Discover Vītoli: Animals, Recreation Spots and Culture

Farm visits and activities for children

At the “Jaunbērziņi” farm, visitors can see ponies, horses and other farm animals such as sheep, rabbits, chickens and goats. Pony rides and carriage rides are offered for children. If you consider specific activities for children when choosing a place to stay, you can make a point of including these options. A visit to the farm thus brings together two distinct interests: seeing the animals or making a pony or carriage ride the main focus.

Recreation spots and landscape

The Bērzpils Active Recreation Landscape-Thematic Park offers a different focus for time outdoors. Next to the Bērzpils open-air stage is a designated recreation and picnic area. The park also includes a rose garden near the municipal administration building. If you are weighing up a picnic spot and an interest in a garden, these places offer different options to consider.

Krišjāņu Staburags is a designated recreation spot on the Tilža River. Its facilities include a gazebo, a fire pit with tables and benches, and tent pitches. Compared with the picnic area by the Bērzpils open-air stage, the fire pit and seating are the notable features here. This makes it possible to distinguish between the two recreation spots by the facilities listed for each.

You can also experience the Lubāna Wetland Nature Reserve in the wider area around Bērzpils. This offers a different focus from the landscaped places to spend time: if landscape and nature conservation are important to your trip planning, you can consider the reserve as a topic in its own right.

Regional cuisine and beer tradition

With advance booking, Dainis Rakstiņš offers a lunch or dinner featuring soup cooked over a fire. At the brewer’s farm, visitors are introduced to the production and traditions of authentic Latgale beer, made using methods passed down by previous generations. In the tasting room, they can sample the host’s beer and snacks prepared by the hostess. Plan the meal in advance and arrange the introduction and tasting ahead of time. This gives you two different culinary options: a meal with soup and an insight into beer-making accompanied by a tasting.

Church history and living tradition

In the surrounding area, Krišjāņi offers a glimpse of architectural history and religious tradition. Krišjāņi Catholic Church was built in 1939; the granary of the Krišjāņi manor estate was used in its construction. The Žogi roadside cross was also erected in the Krišjāņi parish in 1994. Another cultural reference is a custom in the village of Naglīši: every year on May evenings, local people, especially women, go to a roadside cross to pray, sing Marian hymns and draw “značkas.” The church and the crosses represent different interests: the origins of a church building on the one hand, and religious practice that takes place each year on the other.

Discover more destinations: Balvi, Bērzkalne, Gailīši.

Return to the main travel overview: Balvu Novads.