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Hard Hiking Trails in Gauja National Park

We track 12 routes that match this search in Gauja National Park. They average 22.5 km and 495 m (1,624 ft) of ascent.

That is 41 percent of the 29 routes we map in Gauja National Park. They run noticeably longer than average for the area, 22.5 km against 13.6 km, so budget more daylight than a typical outing here. The climbing is steeper too: 495 m (1,624 ft) on average versus 300 m (984 ft) across the wider area.

Hard routes mean sustained ascent, long descents and a real need to watch the clock and the forecast. These lean toward the demanding end, so plan for a full day and check the forecast before you commit.

Trails

Hard

Sigulda - Līgatne

Gauja National Park · Latvia

Distance
26.4 km
/ 16.4 mi
Elevation gain
581 m
Typical duration
6 hr 43 min
  • Waymarked route

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
E11 section 05: Sigulda - LīgatneGauja National Park24.1 km531 m6 hr 6 minHardApril to October
E11 section 06: Līgatne - CēsisGauja National Park23.7 km522 m5 hr 59 minHardApril to October
E11 section 07: Cēsis - CaunītesGauja National Park22.7 km499 m5 hr 42 minHardApril to October
E11 section 08: Caunītes - ValmieraGauja National Park20.6 km452 m5 hr 8 minHardApril to October
Svētā Jēkaba ceļš (Valka-Rīga) 4 etaps: Valmiera – LiepaGauja National Park20.3 km446 m5 hr 3 minHardApril to October
Svētā Jēkaba ceļš (Valka-Rīga) 5 etaps: Liepa – CēsisGauja National Park22.4 km494 m5 hr 38 minHardApril to October
Svētā Jēkaba ceļš (Valka-Rīga) 6 etaps: Cēsis – LīgatneGauja National Park26.0 km572 m6 hr 36 minHardApril to October
Svētā Jēkaba ceļš (Valka-Rīga) 7 etaps: Līgatne – SiguldaGauja National Park26.2 km576 m6 hr 39 minHardApril to October
Svētā Jēkaba ceļš (Valka-Rīga) 9 etaps: Krimulda – VangažiGauja National Park22.9 km504 m5 hr 46 minHardApril to October
E11 section 04: Rāmkalni - SiguldaGauja National Park17.8 km391 m4 hr 22 minHardApril to October

If you only have time for one, start with E11 section 07: Cēsis - Caunītes, E11 section 06: Līgatne - Cēsis, E11 section 05: Sigulda - Līgatne. Those are the routes people come back to. Every route on this page links through to a full guide with the map, elevation profile, seasonal advice and what to bring.

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