«PIEJŪRA» NATURE PARK

K K S S

DABAS PARKS «PIEJŪRA» Every year, a large number 1 of people visit the Nature Park «Piejūra». The nature 2 park is associated with both wide and sandy bea­ 3 4 ches and old dune fo­ rests. Only in Nature Park 4 «Piejūra» you can disco­ ­ver unique land­scapes, alter­ 1 nating between du­nes and lakes. When visi­ting the nature park, it is possible to LEGEND OF MAPS see the mouth of the three largest 1 rivers in Latvia – Lielupe, Daugava Parking place Border of Nature Park

and Gauja. From Vakarbuļļi to Saulkrasti, Bus stop Walking trails

NATURE PARK «PIEJŪRA» PARK NATURE the nature park is easily accessible by both Birds watching tower 1 Worth seeing public and private transport, it is crossed by larger and smaller forest trails and paths 0 500 m accessible for pedestrians and cyclists. In recent years, new trails, recreation areas, JS3024, 2020 health trails, parking lots and information stands have been set up in the nature park in Riga and Carnikava municipalities. This infrastructure manages visitor flow and allows discovering the “pearls” of the nature park in sustainable manner. 2 Lielupe mouth Nature Park «Piejūra» is mainly covered by forests. They cover about 80% of the Worth entire park area. However, Buļļu sala is the part of the nature park where, in addition The section of the Lielupe estuary from Buļļupe to the inlet to seeing to forests, you can also see unique grasslands - coastal meadows in Vakarbuļļi, the sea with its adjacent dunes, meadows and sandy areas is an and you can go for a walk on a well-maintained meadow trail across the lagoon important resting and feeding place for migratory birds. complex in Daugavgrīva, exploring the meadow plant life and watching birds.

1 Vakarbuļļi meadows

One-sixth of all coastal meadows in Latvia have been located in the Nature Park «Piejūra». Meadows are periodically flooded with river and sea water, and plants that love the brackish environment – halophytes– grow here.

Buļļu or Daugavgrīva island is the largest island in Latvia - it is about 13 km2 large and became a part of Riga only in 1923. Worth The island was formed in the middle of the 18th century, when Lielupe broke a new mouth into the sea. The old Lielupe estuary knowing Strawberry Clover Sea Thrift Shingled Gladiolus Marsh Angelica

