Incentives in Võru county and in South-Estonia
More information about activities from Võru Tourist Information Centre: +372 78 21881 (www.visitvoru.ee).
| Activity | Description | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Sleigh ride (carriage in summer) in the torch light | The lanterns and torches will be lit in the dusk and starts the ride along the Rõuge forest paths. We’ll make fire on the shore of the forest lake, stretch our feet by the fire, drink hot tea and glogg. On return to the stables, a ‘horseman’s meal’ from national dishes is waiting in the taproom. | 2hrs |
| Visit to the Rõuge Church belfry | Beautiful sanctuary in the middle of a beautiful nature, built instead of the church destroyed during the Great Northern War. Rebuilt in 1860. Spacious church room with a mirror ceiling, altarpiece “Christ on the Cross” by Rudolf von zur Mühlen. | 1hrs |
| Covering the nature trail of Vällamäe with walking polesStop at the hiker’s shelter Tasting of bishop/herb tea. | Vällamägi is one of the biggest natural surface forms in Estonia, its height is 304 m. So Vällamägi together with Suur-Munamägi are the only ones belonging to the club of ”over 300’s”. Vällamäe hiking trail shows you the stable ecosystem, virgin forest, relatively deep, steep-edged and short valley with notch-like bottom, gully. And all formed without any human impact. The average age of the fir trees in the place with best growth conditions is 120 years, the tallest tree is 41 m and the diameter of the thickest tree is 2.9 m. In Vällamäe there is a highest swamp in Estonia being also the bog with the highest peat deposit. Its thickness is 17 meters. The slopes of Vällamäe are very steep, the inclination is 35 – 40°. According to the folk tales, Vällamägi is also a unique kind of “barometer” – when you see steam rising from the slopes of the mountain on dry days then the "smoky" Vällamägi forecasts rain in the near future. | 2hrs |
| National mealtime in the authentic threshing barn of Haanjamehe farm | For extra cost you can order performance by Haanja dance-, song- and games society. They dance Estonian folk dances and are happy to teach them to you as well. Table harp-, accordion- and concertina music and many other interesting things. | 2hrs |
| Woods Crone Family Park | Woods Crone Family Park is full of surprises. Here the fairy tale meets reality, legend modern times. Unique, worth to experience nature program offers wonders and eye-opening events in the Woods Crone home: herbs and their secrets, impact of trees on human beings, magical drum sounds in the enchanted cellar, chides. A fortune cookie put around your neck as a token. You can taste a real nettle soup and herb tea on the fire of a conical tent consisting of a covering spread over a frame of poles. You will hear stories about the nature fairies in Estonian folklore and many other things. | 1hrs - 8hrs |
| Forest Brother’s farm | Displays, forest brotherhood in Mõniste. The guide introduces the essence of the forest brotherhood, the forest brotherhood in Mõniste. Original shelter in the granary. Underground shelters. You will go to the shelter, test the historical "Forest Rustle" in the event of Estonian - Latvian Forest Brothers’ business transactions. Boat trip around the holm of Vaidva River. In the future there will be a „Shelter Museum”. Along the shore of the picturesque river you will see a former schoolhouse, water mill, sawmill, three wooden weir bridges, stork nest, different plants and birds. Forest Brother’s meal. Boiled jacket potatoes, butter, salt and fruit water. Forest Brother’s songs. | 2,5-3hrs |
| Piusa Pottery Workshop and Piusa Handicraft Workshop | The Pottery workshop is an open ceramics studio where the traditional as well as unique art and handicraft things are made in front of the visitors. The pottery is moulded by hand as well as made on the potter’s wheel. Prevailingly one can produce here a low heat pottery with the firing temperature of 900 – 1150 °C. From-time to time the RAKU firing is produced. This technique comes from Japan and was originally connected with the tea ceremony. The firing process is visually very exciting and the result remarkably differs from an ordinary pottery. | 30 min |
| The ruins of Vastseliina Episcopal Castle | Vastseliina is situated at the headwaters of the Piusa river, 25 km from Võru. It is a relatively young borough. The earlier settlement at the Vastseliina Episcopal castle was destroyed during the Great Northern War (1700-1721). | 1hrs |
| Covering the Luhasoo bog on wooden pathPicnic on a hiker’s shelter on the bog islet | Luhasoo is the only bog in Võrumaa without any human touch. The length of the wooden path is ca 4.2 km. Almost all development phases of the bog are well watchable in Luhasoo – the fen, transition mire, moor or bog. Luhasoo covers an area of 800 ha bedecked with three bog lakes, many mineral- and bog islets and mud hollows. The whirlwind of 1997 in Rõuge rural municipality has left behind almost 200 m of ransacked forest strip. The traces of the destruction may be seen couple of hundreds meters before the end of the trip. | 3hrs |
