Hike Bārta-Ķīburi

Distance: ~16km

Route Type: Linear, accessible in both directions

Start: Bārta or Ķiburi

Duration: 4 – 7 hours

Accessibility: On foot

Surface: Gravel roads, off-road paths, unmarked forest trails (~4km)

Getting there: The most convenient way to start the hike is by taking an intercity bus to the "Bārta" or "Ķīburi" stops.

Route Description:

This route leads along dirt and gravel roads and picturesque forest trails, along the Bārta River and Ķīburi Stream. There are three places where you will need to cross a ditch or a small river, but as we know, challenges bring adventure. We recommend starting the route from Bārta. The section along the Bārta River begins at the "Ods" recreation base and leads up to the Dūkupji waterfall. The trail along the Bārta Riverbank is partially marked and will pass through the former "Neptūns" recreation base. Another highlight of this route is the Ķīburi Stream, which is hidden deep in the forest and will only reveal its secrets to brave travelers. The Ķīburi Stream will truly surprise you with its views, and it feels like entering a completely different, still “untraveled” forest, which warmly embraces you like a blanket.

Rest areas marked on the map:

(1) "ODS" Recreation base
(3) Rest area by the Dūkupji Waterfall

Points of Interest:

(11) Bārta Museum – has existed since 1985. It was created to study and reflect the history of the Bārta village and collective farm. It was established thanks to a local historian, journalist, and poet, already a pensioner at the time, Jēkabs Rūsiņš (1917–1994). Since 2004, the Bārta Museum has operated as an accredited museum. In line with its mission, the museum collects, preserves, and studies sources that describe the cultural and historical heritage of Bārta. From 2004 to 2009, the number of items in the museum's collection increased from 597 to 1323 objects. Bārta Museum +371 28687254

(12) Vīles Bridge – as seen today, it is not quite the same as the one built by the Germans in 1916. The first bridge was made of wood. When the railway was constructed, several sawmills were established near the new line, where the required materials were processed, including the material for the new bridge. The entire bridge structure rested on four wooden supports in the Bārta River, with 600 mm narrow railway tracks placed on top.

(13) Dūkupji Waterfall – height ~2.2 meters. This location was covered by about a kilometer-thick ice layer around 10,000 years ago. As the glacier moved, it carried rocks and minerals from the area over which it passed. Later, as the ice gradually melted and its movement slowed, the rocks carried by the glacier settled on the surface. This resulted in moraines, or glacial deposits, which cover a vast area of Latvia today. After the glacier retreated, Latvia's rivers encountered these rocks and formed numerous waterfalls that fell over the moraine. Today, such natural formations are a rarity and can only be found in the Baltics.

Hiking route GPX file: /Download here/

To open a GPX file with a trail route on a mobile phone or computer, one of the travel applications or maps must be installed, e.g. GPX Viewe, Wikiloc, Outdooractive, ViewRanger, OS Maps or other GPX file reading programs and applications.