Valga border crossing point (0 km) – Valga city centre (2.4 km) – Koikküla (20 km) – Hargla (34 km) – Mõniste (47 km) – Krabi (66 km) – Rõuge (81 km) – Haanja (91 km) – Vastseliina (109 km) – Meremäe (122 km) – Orava (140 km) – Mikitamäe (159 km) – Räpina (174 km) – Mooste (195 km) – Ahja (204 km) – Tartu (242 km) – Lähte (259 km) – Elistvere (273 km) – Palamuse (289 km) – Jõgeva (311 km) – Vägeva (333 km) – Emumägi (343 km) – Simuna (360 km) – Väike-Maarja (377 km) – Porkuni (384 km) – Rakvere (412 km) – Vihula (443 km) – Sagadi (449 km) – Võsu (468 km) – Palmse (476 km) – Loksa (513 km) – Leesi (530 km) – Kiiu (555 km) – Koogi (568 km) – Maardu (583 km) – Pirita (595 km) – Tallinn harbour (601)
Valga is like a southern entrance to Estonia that visitors from Latvia can use to get to the country. In fact, you can choose between four routes starting at the border crossing point of Valga that lead you to discover one of the country's best cycling regions, South Estonia. The nature in South Estonia is unparalleled. Here you'll find a delightfully hilly landscape with plenty of lakes and exciting winding roads. You can drive through forests for long distances as well as enjoy the expanse of the countryside from up on the hills. The scenery changes so often you can never get bored travelling here.
From Valga to Tartu, Route 4 first follows the Latvian border, then passes through the Haanja Upland, Setomaa, Räpina and Ahja (242 km). The route is also part of the R1 bicycle route (which runs from London through Central Europe and the Baltics to St Petersburg). In this section, you'll mostly be driving on low-traffic roads, but there are also some stretches of cycle paths. There is about 10 km of gravel road in Paganamaa and the same again between Haanja and Vastseliina. It is a very scenic section of the route. You'll visit some of the most beautiful places in South Estonia, from the highest mountains to the most breathtaking lakes. Võrumaa and Setomaa also both have very rich unique cultures.
From Tartu, the route first passes through Vooremaa, the Pandivere Upland and Rakvere before reaching the northern coast of Estonia in Vihula (201 km). The road conditions between Tartu and Vihula tend to vary quite a lot. There are almost 40 kilometres of cycle paths available near Tartu, in Jõgeva, Rakvere and Haljala. On some stretches you will also have to cycle along main roads with satisfactory traffic conditions, but the route will mainly run on smaller paved roads with low traffic. There are no gravel roads in this section. There is also a lot of beautiful nature along this part of the route, especially in Vooremaa.
From Vihula to Tallinn, routes 1 and 4 align (158 km). On the last leg of the route you'll mainly be cycling on paved roads with moderate traffic. Cycle paths connect Maardu to Tallinn, as well as shorter sections before. The highlights of this section are the Jägala waterfall, the beautiful peninsulas of the northern coast and of course the Lahemaa National Park with its unparalleled nature and beautiful manor houses. A detour to the fishing village of Käsmu is also definitely worth taking.
A section of this route connecting Tartu and Tallinn is also listed as EuroVelo 11 (North Cape – Athens) because it is a part of the EuroVelo bicycle route.
Cycling this route will give you an excellent overview of Estonia's diverse landscape.