The story of Ķemeri National Park

Some of the bogs in this park are deep enough to swallow a tank. During the Second World War numerous tanks sank into them, where the depth reaches up to two storeys. You are entering Ķemeri National Park, established in 1997 and the third largest national park in Latvia, covering 381.65 square kilometres.

Forests cover 57% of it and bogs 24%, the most important being the Great Ķemeri Bog. Bogs here began forming about 10,000 years ago, as the climate grew warmer and more humid. Several lakes are former lagoons of the Littorina Sea, and Lake Kaņieris is a Ramsar site.

The park also protects natural mineral springs and muds, used for centuries for healing. Gypsum beneath the ground and soil bacteria produce a sulphurous gas that dissolves in the water, and in the 19th century the springs gave rise to resorts, spas and sanatoriums. In the Great Ķemeri Bog, boardwalks of 1.4 and 3.4 kilometres await, the longer one with an observation platform.