Turaidas muzejrezervāts

The ruins of a castle built in 1207 by the Brothers of the Sword on the edge of the Gauja valley; from 1432 it was the residence of the Livonian Order’s land marshal. Next door is Sigulda New Castle, built in Neo-Gothic style in 1878, and the grounds look out over the ancient valley towards Turaida.

The widest and tallest cave in the Baltics, in the ancient Gauja valley near Sigulda. It began to form more than 10,000 years ago when post-Ice Age meltwater washed out the sandstone; it is Latvia’s oldest tourist attraction, and inscriptions on its walls date back to the 17th century. The legend of the Rose of Turaida is tied to the cave.

A once-secret Soviet bunker about 9 m underground, beneath the rehabilitation centre at Līgatne. The tour takes in a diesel power station, air-purification equipment and a communications centre; the café serves a 1980s-style meal, and there’s an “Object X” spy game. Check tour times in advance.