VAKARBUĻĻI – DAUGAVGRĪVA VAKARBUĻĻI Trifolium fragiferum Armeria maritima Gladiolus imbricatus Angelica palustris - the connection with the Daugava River, is now called Buļļupe. seeing Worth VAKARBUĻĻI – DAUGAVGRĪVA VAKARBUĻĻI – DAUGAVGRĪVA White andBaltic Seabird migration route. bird migration routesimportant the most inEuropethe - The Riga section of the nature parkiscrossed by one of the reedbeds andthesurrounding meadows. are them also rareand protected which mainlyinhabit species, among birds, of species 60 about observe can you Daugavgrīva in park nature the of part the In Tringa totanus Common Redshank have beenconstructed. caused by thevisitors,boardwalks reduce theimpactondunes To transport. public by accessible easily also is beach This visitors. been builtfortheconvenience of has lot parking new A monitored. safety of the visitors isregularly wherethe sea, waterqualityand maintained places for swimming in Vakarbuļļi beach is one of Riga’s well- 4 Grassland-lagoon complex inDaugavgrīva Rallus aquaticus Water Rail 3 Vakarbuļļi –Rītabuļļi beach Anthus campestris Tawny Pipit Crex crex Corncrake Egretta alba Great WhiteEgret in Latvia. few habitat places oftheTawny Pipit you to the dunes,which is one of the the lagoons and reedbeds and takes boardwalks winds through themeadow, along The complex. lagoon grass­ Daugavgrīva the in ching wat­ bird for built been has tower A tog trs Te at ie this time 2005. happened wasinJanuary last The storms. strong flooding can only occur duringvery connected to theseaand their Daugavgrīva lagoons are not directly seawater. of inflow periodic the on lagoons of existence The depends land- knowing Worth 3 seeing Worth MANGAĻSALA Dianthus arenarius Sand Pink white dune bank gently descends into a beach. white dunebankgentlydescendsinto abeach. with lichenandspeciesofplantsfound insandyareas, or untiltheprimary with wetterblackalderdepressions, which passinto thegray dunescovered there you canseeanatural coastallandscape-thepineforest alternates way the on but park, nature the outside located is pier The pier. Mangaļsala the - reached be can visitors Mangaļsala of destinations popular most the walking alongthebeachindirection oftheDaugavafurther River, oneof Crossing theforests and dunesofthenature parkalongboardwalks and 1 1 1 Lathyrus maritimus Sea Pea 2 Trails and coastallandscapes 1 0 500 m JS3024, 2020 became a part ofRiga onlyin1960. became apart It peninsula. a but island, an longer no is Mangaļsala today and The river. Daugava old Daugava(Vecdaugava) estuary graduallybecame clogged the of mouth (current) new land and old the the of by rest the from separated was Mangaļsala century, Fromto themiddleof 16thcentury the secondhalf of the19th the Soviet army. Part of the Nature Park Nature the of army.Soviet Part the buildings of times of tsarist Russiaand military a has Mangaļsala heritage-buildings fromunique military the values, natural with Along teto! nefrne ih as uig the during winter canleadtotheirdeath. bats with Interference Attention! found inthenature park. been have bats of species 10 park. nature the of migration routeconcentrated alongthecoast is largestbat wintering placesinLatvia,and the bat Mangaļsala underground buildings are one of the significance. a protectedis culturalmonument of national complex building fortification bank Daugava The lots have beenbuilt. public by both and newand well-maintained parking transport reached be can Mangaļsala in 2 Fortifications «Piejūra» knowing Worth

5 seeing Worth KALNGALE – GARCIEMS KALNGALE – GARCIEMS or theplants forman extensive root system. long, strong andextend deepinto the ground, To accessthewater, theroots oftheplantsare Leymus arenarius Lyme-grass the sun,windandwater. that protect themfrom thickhairs with short, The plantsare covered Petasites spurium Woolly Butterbur The sectionof the Nature Park heat andsunshineinsummer, thesaltysandandlackoffresh water. storms,wind, by hampered is growth Plant conditions. harsh to adapt to to knowtheplantsgrowing ontheseashore anddiscover theirability visited least beaches the in the nature of park area. However, one when is you arrive in beach Garciems, you Kalngale rest. peaceful for appreciated Anthyllis maritimus Kidney vetch against burns. to develop protection They are able Epipactis atrorubens Dark-red Helleborine 1 «Piejūra» shoulddefinitelyvisittheEimurucanal. Kalngale beach When visitingthebeach,you canget from Kalngale to Garciemswill be

the saltyseawater. They are ableto absorb Salsola kali Prickly Saltwort water from evaporating. tective layer thatprevents vered withacuticle–pro­ fleshy leaves. They are co­ Water isstored inthick, Honckenya peploides Sea Sandwort -

