Gaiziņkalns Hill is the highest point in Latvia, reaching 311.5 meters above sea level.
Take the path, and you will climb Latvia's highest hill, Gaiziņkalns, cross the hilltop all over its length (~ 1 km), and see a spectacular panorama open before you over the four slopes: "Ladies' Paradise", "The Western Slope", "The Lesser Golgotha", and "Golgotha".
The hill is a part of the Gaiziņkalns Nature Park, located in the territories of Vestiena, Bērzaune and Arona parishes of the Madona District. The park covers a hilly terrain around Lake Taleja and Lake Viešūrs.
A legend has it that in the olden days Vidzeme, the area around Gaiziņš, lay in the middle between the lands of Kuronians and those populated by the Latvians of Latgale, hence the name "Vidzeme", i.e., the Middle Land.
The Gaiziņkalns Nature Park hosts a number of heritage sites. Those are Tropeļi, Dzīšļi, and other ancient burial fields, small scale details of the landscape – old time estate borders, ridges at the foot or in the middle of slopes (old boundaries of fields), old roads, for instance, the one running from the Staburags cliff at Koknese to the Staburags of Rauna, or the so called Vidzeme Belt.
Guides around Gaiziņkalns:
- Inese Mailīte, tel. 26141853
- Anita Ločmele, tel. 29178245
- Rolands Ķemers, tel. 29174945
Gaiziņkalns is the highest hill in Latvia. The absolute height of the hill is 311.94 m above sea level, the relative height – 61.6 m, it is 1 km long and 650 m wide.
Gaiziņkalns is surrounded by the nature park “Gaiziņkalns”. The Nature Park is located in Madona region, Vestienas, Bērzaunes and Aronas districts and it covers area of 2026 ha. The nature park “Gaiziņkalns” is located in the territory of protected landscapes "Vestiena".
www.madona.lv