Cužu Mire Trail is a 2.6 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Kandava, Courland, Latvia that features a river and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
The trail is accessible the whole year, yet suggested in summer – the shrubby Cinquefoil (Pentaphylloides fruticosa) blooming time, as the nature reserve Čužu mire is the only place in Latvia, where the shrubby Cinquefoil grows in wild in such a large area. There is also a number of other rare plants to be seen - birdseye primrose Primula Farinosa, fragrant orchid Gimnadenia Conopsea, March hellerborine Epipactis Palustris, blue Moor-grass Sesleria caerulea, devil’s-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis Moench, carline Thistle Carlina vulgaris etc. Also the stoneworts (Characeae), which are among the largest and most complex of the green algae, can be spotted at the mire. The mire is inhabited by a number of especially protected butterfly species. The mire is a rare and specially protected biotope - calcareous fen – a limestone layer lays down under the peat in the mire and several sulphurous springs outflow onto the surphase. The trail is a loop-type with a total distance of 4,4km. The hiking time takes around 2h. Part of the trail (heading to the Devil’s eye spring) is marked with red dots on the trees, part is covered with wooden planks. In autumn and spring the trail can be really wet and some parts can be flooded, therefore it is suggested to bring rubber boots along.
Free parking lot at the beginning of trail. Kandava city is also accessible by public bus.
Kandava Tourism information centre: 2 Udens Street, Kandava, (+371) 28356520, www.visitkandava.lv
By car or by public bus to Kandava.
February 21, 2021November 21, 2020May 1, 2020August 25, 2019
