Räpina Manor Park

Luua Manor Park is located in Vooremaa Landscape Protection Area in Jõgeva County. The main building of the Luua manor complex with its ancillary buildings and park are protected under heritage conservation. The park has been protected since 1959. Its area is 19.7 hectares.The park is extremely rich in species. It has about 150 taxa of trees and bushes; about 110 of them are alien species.The park is a home to protected bats: northern bats, Daubenton's bats, brown long-eared bats, Brandt' bats or whiskered bats, pond bats, Nathusius's pipistrelles, common noctules, common pipistrelles, and tawny owls.

Pühajärv, with its picturesque winding shoreline and four islands, is the largest lake in Otepää Nature Park. At the northern tip of Pühajärv, there is a beach area with a beach house, ball courts, a children's playground, recreation areas, a café, and a boat harbor. At the southern tip is the Kooliranna recreation area, and from there begins the Väike Emajõgi, which meanders through Valgamaa. Pühajärve Park is the starting point for the Murrumetsa hiking trail, and around the lake runs the 12 km long Pühajärve hiking trail, which passes by the lake's most famous spring, the Armuallikas. In winter, when weather conditions are suitable, an ice trail is created on the lake for hiking, and a winter swimming area is open at Pühajärve Beach.Pühajärv has provided plenty of inspiration for writers and artists. For example, Fridebert Tuglas and Eino Leino have vacationed here. Information about Konrad Mägi's Pühajärv paintings can be found on an info board by the lakeshore near the GMP Pühajärve restaurant. In 1991, the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, visited Otepää and blessed the lake, an event commemorated by a wooden sculpture on the shore of Pühajärve Park.

The field of naturally growing daffodils, which is unique in the Baltic states, can be found in the Vara rural municipality. Yellow daffodils are rare in the wild and the daffodil field in Sookalduse is a rarity that has been taken under conservation. The daffodils originate from the bulb that Peep Sibul, the landlord of Sookalduse, got from Saare Manor and planted in his garden in the end of the 19th century.The yellow sea of flowers can be enjoyed from around the middle of April, depending on the spring.

The park in Vana-Vastseliina was established in 1830 by the then owner of Vastseliina Manor Guido Reinhold von Liphart, who designed a beautiful species-rich 8-hectare park. The bandstand has been preserved, where folk festivals take place. Bird lovers will be delighted by the rare species nesting in old tree cavities. You can also admire Estonia's fastest-flowing Piusa River.In 2016, 25 new trees were planted in the park, one of them in honour of the Lipharts.The 15 km long hiking trail of Piusa River valley starts from the park.The manor park can be reached from Vastseliina Episcopal Castle by coming down a romantic staircase or from the highway a little further away.

Luua Arboretum exhibits about 500 species and forms of trees and bushes. The arboretum was founded based on the principles of botanical geography with the departments for plants from Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, the Far East and North America.

Luunja Rose Garden is a beautiful, unique, and popular concert venue with a stunning view by the Emajõgi River. It has a long history and a total of 58 rose varieties grow there. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, a new rose variety called Luunja by Estonian rose breeder Mart Ojasalu was planted in the rose garden. It is dedicated to locals and all Estonians.It is a unique variety, the aim of which is to give the people of Luunja municipality, above all, a sense of togetherness and to leave future generations with an admirable rose garden.

Mõniste Manor was first mentioned in 1542. The last owners of the manor were the von Wulff family, but the manor was destroyed in the Estonian War of Independence. The 14.6 ha park at Mõniste was founded in 1840 and is one of the oldest in Võru County. The Mõniste Reservoir plays an important role in the design of the park. The site of the former Manor House is now a large meadow. Spruce, oak, linden, silver birch and larch are indigenous to the park. Some of the more rare species include common spindle, Manchurian walnut and Douglas fir. A sculpture depicting bears is located near the park on the Võru-Valga highway - a reminder of the highway decorations that were in fashion during the Soviet occupation.

You'll need several people to measure the circumference of the ancient, nearly 400-year-old oak tree towering nearby Lake Pühajärv in Otepää! The trunk of this ancient tree has a circumference of 6.6 meters. It is called the War Oak because it has witnessed many historical events. Apparently, peasants of the Pühajärv Manor refused to work for the manor in autumn 1841 and the rebels were punished near the oak. The Pühajärve War was one of the first peasant uprisings against the landlords in Estonia, and in memory of it, an oak tree was planted nearby, where a memorial stone was erected on the 130th anniversary of the uprising. A beautiful park with walking tracks surrounds the tree today, and although the ancient tree is no longer in its full glory, it stands here to its full dignity, recalling times gone by.