River · Latvia
Gauja
Gauja is the longest river that stays inside Latvia. It rises on the Vidzeme Upland and draws a wide loop through forests and sandstone hills. Near Carnikava it reaches the Gulf of Riga.
Picture credit: Mach-na (CC BY-SA 4.0) · VolodyaVoronin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · M.Strīķis (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Gauja?
The river starts here: Vidzeme Upland, Latvia.
It ends in the Gulf of Riga near Carnikava, Baltic Sea.
Countries on the river: Latvia.
The story behind it
The Gauja flows through the oldest national park in Latvia, and most of its valley looks like a green tunnel of pine and birch. Over thousands of years the water has washed out red sandstone walls; in them are caves with springs, the best known at Gutmanis near Sigulda. From the castle towers of Sigulda and Cesis you can look down on the bends far below. Beavers build dams in the side streams, otters hunt in the shallows and lampreys swim upriver to spawn. In spring, when the ice breaks, blocks of it pile up and the meadows disappear under brown water for a few days. In summer whole families paddle the river in canoes, camping on sandbanks. Near the mouth, fishing boats bring in lamprey, a speciality that the town of Carnikava is proud of.
Questions children ask
How long is the Gauja?
The Gauja is 452 kilometres long. The whole course lies inside Latvia, from the upland springs to the coast. Because of its many bends the river is far longer than the straight distance to the sea.
Which country does the Gauja flow through?
The Gauja flows only through Latvia. It starts on the Vidzeme Upland in the east and swings north, west and south again. On the way it passes Valmiera, Cesis and Sigulda.
Where does the Gauja flow into the sea?
The Gauja reaches the Gulf of Riga near the town of Carnikava, a little north of the capital. The gulf is a bay of the Baltic Sea. Sand dunes and pine woods line the last part of the river.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
Last checked: