Soomaa National Park: Collected Guides for Wilderness and Wetland Exploration

Estonia's wilderness of bogs, floods, and primeval forests

Soomaa National Park

Soomaa National Park protects one of the most significant wilderness areas in the Baltic region, encompassing a complex of interconnected raised bogs, river floodplains, and peat forests in south-western Estonia. The park's landscape was shaped during the retreat of the Baltic Ice Lake approximately 11,200 to 10,600 years ago, when sand deposits formed the distinctive dune ridges that now mark the park's north-western and western boundaries. The territory consists of five major bog systems—Valgeraba, Öördi, Riisa, Kikepera, and Kuresoo—separated by the river valleys of the Pärnu River basin. Kuresoo, the largest bog in Estonia, comprises three distinct sections: Suitsna, Leetva, and Toonoja. The park's eastern edge contains the Ruunaraipe Dunes, the highest dunes on the Estonian mainland, rising 12 metres above the surrounding landscape. Soomaa occupies a transitional position between Low Estonia and High Estonia, where the waters flowing from the Sakala Upland meet the flat Pärnu Lowland. This geological and hydrological setting creates the conditions for the extraordinary flood dynamics that define the park's character.