10 Things to Do in Otepaa That You Shouldn't Miss

The picturesque coastline and five Islands of Lake Puhajarv make it the biggest and most beautiful lake in the Otepaa region. There is a beach with a beach house, ball game courts, rest areas, cafés and a pier by the northern tip of Lake Puhajarv.There are many Springs in the lake and the Spring of Love is the most famous of these. The Vaike Emajogi River starts from the southern tip of the lake. A 12 km hiking track runs about the lake.Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso blessed the lake in 1991 and this event is commemorated with a wooden sculpture on the lake’s shore by the park.

An adventurous park, where you can climb and have a really great time, when you are visiting south of Estonia.

Otepaa Tourist Information Centre gives tourists free information about tourist sights, accommodation and catering, possibilites for active vacations, cultural events, guide services and transportation in Otepaa tourism region, Valgamaa and all over Estonia. Otepaa Tourist Information Centre also provides paid services: booking accommodation, ordering taxis, photocopying, scanning, using the computer. Otepaa Tourist Information Centre sells souvenirs and stamps.There's free WiFi at the Otepaa Tourist Information Centre.

Otepaa Maarja Lutheran Church is historically connected to the national flag of Estonia. The blue, black and white flag of the Estonian Student Union, which later became the national flag and in 1991 the official flag of the state of Estonia, was consecrated in the rectory of the church on 4 June 1884. Pay attention to the bar reliefs commemorating the event next to the entrance of the church and the interior with its English-style neo-gothic décor. Maaraj Church was given its current appearance in the middle of the 19th century. The doors of the church are open to everyone in summer. Services are held at 11 am on Sundays.

Families with children are particularly welcome in the Lake Puhajarv Park as there are many opportunities to feed ducks and other birds when walking on the lakeshore. There is an exercise track by the northern part of the park. This is also the place where you will find the beach with a beach house, cafés, arbours and boat hire.The park used to be a part of the Puhajarv Manor Park and it was designed as a walking forest with paths already in the 19th century. The park is mainly a naturally grown forest.

Climbing to the top of Munamagi Hill is worth the effort – the view covers more than 50 km. The absolute height of Vaike or Otepaa Munamagi Hill is 207.5 m (relative height exceeds 80 m). There is a spring on the north-eastern slope of Vaike Munamagi (in the direction of Otepaa) that has been considered the start of the Vaike Emajogi River for a long time. The boulder on the edge of the first plain is the biggest in the area – 250,000 kg.

Otepaa Nature Park is the largest landscape protection area in Estonia (22,430 hectares). It forms the central part of the hilly Otepaa Highlands, of whose 1180 square kilometres it covers 19%. The nature park is located in the northern part of Valga County in Otepaa, Palupera, Puka and Sangaste rural municipalities. Access is available to all of the nature park, but you must respect your surroundings. Further information is available from the nature park centre at Kolga tee 28, which is open from Monday to Thursday from 08:00 to 17:00 and on Fridays from 08:00 to 14:30.

Otepaa Winter Sports Museum offers unique opportunity to take a glimpse at the exciting world of winter sports. The museum is located in Tehvandi Sport Center building and displays unique sports equipment, Olympic medals and many interactive features. A must-see place to visit when you’re in Otepaa!

Otepaa irradiates good energy! The monument that celebrates the existence of positive energy fields was opened in Mae Street on 1 October 1992.The entire field is surrounded by benches and the location of these as well as the column itself was selected by psychics.The energy column is the symbol which reminds us that in this rapidly changing world, humans are a part of nature and everything is based on the rules of nature that rely on balance and co-dependency.