Putnu novērošanas platforma

The Bird Watching Platform stands seven metres above Lake Sloka in Kemeri National Park, a short way from Riga. It floats in the middle of the lake, and a floating bridge connects it to the mainland. From the top, the view runs over open water to the reeds along the banks.

The bogs here date back some eight thousand years, to when the sea retreated to its present coastline. Waterlogged ground slows the decay of dead mosses, so the peat keeps carbon locked in. Mineral springs and therapeutic mud have drawn spa visitors to the park for centuries. In migration season the wetlands and lakes attract a wide range of birds, and birdwatchers arrive with binoculars and cameras. You can walk in from the nearby train station, through forest and open ground before the lake appears. The platform and bridge are built to leave the wetlands undisturbed, in a park that belongs to the Natura 2000 network.

Pack repellent if you come in summer, because the bogs and swamps breed mosquitoes. On a clear day the view reaches a long way across the open water. Bird calls and the movement of the water give the place its calm.