//
Estonia
Photo: Külli Kolina, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Taevaskoja
Outcrops of sandstone in the forest along the Ahja River. The rocks reach 20 m in height. The shore is cut by various caves and very idyllic. A little upstream, there is a reservoir, ending with a nice rural gas station from the early 50s. If you go downstream, you will find an old stone bridge.
Helme koopad
A man made tunnel in sandstone. A little spooky. Bring a flashlight. Look out for Friedrich Schiller. Some say, it is only worth a visit if you are close anyhow.
The easiest way is a bus into Tartu or Viljandi, and then onwards from there.
Read in the guideBy bus
Most villages, towns and cities are connected by regular bus services. Smaller places are often only served in the morning or noon, and late afternoon (17:00-18:00).
By train
There are also trains connecting towns along the Valga–Tartu and Valga–Võru route.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Tartu · Regional · TAY
Loading places around the airport…
Tartu (formerly known as Dorpat or Yuryev) is the second largest city in Estonia with a population of around 96,000. A Hanseatic city and a university town, it dates back to 1030, and as such it's the oldest city in the Baltics.
Kallaste is a town of 770 people (2017) in the South-Eastern Estonian plateau of South Estonia. The city sits on an approximately 2-km-long stretch of beach between Lake Peipsi and the Tartu - Mustvee highway.
Otepää is a small town with 2,000 inhabitants set in the hills of south Estonia, approximately 50 km south from Tartu.
Põltsamaa is a town of 4100 people (2024) in South Estonia. Põltsamaa is the centre of Estonian winery and wine production.
Setomaa is in Võru County in southeastern Estonia. Everything in Setomaa is the same as in Estonia, just completely different.
Valga is a town in southern Estonia, on the border with Latvia. Valga and Valka in Latvia are actually one town, Valga making up the larger part with around 12,000 inhabitants in 2021, almost three times the population of Valka.
Viljandi is an ancient hilly city of 17,000 people (2019) in the South of Estonia.
Võru is a city in Southern Estonia. Despite the picturesque location on the shore of the lake, Võru does not inhibit much of a medieval history.
Mulgimaa is a distinct cultural and historical region in South Estonia, encompassing parts of Viljandi and Valga counties. Famous for its rich heritage, rolling hills, ancient hill forts, manor estates, and iconic black longcoats (Mulgi kuub), Mulgimaa offers a peaceful escape into Estonian nature and traditional rural culture.
Karula National Park is in Valgamaa of Estonia.
Soomaa National Park is in Viljandimaa and Pärnumaa of Estonia. With 390 km², it's the second largest national park in Estonia.
Articles and travel topics about South Estonia and Estonia.
Nature & adventureHiking is a great way to explore the forests, bogs, islands and the rural side of Estonia.
Wikivoyage
Culture & historyIn the early hours of 28 September 1994, Europe's deadliest peacetime shipwreck took place when the passenger ferry MS Estonia sunk in the northern Baltic Sea on a journey from Tallinn to Stockholm.
Wikivoyage
ItinerariesVia Baltica is a road leading through the Baltic States and Poland in Northern Europe.
Wikivoyage
Travel tipsThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)), or Soviet Union, emerged as the successor state to the Russian Empire in 1917, and was dissolved in 1991.
Wikivoyage
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.