RMK Karula National Park Visitor Center — Attraction in Antsla vald

We stopped into the RMK Karula rahvuspargi külastuskeskus on the way to Latvia from Tartu, we didn’t have any expectations and thought we would stop in, go for a walk and be on our way…. We stopped in to find a great little free museum there showcasing the local way of life prior to the industrialisation of farming with information in Estonian, English and Russian. They have a visitors centre full of information about nearby hiking trails and the local flora and fauna, they also have a camping spot by the adjacent lake, a rowing boat that you can hire and a number of firepit sites all stocked with firewood, as well as a number of covered picnic tables. We were really lucky to arrive just before their 3 day long mushroom festival – involving foraging mushrooms in the surrounding forests with expert guides as well as cooking demonstrations (with tastings!) of different ways to prepare a variety of mushrooms. Needless to say we thought we would be there for a few hours and ended up staying for 4 days! It is such a great site, with fantastic staff. I can’t recommend spending some time there enough, keep an eye out for events – if they are anything like the mushroom festival they will be well worth...

Very friendly staff! Maps and informational brochures available in multiple languages. Beautiful scenery! Many different wildflowers, hazelnut trees, birds, and of course a variety of exhibits. Fun to see the large old sauna building even though I...

This hiking route lays in one of the ugliest forests I've ever seen in Estonia. Probably I am spoiled by beautiful and full of light forests of Taevaskoja and Meenikunno, but Karula forest looks dirty, rotten and very sick. I don't recommend...