Latgale is different
Catholic, with a dialect some call a language — Latvia is not one culture.
CC BY-SA 2.5 · Karlisjm — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dana Krauliša — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dana Krauliša — CC BY-SA 4.0
A national park in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia, centred on Lake Rāzna, the country's second largest, with rolling hills and dozens of smaller lakes. Latgale is Latvia's most distant and least visited region, and it genuinely differs from the rest of the country: Catholic where the rest of Latvia is Lutheran, economically poorer, and with a dialect sometimes treated as a language in its own right. The area is known locally as the land of blue lakes. The terrain is a product of the ice age: the hills and lakes are all deposits of retreating glaciers, which is why the landscape looks rolling without mountains and full of water. The park holds observation towers and Mākoņkalns hill, among the highest points in Latvia, along with farms and villages in a distinctive Latgalian building style. Decisive practical points: this is not a day trip from Riga — the distance is over two hundred and fifty kilometres. You need a car and at least one night. Facilities are sparse and public transport almost nonexistent. Entry is free with no gates.
Catholic, with a dialect some call a language — Latvia is not one culture.
Dozens of lakes among rolling hills left by retreating glaciers.
Latvia's region furthest from the tourist route — which is the reason to go.
Latgale region, eastern Latvia
Honestly, not for a visitor spending three days in Riga — it does not come close to Sigulda or the coast in priority. But it is worth it for anyone driving across Latvia or heading to the eastern border, and for anyone wanting to see the part that does not appear in guidebooks. Go for the quiet and the landscape rather than for a particular sight.
Aglona Basilica, Latvia's most important Catholic pilgrimage site, which draws tens of thousands in August; Daugavpils, the country's second city, with its fortress and the Rothko art centre; and the region's pottery villages, a distinctively Latgalian craft. With Rāzna these make a reasonable three-day trip.
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