LAHEMAA RING – COMMUNITY LIFE OF THE JUMINDA PENINSULA
GENERAL INFORMATION
Package type: 1 day + overnight accommodation
Season: January–December
For whom: min. 2–max. 20 pers.
Services included: meals, programme visits, accommodation
Duration of the programme: 24 hours
Type of transport: individual transfer / tour bus
Public transportation: buses No 154 and 156. Departure from Tallinn twice a day, the bus stop “Hara side”
LOCATION
Address: Lahemaa National Park
Distance from the capital: Tallinn ~60km
Host: Riina Laanetu, local guide
Contact: Kaisa Linno, MTÜ Lahemaa Tourism Association
T.: +372 52 39239
E-mail: kaisa@kolgakyla.ee
Named after its oldest village, Juminda peninsula is connected with many legends. There are relics from different periods and fields to be seen. The local community is resourceful, and 10 villages are well known for their active co-operation. They have established a voluntary sea rescue unit, a community house and a shop.
Riina, the hosting guide, has lived in the area all her life. She knows everything about life and the people on the peninsula. Riina will show visitors the life of the local community, also talking about how the villages came to be, how they developed and survived during Soviet times. Riina speaks Estonian, English and Russian, she also knows the local dialect well.
This programme is an example package, introducing the Juminda peninsula. A full Lahemaa Ring with a great variety of local visits in villages of the Lahemaa national park takes 7 days. The programme will be arranged by MTÜ Lahemaa Tourism Association.
Day 1
Arrival and evening meal.
Leesikalda holiday home, hostess Meelike Pukk www.visitestonia.com/en/leesikalda-holiday-home
Day 2
- Breakfast at Leesikalda holiday home.
- Ex-Soviet military submarine base at Hara. When Hara port was built in the 1950’s, a large part of the local village was taken away, 5 old farms that had existed there, were destroyed and families had to move away. For decades, this part of the village was a restricted area and local people were not allowed to go there. Now local people are building it up as a tourism attraction and marina and telling their stories of its past.
- Majakivi-Pikanõmme nature trail. Guests can find out how the local community is connected to nature, and witness the natural beauty of the Estonian wildlife – the ancient ice age landscapes, alternating bog and forests. To get the feeling of Lahemaa, they can climb the Majakivi (House stone), the third largest boulder in Estonia.
- Simple Estonian food from local ingredients at the home restaurants of “Johannes” or “MerMer”.
www.visitestonia.com/en/home-restaurant-johannes
www.visitestonia.com/en/restaurant-mermer-a-place-where-you-can-be-with-your-loved-ones
- Tammistu Lammas sheep farm. The pastoral life of the coastal meadows and sheep farming. The hostess Kaie will talk about the maintenance and restoration of semi-natural communities and why they are necessary. Visitors will get to know the sheep and the cattle dogs.
www.visitestonia.com/en/guided-hikes-in-lahemaa-on-tammistu-beach-meadow-with-sheep-and-cattle-dogs
- Veldi and daughter’s brewery. Visitors will learn how local beer is made and taste five different beers.
www.facebook.com/VELDI-ja-T%C3%9CTRED-O%C3%9C-856791301031710/
- Community shop and post office at Leesi. The shop and post office is run by a cooperative of 70 local families. Selling local delicacies. facebook.com/LeesiKauplus
