Companies in the Soomaa National Park are responsible and care about the environment in which they operate.
Hiking and guides
The home of the Estonian composer, pianist and organist Mart Saar (28.09.1882 - 28.10 1963) is located in the north-eastern border of the Soomaa National Park, in the village of Karjasoo on Hüpassaare Farm. Mart Saar was the first Estonian composer who merged Estonian folk songs with contemporary sounds. The home museum in Hüpassaare (opened in 1964) introduces and preserves the creation of Mart Saar.
The museum is open We-Su 10-17.
Museum´s homepage.
At the southeastern border of the Soomaa National Park, at the Lubjassaare farm in Ivaski village is the childhood home of the founder of Estonian national painting, Professor Johann Köler (08.03.1826 - 22.04.1899).
For studying various nature and culture values of Soomaa National Park and hiking there are eight study paths, with Estonian and English information stands provide information about the attractions. In addition there are 11 campfire sites and camping sites, four forest huts for overnight stays (Öördi, Meiekose oak, Oksa barn), one forest manager's forest hut (Karuskose) and five observation towers (Ingatsi, Riisa and Kuuraniidu study paths, Tõramaa wooded meadow and Läti broad). The Oandu-Ikla hiking trail goes through the national park.
To get acquainted with the Soomaa National Park one should start with its Visitor Center, located in the heart of the protected area in Kõrtsi-Tõramaa. It opened in 1998 and is located on the site of the former Naari tavern and the later Kõrtsi-Tõramaa farm. The Visitor Center provides information about local attractions, hiking trails, campfire sites and other places worth visiting.
The Soomaa National Park and its immediate area offer opportunities for both active leisure and relaxation. The vast space and silence of the local bogs, winding river valleys, diverse forests and species-rich floodplains provide the opportunity to walk by foot, travel along waterways, watch birds, engage in photography, pick forest produce or explore the cultural heritage of this area. At least once a year the flood or the so-called fifth season means that Soomaa's otherwise inaccessible areas can be accessed by a canoe.
The conservation goal of the Soomaa National Park is the protection of the nature, cultural heritage, protected species, wildlife habitats and natural flora and fauna of the forests, bogs and floodplains of this part of Estonia.
The territory of the National Park is divided into:
The natural conditions here have played a major role in the formation of local cultural traditions: extensive mires, floods, the abundance of rivers, and river floodplains have influenced the peculiarity of the region. People adapted their lives to nature.