Vidzeme (region)

Vidzeme (region)

The Vidzeme region is where the road begins to climb and the **Gauja** river carves a deep canyon through red sandstone. This area is the core of your Gauja Valley road trip highlights featuring high cliffs and dark caves that have been tourist stops for hundreds of years. You are standing in the middle of a medieval landscape where three different castles look out over the green canopy from their rocky perches. Drive to **Sigulda** to scale the towers of the **Turaida** Castle and shout into the **Gutmanis** Cave to hear the echo return from the ancient carvings. The winding roads through the valley are a driver’s dream especially in autumn when the maple trees turn a brilliant shade of gold and red. You can cross the river by cable car or test your nerves on the bobsleigh track that overlooks the steep valley floor. Heading further north the terrain levels out into the rocky coast of Vidzeme where boulders are scattered across the sand like giant marbles. The town of **Cēsis** waits with its cobblestone squares and the most well preserved medieval castle in the land where you can explore the dark cellars by candlelight. The Vidzeme region has high energy and a deep history where every hill holds a fortress and every river bend reveals a new scenic overlook.

Vidzeme (region) highlights

Part of these road trips

Follow the routes that cross this destination

The Scenic Route
The Heritage Drive
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History of Vidzeme (region)

Vidzeme is the Latvian region of war and stone where German knights built a chain of castles to control the deep river canyon. They used boulders stuck together with a mix of lime, eggs and honey to build walls that could stand for a thousand years. From these high towers, they ruled over the land and fought off the pagan tribes who lived in the dark woods below. The town of **Cēsis** is the place where the red and white flag of the nation was flown for the first time in the 1200s. During a great siege in 1577, three hundred locals chose to blow up their own castle rather than be taken by the invading army of the czar. This spirit of grit is still felt in the old stone cellars where you can walk through the dark by the light of a hand held lantern. The road through the valley follows the path of the first schools and the birth of the local choir traditions. Swedes once ruled this land and built grand manors like **Alūksne**, which has a park full of fountains and a temple to honor the fame of the past. Today, the valley is a driver's dream with high cliffs and the oldest caves in the north that hold carvings from many centuries ago.
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