Why this scenic location tops my list for nature photography
- herverannu
- Aug 6
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 26
At the end of this year, it will be nine years since I decided to buy a camera and start taking photography more seriously. It took a few years before I started finding myself in nature more often. Over the years, while wandering around in Estonian nature, I have accumulated many beautiful places that have captivated me with their essence. Every year, again and again, I find myself taking photos in these places. One place that has become my favorite so far and whose charms I am sharing with you here today is in Põhja-Kõrvemaa. More specifically, Paukjärv and Kõnnu-Suursoo bog and all the nature that surrounds these locations. In this blog post, I will talk in more detail about why I like this place so much and also share some thoughts and advice if you are thinking of visiting this fantastic place.
How to get there?
There are actually two ways to approach these locations. One way is to come by car from Aegviidu and turn from the Jägala-Käravete highway following the signs to the forest road, which leads to the Kaksiksilla parking lot. Google maps helps a lot here. This is also the closest place to get to by car. The forest road takes about 15 minutes to the parking lot, and on this journey you will see beautiful forests and this feeling of a special place will slowly begin to emerge. Depending on the time of year, but if you go in the second half of summer, you may occasionally come across cars parked on the forest road. These people are most likely looking for chanterelles, because they are plentiful in this landscape. Another way is to drive along the Tallinn-Narva highway and turn off at the Kemba center. The signs point to various Järvi RMK camping areas, and on this road you will also see very beautiful pine forests. I have stopped here several times to capture this beauty with my camera. Finally, you can leave your car either at the Järvi RMK camping areas or by the road, which is a little before the natural lake called Pikklaugas. From there, you can continue on foot.
Kõnnu-Suursoo
Approaching from the Järvi lakes is the easiest way to reach Kõnnu-Suursoo bog. So if you want to get to the bog right away, I recommend this approach. On the other hand, you have to walk a little more from the Kaksiksilla parking lot to reach the vastness of the bog, but I will talk about approaching from the Kaksiksilla parking lot in more detail in the next chapter.
You can comfortably walk along the wooden walk road in Kõnnu-Suursoo. The nature and bog look very photogenic, and in between you can hear the voices of whooper swans who have settled in the distant ponds. After about 20 minutes of walking, you will reach the Kõnnu-Suursoo observation tower. I have spent several nights here to capture the foggy bog views in the morning hours. I remember one adventure worth sharing most vividly.
One evening in early September, I comfortably settled into a sleeping bag in the tower. The bog began to show its mystery in the evening hours, but the fog had not yet begun to form. About 4 hours later I woke up in the tower, surrounded by thick fog and the bog landscape was barely visible. It felt like waking up in another world. It was a very cool experience and if anyone has had such an idea in their head, I highly recommend making it a reality.
If you continue along the boardwalk, you will suddenly reach a slightly denser pine forest from the open bog landscape, where you will also be greeted by bog moors. In my opinion, the bog moors here are some of the most beautiful and photogenic moors with bog islands that I have seen in my visits to the bogs of Estonia. The different conditions here, together with the fog, can create very magical conditions for capturing them. From June to October, the sun also rises from a very favorable location, which gives you the opportunity to enjoy the foggy bog mornings with the sunrise in the early morning hours or to capture them with your camera. Most of the times that I have been to this place to take pictures, I have experienced new stunning views and conditions that make me gasp and sigh again and again.
Finally, when you come out of the bog along the boardwalk, you need to go up a small hill. At the top of the hill is the Paukjärv observation tower. The observation tower offers a picturesque view of the Kõnnu-Suursoo bog and on the other side is Lake Paukjärv. From mid-June to mid-August, the tower offers the opportunity to greet the sun, which rises exactly over the Kõnnu-Suursoo bog. If you manage to reach the tower when there is fog in the bog, this sight will be remembered for a long time. I promise! The first light, which together with the fog and trees creates very picturesque and dramatic conditions, will not leave the viewer cold. I have also spent the night in this tower several times, to experience these views for myself in the morning, as well as to capture them with my camera. Below is some evidence why these views and captures have made it to the front cover of my photo calendars in the last four years. :)
Kaksiksilla parking lot and Paukjärv
Paukjärv is about a 15-minute walk from the Kaksiksilla parking lot. The hilly landscape with pine forests makes the walk very pleasant and it is worth stopping from time to time, because the forest can be full of blueberries waiting to be picked. Similarly, you can even find chanterelles next to the road. I have repeatedly wondered why they are not picked there, because it is impossible not to notice them. Maybe then a person immediately goes into the thick forest to look for mushrooms or they really can't see.