canal could deviate another 50-100m from the current location. the of mouth the that expected is It shore. the of contributes leaching the to bed the of movement The landscape. its of terms and resemblesshifts toa natural watercourse thenorth-east in and the flow of shore of the Eimuru canal sediments,theestuary processes coastal the of result a As lagoon. ancient an drain to century 20th the of middle the in excavated was Canal Eimuru t h muh f h Emr cnl te ot nesv coastal intensive most processes in the Naturecan beobserved Park the canal, Eimuru the of mouth the At seen from theviewingplatform. can be The Eimurucanal estuary canal to thesea. along theEimuru that leads trail Aizvēju iela, there isabeginning of a scenic of end the at Garciems, In 2 Eimuru canal Garciems and 1 1 «Piejūra» 0 The . 2 500 m JS3024, 2020 knowing Worth 7 seeing Worth CARNIKAVA – MOUTH OF GAUJA CARNIKAVA – GAUJAS GRĪVA reduced by settinguptrailsandboardwalks inthemostpopularareas. visitors. The loads caused by the visitors of the nature park can be successfully is thelargest settlementandapopulardestination ofbothLatvianandforeign Carnikava 1962. in park the of foundation the since – park nature the of part The part of the nature park from Vecāķi to the mouth of the Gauja is the oldest 1 Carnikava promenade protect visitors from rainandwind. been builtby thesea,whichwillalso has platform viewing A boardwalk. dune encourage visitors to walkalongthe reduce fences erosion by accumulating sandand The dunes. There isaboardwalk across the the rightbank. from seen be only can mouth the time, this During desirable. not is Gauja the of estuary of the in people end of presence the July,the to May of beginning the from season nesting the During beach. the on nesting birds for place nesting important an is mouth Gauja the of bank left the on beach The Attention! washed uponthebeachare arefuge foryoung birds. There isa wide gray dune structures haveor otherartificial beenbuilt there. that it isone of the few large of which is natural - no port rivers,the estuary special inthecontextofLatviaandalsoEuropeof theGaujais estuary in The visitors. for destination popular a is and (ainavudargumi.lv) treasures Haematopus ostralegus Eurasian Oystercacther Park mouth oftheGaujaRiverThe in theNatureplaces scenic one ofthemost is 0 2 500 m «Piejūra» JS3024, 2020 The mouth ofthe Gauja River . It is included in the electronic repository of Latvian landscape on theleft bank of the Gauja mouth, but the trees 1 2 2 knowing Worth 9 seeing Worth MOUTH OF GAUJA – LILASTE – INČUPE flowing into theseanearLilaste. Gauja River flowed through Garezers, yearsago, theancientbed ofthe severalIn ancient times, thousand 0 2 500 m Old pine forests JS3024, 2020 2 1 1 5-erod oet hv been have preserved. forests 250-year-old In the Nature Park age. considerable reach can forests the banks of the Lake Garezers. Pine valuable foreststhat can be seenon stands to biologically old,high- diverse very from– planted young are They 80%. – park nature the of Forestscover of theterritory most «Piejūra» nature park. relief withthe oldest forestsin the scenicand pronounceda very dune On the shores of the lakes there is anywhere elseinLatvia. survived not have m) 1700 to (365 of such origin socloseto the sea Lakes ago. years 4000-6000 about individual bays of the Litorina Sea as seasidelakes, separating from the cau­­ The lakes of the Nature Park 1 rums and Serģis - have emerged have - Serģis and rums 2 3 – Ummis, all Garezeri, Dziļ­ Garezeri, all Ummis, – Garezeri «Piejūra» , some

2 2 4 characteristic plants. and theground cover isformedby place intheforest withoutinterruption snags, naturalprocesses cantake wood isformed–large logsand with manyoldandhollowtrees, dead structure -trees ofdifferent ages forest characterized is high-valuable Biologically have not been significantly modified. whereof the wooded most dunes as oneofthefewwell countries covered dunes are stillpresent,as countries where natural, forest- Latvia isoneof the few European landscape. of both natural in terms value and outstandingmost dunesinLatvia, The nature park has one of the lakes surrounded by old pine forests. the Gauja to Lilasteisrichinscenic The nature park from the mouth of by adiverse forest Lycopodium clavatum Stag’s-horn clubmoss clubmoss Stag’s-horn 11 seeing Worth MOUTH OF GAUJA – LILASTE – INČUPE estuary and thenature park. estuary Inčupe of sight beautiful a allows it of «Piejūra» but from theviewing platformatthetop Park Nature the of area the The SaulkrastiWhite Duneisoutside with theseaanderosion oftheSaulkrastiWhite Dunecanbeobserved. variesfromtoyearyear. ary merge completely can riverstrongerstorms, the In Inčupe is a border river of the Nature Park «Piejūra». The flow of the Inčupe estu­ the seedsabove thewater. blooms withwhiteflowers,maturing 70 cm long stem above the water and 40- a raises it July in lake, the of part in thewater-itisrooted intheshallow life to adapted has plant The Lobelia. for thedisappearanceofWater overgrowth ofthelakes isthereason deterioration ofthewaterqualityand The Latvia. in lakes 25 in only found Lobelia Water 4 Inčupe is ­manna dort Lobelia 3 Ummis

