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Where to go

The nature trail „Kaltenes kalvas”

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The nature trail along the Roja River offers three different distance options through the forests along the river and its adjacent areas: 2 km, 7 km, and 15 km, each marked with its own color code. Choose the one that suits you and start your journey. All three routes form loops, so you can also walk them in the opposite direction. The longest route will lead you through the forest from Roja to Žocene, crossing the Roja River, and returning to Roja along the opposite bank of the river, ending at the “Roja” hotel. To return to the starting point of the route (where you likely parked your car), continue along Jūras Street towards Roja/center until you reach the Maxima store, where you’ll turn right into the store’s parking lot, or proceed along Kāpu Street back to the starting point of the nature trail.

About 1.5 km away from the Kaltenes coast, there are large heaps of stones in the forest, which are called “kalvas.” Similar formations are not found in any other coastal area of Latvia. Naturalists believe that these wave-like heaps of stones, later overgrown with forests, formed several thousand years ago as the Baltic Ice Lake receded.

Today, the Kaltenes stone heaps are a nationally significant protected natural monument, and in 2006, a well-maintained nature trail was established here for the observation of these unique natural formations. There is an opinion that in ancient times, these heaps were sacred sites, and legends and stories about them have been preserved to this day.