The Nature Conservation Agency (the agency) is temporarily closing four sections of popular walking trails in the Gauja National Park because of their poor condition. The closures cover the wooden stairway beside Gūtmaņala that leads up to the ridge, the wooden steps a little further along the trail towards Turaida Castle near Slakterkalns, the section of the Piķene bluff trail from Velnala to Balonu pļava, and the section of the Klauku līcis trail on the other side of the Gauja (precise details can be seen on the maps attached).
On these trails the base structures of the wooden stairways and several steps, as well as parts of the bridges, are partly or entirely worn out and pose a danger to walkers. Please be alert – if the information signs and tape near the trails have been torn down but the agency has not publicly announced that the repair work is complete, do not use the damaged sections of trail and stairway!
Warning and information signs about the closures have been put up at the start and end of the trail sections. As soon as the stairways and footbridges have been repaired and are safe for walkers again, the agency will announce this in the media and on its social media channels. We encourage you to follow the latest information at www.daba.gov.lv and www.tiekamiesdaba.lv, as well as on the agency's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Although several sections of popular tourist trails are currently closed, a wide variety of walks in the Gauja valley are still possible. Choosing a new destination is made easier by the Dabas Tūrisms mobile app, created and maintained by the agency, and by the website www.tiekamiesdaba.lv, which makes it possible to plan a day out for a beautiful walk or an outing in nature anywhere in Latvia in a matter of minutes. The app brings together more than 700 different nature tourism destinations – nature trails, viewpoints, towers, boardwalks, cycling and boating routes, and bird and wildlife watching sites.
It is worth remembering that wooden infrastructure can be slippery in wet weather; clothing and footwear suited to the weather are the best choice when heading out into nature; and if you have your eye on a more remote site and are not sure what condition it is in, you can contact the agency's regional administrations or nature centres during working hours to find out what the situation on the ground really is. Contact details are available in the “Contacts” section.
https://www.daba.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/uz-laiku-sledz-cetrus-gaujas-nacionala-parka-pastaigu-taku-posmus