| Viitina floating sauna | Big floating sauna on the river in Viitina village, Rõuge rural municipality. Birch whisk included in the price! | 2hrs |
| Covering the Kubija health trail with walking poles | 2.5 km long health trail in Kubija pine forest. Rent of the walking poles. | 1,5hrs |
| Võru – Haanja sports track on mountain bikesPicnic in the nature | 12 km long Võru – Haanja sports track: Kubija-Andsumäe-Kasemetsa-Jaanimäe-Haanja. Rent of mountain bikes. | 3hrs |
| Kreutzwald Museum | Emotional exposition introduces the life and creation of the author of Estonian national epic ”Kalevipoeg”. Memorial complex consists of six buildings, spacious yard and beautiful garden. | 2hrs |
| Antique shop “Karma” | Big antique shop in a small town. You can find a big range of antique furniture (also restored pieces) and old things in all of them. They offer wardrobes, chest of drawers, tables, chairs, sofas, sideboards, clothing-, travel- and grain chests, old time tools and dishes, postcards, books, stamps, badges, carriages, sledges, copper dishes, oak caskets, gramophones, samovars, kerosene lamps and many other things. | 1hrs |
| Cosy evening among the seto people | Seto Society Hall. You have the possibility to enjoy the table laid by seto traditions, listen to and watch the songs of leelo-singers (folksongs of setos) and their dances. Performance of leelo-singers, musician. | 3hrs |
| Smoke sauna | Smoke sauna in resting house of Piusa primeval valley. | 2hrs |
| National mealtime in the authentic threshing barn of Haanjamehe farm | Traditional Estonian local food – WOW-menu! | 2hrs |
| Folclore-programm | Performance by Haanja dance-, song- and games society. They dance Estonian folk dances and are happy to teach them to you as well. Table harp-, accordion- and concertina music and many other interesting things. | 2-3hrs |
| Flying Squirrel Track | Rope attraction for brave and adventurous ones. The flying squirrel track is an outdoor attraction enabling everyone to feel his/her limits and at the same time to shift those limits. It is a track consisting of ropes and cables attached to trees at a height of five to nine metres from the ground, connected with seven platforms. The platforms form a circular track and each pass from one platform to another means a separate task. | 1hrs |
| Suur Munamägi(Great Egg Hill) | The highest point in Estonia and in all Baltic States is in Võrumaa. It is called Suur Munamägi. There is a watchtower built in 1939 in Suur-Munamägi. It is possible to take an elevator to the tower. With a clear weather you can see the domes of the Petseri Monastery in Russia and a bit of Latvia. | ... |
| Haanja recreation- and ski centre | 1 km, 3 km, 5 km and 10 km long renovated cross country skiing tracks. The tracks are lighted in the extent of 3.2 km. There are saunas (30 EEK) in the ski centre. It is also possible to use the locked cupboards for keeping your belongings. There is a pub and sitting room with an open fireplace in the ski centre. Rent of skis, sledges and skates. | ... |
| Riding tour with sauna and eating | Two hours of riding in the fields and forest tracks, meanwhile a little break and picnic. On return to the stables a hot sauna and the ‘horseman's meal’ consisting of national dishes in the taproom is waiting for you. | 5hrs |
| Canoe trips | On River Ahja and Võhandu with lunch. | 6hrs |
| Hobby- and sightseeing flights | It is possible to fly on Ridali airport, make hobby- and sightseeing flights above Võrumaa (usually up to Suur-Munamägi and back but also the rounds in south eastern part of Estonia on request. Gliding in the height of 600 m (1 person) and motorplane for 20 min (three persons). | ... |
| Geocaching | The players use the GPS device for seeking the 'treasures' hidden in the nature. At the beginning of the game you will have a brief training on how to use the device. You will reach the treasure’ step by step – from each site of discovery you will get the coordinates of the next site until you will reach the 'treasure'. ’Treasure’ is a customer-side prize; on customer request the organisers will propose something. Duration and phase of difficulty on customer request. | 1-4hrs |
| Optional orientation | After a brief orientation related instructions every team will get a detailed orientation map and compass. Bunch of control locations are marked on the terrain and indicated on the map. Within the agreed check time the teams should visit as many control locations as they can. You will get certain number of bonus points for visiting the control locations (the control locations are of different value). When you outdo the check time you will get penalties according to the overdone time. | 1-3hrs |