much fun and were great value (a lot is packed into the Baltic Sea Coast trip – Rihards planned many stops to show us different aspects of life in the area).

Both days were filled with conversation and laughter; Rihards is very laid back and a great person to spend the day with. We felt we got a much better insight into the culture, people and geography of Latvia; Rihards even arranged for beautiful weather just for us!

We highly recommend Discover Latvia as an easy way to see more of Latvia. Both of the tours we took were fantastic but I am sure any Discover Latvia tour you are interested in will be equally spectacular.

Thanks so much Rihards!!

Visited May 2017

"Great"

Reviewed September 23, 2016
Arissa from Malaysia

We enjoyed our excursion tremendously - lots of scenic views and sights along the hike. We explored everything from castles to caves to ruins. Richard, our guide, was knowledgeable, personable and a joy to spend 7 hrs with. Would definitely recommend if you're looking for something different during your stay in Latvia.

Visited September 2016

"Lovely hiking day trip to Gauja and Sigulda!"

Reviewed May 31, 2016
Kathrin from Germany

We enjoyed our day trip to Sigulda and Gauja National Park, where Rihards took us to. - Perfect mixture of cultural sights, landscape experience and hiking tour! It's a pleasure to spend time with Rihards, due to the relaxed atmosphere and interesting conversation about life in Latvia. Full Service: we've been picked up our Hotel and there was no need to care for any Thing.
Thank you for that beautiful day!
Thank you!

Visited May 2016

"Amazing 2 tours of Kuldiga and Sigulda"

Reviewed August 20, 2014
Chandni from Nairobi, Kenya

2 really awesome tours with Rihards. Not only was he very knowledgeable about the places, but was a great conversationalist too! Not a boring moment on the tour even whilst on the road driving. I particularly liked the extra touch of bringing along Latvian sweets for us to eat during the day. Absolutely recommend the Kuldiga tour and the hiking in Sigulda tour.

Please ask Rihards about the project to name cows across the world :)

Visited August 2014

"Great Trip with Rihards and his GF"

Reviewed July 22, 2014
Ofir from Israel

We have took a trip with Rihards and his GF for 8 hours including a bungee jumping. The trip was very nice with a lot of explanation regarding to Riga and it's surrounding, Rihards is amazing guide, we have learned allot from his story's . We had finished the hiked in 6 hours , so if you have any spare time , i strongly recommend to visit the "Sigulda Adventure Park".

Visited August 2014

"Hiking/Bungee"

Reviewed August 17, 2013
Tyler from Rainham, UK

We booked the Hiking in Sigulda tour, and added on the Bungee jump, which is great that you can customise your tours with Discover Latvia. Our guide Rihard met us near our hotel and took us by bus to Sigulda where we stopped to buy some food before beginning our hike.

Throughout the whole day Rihard kept us up to speed with all the history, information and local legends everywhere we went, he even took photos of us in the most picturesque spots on the way. Finally we came to the bungee jump from a cable car over the river, which is the greatest thing I've ever done, I highly recommend it if you've never done it before! Overall a brilliant day, brilliant guide, and a brilliant company to book a tour with!

Thanks!

Visited August 2013

"Hiking in Sigulda"

Reviewed July 31, 2013
Kristopher from Aarhus, Denmark

We went on a 6-hour hike in Sigulda with our terrific guide, Rihards, on which we saw nature as well as a bit of sigulda city and its castles. We went there from Riga with public transportation, bought some bread and ham in a supermarket for lunch and then we walked through the valley all day, while Rihards shared some interesting information about the places we visited and Latvia in general. We all agreed that it was great that Discover Latvia's tours are 'private' so we had plenty of opportunities to ask questions, converse with our guide, and generally were able to influence our trip more since there wasn't a large group of people to take into consideration.

We do, however, believe that the description of Sigulda as "the Switzerland of Latvia" was a little misinformative as it really wasn't very mountainous - but we has a great trip nonetheless, so thanks to Rihards and Discover Latvia for a fantastic day in Sigulda.

Visited July 2013

"Sigulda and Gauja N.P. Hiking"

Reviewed June 21, 2013
From Urbana, Illinois, USA

I had a great hiking tour of Sigulda and Gauja National Park with the intrepid mountain climber, Rihards. He met me where I was staying, then we walked to the bus station and took the bus to Sigulda. We stopped by a store in Sigulda to buy food and drinks for a picnic lunch on this day-long hike. We visited several interesting places -- a castle, a grotto where we drank the cool water (it was 34 that day), and just enjoyed hiking for miles through the forest. Rihards was a fascinating guide and kept me entertained the entire 8 hours. We came back to Sigulda and took the train back to Riga. A very interesting tour with a companionable young man.

Visited June 2013

"Hiking tour in Sigulda"

Reviewed September 11, 2012
Philip from Eskilstuna, Södermanlands Län, Sweden

My friend and I took the hiking tour in Sigulda visiting castles and hiking in the Gauja National Park. We had a great time! The tour is interesting and the landscape is just beautiful!

Also the opportunity to adapt the tour to our schedule was very helpful. We really recommend you to take the opportunity to see that Latvia has a lot more to offer than the old town in Riga.

Our guide Rihard was great! He informed us about the castles and the park we were visiting but we also spoke and learned a lot about the daily living in Latvia which was really interesting. The entire day was great and it felt like an interesting individual experience rather than one of those standard tourist tours. I will definitely book one of the other tours the next time I visit Riga.

Visited August 2012

"Hiking in Gauja-National Park"

Reviewed September 8, 2011
Konstantin from Germany

I came to Latvia for studies. And just to get out of the Student Hostel and daily routines, I opened my Laptop, googled for Outdoor activities in Latvia and booked a very pleasant and unexpectedly personal experience.

For everyone who is into hiking or other activities and who is open for a little adventure outside the city, I highly recommend "Discover Latvia". It is a very young, innovative and very open minded provider for plenty of activities around nature.

I took part in "Hiking in Gauja - National Park" just to get around this beautiful country and to see the nature outside of Riga. As I am going to stay in Latvia for a couple of years, I had plenty of questions about culture, habits, do's and don'ts and after 20 km of hiking through beautiful landscapes, the tour guide, who is also the founder of "DL", gave me answers to many of my questions.

Just check out their website
You really won't regret it.

Visited August 2011