DESTINATION ESTONIA

Facts at a Glance

Full country name: Republic of Estonia
Area: 45,200 sq km (16,272 sq mi)
Population: 1.5 million
Capital city: Tallinn (pop 443,000)
People: Estonian (62%), Russian (30%), Ukrainian (3%)
Language: Estonian
Religion: 23% Christian (Lutheranism and Orthodoxy)
Government: Independent Republic
President: Lennart Meri
Prime Minister: Mart Laar

Given that the country's pretty flat, you can see a lot of it from the highest point - the 317m (1040ft) Suur Munamägi, in the south-east - without getting a nosebleed. Lake Peipus, on the Estonia-Russia border, is the 4th largest in Europe at 3500 sq km (1400 sq mi). Islands make up nearly 10% of Estonia's territory; the biggest are Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, both off the western coast. Forests cover nearly half the country, and about a quarter of Estonia is wetland - some of the peat bogs are 6m (20ft) deep.

Estonia's rich flora includes 1470 varieties of indigenous plants, while its fauna features thriving populations of large European mammals, among them roe deer and elk. Estonia also has 10 species of rare and protected amphibians. A number of large raptors, including golden eagle (250 pairs), white tailed eagle, spotted eagle and eagle owl are protected, as is the rare black stork. One of the unique sights of the Estonian forest is the European flying squirrel.

The climate is on the cool and damp side of temperate, verging on continental as you move inland where, in winter, it can be a few degrees colder than the coast or, in summer, a few degrees warmer. Winters are fairly severe. The waters around Hiiumaa and Saaremaa Islands freeze over in mid-January and usually don't thaw for 3 months, during which time the entire country is covered in snow. Rain is heaviest in September and lightest in spring.

The region was dragged kicking and screaming into written history by the Drang nach Osten (urge to the east) of Germanic princes, colonists and traders in the 13th century, and Estonia soon fell under foreign rule, a dark period in the country's history that was to span 7 centuries.

The fight to emerge as an independent nation seemed to have been won in 1920 when Soviet Russia signed a peace treaty with the parliamentary republic of Estonia, recognising its independence in perpetuity. But, caught between the ascendant Soviet Union and expansionist Nazi Germany, Estonia soon lapsed from democracy into authoritarianism, and prime minister Konstantin Päts took over as dictator in 1934.

The Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939 secretly placed Estonia under the Soviet sphere of influence and the Soviet authorities began nationalisation and purges that saw up to 60,000 Estonians killed, deported or forced to flee. That's why some Estonians mistakenly saw Adolf Hitler's troops as liberators when they invaded the USSR and occupied the Baltic states in 1941.

Estonia lost around 200,000 people during WWII and lost its independence yet again. The Soviet reoccupation of 1944 ushered in a period of Stalinism highlighted by the collectivisation of agriculture and the killing or deporting of thousands of Estonians.

But throughout the decades of Soviet domination, Estonians still hoped for freedom. In the late 1980s Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave substance to their hopes and a mixture of pent-up bitterness and national feelings fuelled mass demands for self-rule. In 1988 huge numbers of people gathered in Estonia to sing previously banned national songs in what became known as the Singing Revolution. An estimated 300,000 attended one song gathering in Tallinn.

In November 1988, Estonia's supreme soviet passed a declaration of sovereignty; in August 1989, 2 million people formed a human chain stretching from Tallinn to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, many of them calling for secession. In August 1991 Estonia declared full independence, and the following month the country joined the United Nations and began to consolidate its new-found nationhood.

Summers are packed with events. Estonians celebrate their folk culture in mid-June during Memme-taadi Days, held in Tallinn. The night of 23 June is the eve of Jaanipäev, the climax of midsummer events. It's considered a night of magical powers and the traditional way of celebrating it is to head out into the countryside to dance, sing and make merry around bonfires, and seek the mystical fern flower which is said to only bloom that night and bring luck to anyone who finds it. Many Estonians take a holiday during the week around Jaanipäev. The Viru Säru folk festival is held at Lahemaa National Park during the first weekend in July in even numbered years.

Estonia's most famous ghost, Haapsalu, is said to appear at August's White Lady Festival. Later in the month a new king of the traditional Setu kingdom is appointed during the Day of the Setu Kingdom. It gets very quiet during November's Time of Spirits, when Estonians remember their past and their dead, and spirits roam freely through the land.