The existing hiking trails actually form a network of their own, and the best way to understand the whole big picture is to use RMK's own online map, where everything is well marked. Some paths even lead to Jussi Nõmme, about 3 km away, where, for example, in August you can find purple flowering heather fields.
There are several marked campfire sites and shelters by Paukjärv, where you can camp and spend the night and spend some time in nature. The place has become quite popular in recent years, but I've always had my own opinion on this. It's just worth taking your time when choosing when to go. For example, one year I went there when people were starting to finish their Midsummer celebrations. On my way to Paukjärv, I met people coming towards me with all their camping equipment. When I arrived, the last ones were still packing. By late evening, there was no one else there except me. I enjoyed the views by the lake, with only silence as a background, which from time to time changed to different sounds of nature and then silence again. Alone in the middle of nature. A frightening experience for some, but a soul-refreshing experience for me.
Looking northeast from the shore of Paukjärv, it is awesome to enjoy the last rays of sunlight falling on the forest on the opposite shore. Half of the forest is golden due to the light and half is in the shade of the forest. On a windless evening, all this is also reflected in the mirror-smooth lake. The view is very beautiful.
There is also a single picturesque bog island in the middle of Paukjärv that you simply cannot miss. I have even seen a kingfisher flying around, and about a year ago, Tuttpütid were nesting there in the lower parts of the lake. The place also has its own history. During the First Republic, various summer camps were held there. Athletes from the Estonian Republic's basketball team and the Olympic team also trained there. Later, scouts held camps there, and at the beginning of the Soviet era, pioneers also. Since 1953, this place has belonged to the Soviet Army's artillery test range. Currently, the central range of the Estonian Defence Forces is actually east of the nature conservation area. The yellow posts for expanding the range's danger area are in a row in some places and do not fit in with the nature of a nature conservation area. A Defence Forces training area in a nature conservation area? I dare say that this concept will always remain incomprehensible to me
During the day you can hike around the forests and enjoy it. While on vacation with my family, we have also gone to pick chanterelles during the day and have made chanterelle soto from them in the evening. In the early morning hours, the lake can be mysteriously aerated and the sun rising from the northeast also creates wonderful conditions, either for simply enjoying and drinking your morning coffee or, if you have a photographic sensibility, for capturing the view. You can also set your steps at the Paukjärv observation tower mentioned above, which takes about 5 minutes to reach. View of Kõnnu-Suursoo, but these views have already been shown above and in fact, now the circle has come full circle. I would also like to point out separately that I have even been to Kõnnu-Suursoo several times to photograph the northern lights and the last time I was able to capture the G5 magnetic storm that occurred in early May 2024. Such a strong display of the northern lights was last seen 20 years ago. I was super happy to be able to be a part of history in my favorite natural place.
In the middle of diverse nature
Everything I've said about the locations above makes Põhja-Kõrvemaa my favorite place. A place to go again and again to capture these fabulous views fresh through your camera's eye. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "diverse". Beautiful pine forests in a hilly landscape, Paukjärv with a photogenic bog island and a lookout tower, Kõnnu-Suursoo bog with its own lookout tower, and all these places are brought to life by nature with its various magical powers. In this regard, I think there are still many special photo opportunities there, but the photographer sees exactly as many opportunities as he has dealt with himself and how he sees the opportunities through his eyes. If you don't have that much of a photography bug, then it's always a great place to just go and enjoy nature. My journeys were also formalized into a short video in the summer of 2024, when I was taking photos and videos for the photographic equipment manufacturer SIGMA in Põhja-Kõrvemaa in connection with a work project. You can see the video below and I hope you enjoyed reading it and it inspired you to visit these magical places as well. Pamper your body and soul.
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