My favourite river in Estonia would be the treppoja, a clean waterway that cascades into the Baltic sea over a series of widely separated steps in flaggy Ordovician limestone. A panel advertises guided walks up and down this shallow brook, although no great mastery to walking its 10-kilometre length.
The Treppoja flows differently to the majority of rivers and streams in Estonia, which are easily missed, being shallow, narrow, brown, lined in reeds or otherwise unwelcome to visitors. Among exceptions to this rule are the Mother River or emajõgi for its navigable length and width, and the rivulets running off the forested klint in Lahemaa National Park.
The Narva river at Estonia’s eastern border with Russia creates interest for its flow and width, reminding me of the Whanganui back home where it divides the near-coastal town of that name.
Returning to the Treppoja, “There are six escarpments measuring up to 1.5 metres within one hundred metres on this 2–15m wide territory,” the Visit Estonia website says. “The cascade has not been able to form a canyon because of its relatively small amount of water and young age. It begins at the Illurma cliff cape and then slides down through the slope of the limestone plateau into Lahepere bay.”
Earlier in the day we stopped at the Keila waterfall, on the river of the same name, cutting through the same rock formation. A higher drop than the Treppoja cascades at a modest 6 metres, and tens of metres wide, Keila is the third largest waterfall in Estonia, after the Narva and Jägala waterfalls. A road from a park alongside the river bank crosses two suspension bridge, to the waterfall.
Visit Estonia reminds us of “a renovated hydroelectric power plant, and one of the grandest renovated manor houses in Estonia, inspired by the Neo-Gothic style. You can also explore the exciting landscape over a 3 km Keila-Joa Park nature trail.”
The Jägala waterfall caught our attention on a rainy bike ride westwards from Lahemaa National Park towards Tallinn. A photo of it graces the home page of this website, inviting a click on the list of blog topics. A billboard announces this site as the most beautiful waterfall in Estonia, and, possibly, in the world. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is said, and no doubt it is a beautiful sight, a broad, sweeping curve, and a bridal veil drop to a shallow river below.
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