Money & Costs

• Budget meal: US$1-10
• Moderate restaurant meal: US$10-20
• Top-end restaurant meal: US$20 and upwards

• Budget room: US$10-40
• Moderate hotel: US$40-100
• Top-end hotel: US$100-200

You can travel comfortably in Estonia for around US$100-150 a day, depending on your taste for Vana Tallinn (Estonian liqueur) and snowflake sweaters. Travellers on a moderate budget should expect to spend around US$75 a day, though they can shave that figure considerably by self-catering and staying outside of the larger towns. Budget travellers can find serious bargains: campsite cabins are as low as US$8 per person, and decent meals can be found for under US$5.

It's difficult to find places to cash travellers' cheques once outside the big cities and larger towns, but Eurocheques can be cashed in most banks, and you can change cash in every town. Exchange rates vary from one outlet to another. Cash dispensing ATMs accepting Visa and MasterCard/Eurocard are widespread in cities and larger towns. Credit cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops.

It's fairly common, though not compulsory, to tip waiters 5 or 10% by rounding up the bill, but don't get sucked in by the few waiters that try to give themselves a tip by 'not having' any change. Some bargaining goes on at flea markets but savings are not likely to be more than 10 or 20% below the initial asking price.

When to Go

Toompea, the hill on which Tallinn is centred, is a treasure trove for tourists. It's home to the 19th century Russian Orthodox Alexandr Nevsky Cathedral; Toompea Castle, the meeting place of Estonia's parliament, the Riigikogu; Toomkirik, the Lutheran cathedral founded in 1233; the Estonian Art Museum, housed in an 18th century noble's house near the Toomkirik; and Kiek-in-de-Kök, a tall, stout tower built around 1475.

The park at Kadriorg, 2km (1.2mi) east of Tallinn's Old Town, is pleasant and wooded with oak, lilac and horse chestnut trees. Together with the baroque Kadriorg Palace, it was designed for the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, by Italian Niccolo Michetti. The palace was built between 1718 and 1736 and the great man himself even laid 3 of its bricks. Behind the palace there's the little cottage that housed Peter as his palace was being built. It now houses the Peter the Great Home Museum.

The main town, Kärdla, is a sleepy place full of gardens and trees on the north-eastern coast. Its main interest for travellers is that it's the jumping off spot for the Tahkuna Peninsula, just a few kilometres north-west of town. There's a lighthouse at the northern tip of the peninsula that dates from 1874. You can climb to the top if the lighthouse keeper is inclined to lend you the key. Nearby is a memorial to the victims of the 1994 Estonia ferry disaster. At Ristimägi at the southern base of the peninsula is the Hill of Crosses, where handmade crosses cover a dune, marking the spot where the last 1200 Swedes living here performed their last act of worship before being deported in 1781. Since then it's been a tradition for first-time visitors to the island to place a cross on the hill.

Kuressaare, Saaremaa's capital, is the site of a 13th century castle founded as the Bishop of Ösel-Wiek's island base. Viidumäe, about 25km (16mi) west of Kuressaare, is a botanical reserve, where the favourable climate and conditions make it home to rare plant species such as the blunt-flowered rush, the Saaremaa yellow rattle and the white-beam.

The restored manor house at Palmse, near the eastern edge of the park, is Lahemaa's showpiece. The 18th century baroque house, open to the public, is filled with period furniture, and you can wander the landscaped grounds. In Palmse proper you'll find a restored 17th century distillery, hotel and granary. The town is the setting for the Viru Säru folk music and dance festival, held in the first week of July in even-numbered years.

There are some funky villages on the northern coast. A few kilometres north of Palmse, on Käsmu Bay, are the old Soviet Coast Guard barracks at Käsmu, which now house a maritime museum with excellent exhibits on the Soviet era and the history of the village. The 400 year old fishing hamlet of Altja, in the north-western corner of the park, has been beautifully preserved. The traditional Estonian swings on Kiitemägi (Swing Hill) are the centre of the park's Midsummer's Eve festivities. You can knock back a jigger of Vana Tallinn (Estonian liqueur) at a restored 19th century pub.

Regular buses run between Tallinn and Viitna, which is in the south-eastern section of the park. The ride is about an hour each way.

Pühtitsa Convent

Abruka lies 6km (4mi) from Roomassare, off Saaremaa's southern coast. It's accessible by boat in summer, though during the dead of winter you can reach it by walking across the frozen strait.

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