landmark forseafarers. ancient In asa the WhiteDuneserved times, exposed. are seabed old sand deposits of the former Dune White the near Inčupe the of bank the On ecosystem ofLake Ummis. unique the and Lobelia Water the protect to Ummis Lake the on boat and in swim to allowed not is it 15, August to 1 June From Attention! from economicuse. protected thelakeshoresand its has This ground. training army an in limitedbecauseitwaslocated very toaccess Until 1991, thelake was Baltics. the and Latvia of whole the outstanding Lobelia-Isoetes lakes in lakes in Latvia and one of the most Ummis isone of the cleanest , 10–13 thousand years thousand 10–13 , • • the in included was it 2002, In Inčupe. to Vakarbuļļi from area the cover to expanded was park nature the 1999, River.In Gauja of mouth the to Vecāķi from coast the covering beaches, the and dunes forests, for theprotectionparks inLatvia-itwasestablished1962 of thedune Park«Piejūra» Nature About Tourist information: taken to reflect theviewsofEuropean Commission. way be no in can and Projectbeneficiaries the responsibilityof sole are the material this of contents Regional EnvironmentalLatvian ProtectionLatvia Development of FundRepublic State Agency The Administration. and programme LIFE+ Union European of support financial is the which with NAT/LV/000900),implemented LIFE15 CoHaBit, (LIFE «Piejūra»” Park Nature in Conservation Habitat The informative materialhasbeenpublished within the frameworkof the LIFE project “Coastal • • • • its ofprotectedproportion habitatsandalarge diversity ofspecies: and Riga of Gulf high a the with territory complex a is park of nature The hectares. 4180 is area shores total the on located is «Piejūra» Park Nature protected areas ofEuropean importance. ©Carnikava municipality, 2020 Printed: in«Zemgus LB»onFSC Design andlayout: GundegaLojāne from thearchive oftheProject Jānis Jansons,IngaHoņavko, AnsisOpmanis,MihailsIgnats, Photos andimages:Brigita Laime,AgneseJeņina,DainaBojāre, Ilze Priedniece, Prepared by: IngaHoņavko [email protected]; modified coastline. relief, extensive forestswith thepresence of old-aged pines and little- dune pronounced a by characterized value, landscape high a has area the a batmigrationroute isconcentratedalongthecoast; Mangaļsala underground buildings are an important bat wintering place and Anthus campestris in the European region for the Little Ternalbifrons Sterna the nature park has been recognized as one of the five most important sites the nature parkoccupies7%ofthetotal lengthoftheseacoastinLatvia; European Union; the in 59 and Latvia in identified been have species protected specially 129 area ofthenature park; 24 protected habitats of the European Union occupyimportance 84% of the Informationcenter, Rīgasiela16,Carnikava

carnikava.tic ; © certified paper certified Nature Park «Piejūra» is one of the oldest natureoldest the of Natureone is Park«Piejūra» Natura 2000 Natura and the Tawny Pipit networkof

NATURE PARK «PIEJŪRA» The LIFE CoHaBit project has been implemented to improve the condition of rare and protected coastal habitats, reduce the consequences of anthropogenic impacts and balance the interests of the visitors of the Nature Park «Piejūra» with the conservation of coastal biodiversity.

More about the LIFE CoHaBit project: dabasparkspiejura.lv

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