Latgale: the Daugava Loops, Aglona and the Lakes of Eastern Latvia
A week in Latgale, the eastern land of Latvia, where the Daugava bends in great slow loops, more than a thousand lakes lie among pine woods and hills, and Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox and Old Believer churches stand within sight of one another. From Riga the road follows the river past the island ruins of Koknese castle to Daugavpils, a city with a vast nineteenth-century fortress and the art centre of Mark Rothko, who was born here. Beyond lie the high banks of the Daugava Loops, the wooden village of Slutiški, the hill town of Krāslava and the white twin towers of the basilica at Aglona, the country’s great place of pilgrimage. Rēzekne, with its statue of Latgale’s Māra and a modern concert hall, and Ludza, the oldest town in Latvia, open the way to Lake Rāzna and the castle hill of Mākoņkalns. Distances are short, the roads quiet, and a network of fast chargers covers every town on the route.
