Valga border crossing point (0 km) – Valga city centre (2.4 km) – Lüllemäe (24 km) – Vana-Antsla (41 km) – Urvaste (47 km) – Sihva (69 km) – Otepää (77 km) – Palupera (89 km) – Elva (102 km) – Nõo (112 km) – Tartu (129 km) – Kõrveküla (135 km) – Vara (148 km) – Varnja (170 km) – Alatskivi (186 km) – Kallaste (193 km) – Omedu (210 km) – Mustvee (219 km) – Ulvi (232 km) – Avinurme (242 km) – Tudulinna (257 km) – Kauksi (269 km) – Alajõe (281 km) – Iisaku (294 km) – Kurtna Lake District (321 km) – Jõhvi (338 km) – Toila (349 km) – Sillamäe (366 km) – Sinimäe (373 km) – Narva-Jõesuu (388 km) – Narva (402 km)
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, Route 3 leads through the Karula National Park, Otepää Nature Park, and the summer resort of Elva to Tartu (129 km). In this section, the route also aligns with EuroVelo's Route 11 (North Cape-Athens). This part of the route consists mostly of low-traffic roads with occasional sections of cycling paths. Cycling paths cover nearly the entire distance between Elva and Tartu. There are around ten kilometres of gravel road between Urvaste and Restu.
From Tartu, the route first takes you along the exciting Peipsi coast, then through the Kurtna Lake District and the town of Jõhvi before reaching the northern coast in Toila (220 km). From Toila to Narva, routes 1 and 3 align (53 km). The last leg of the ride will take you past the cliffed coast, the formerly closed town of Sillamäe, the resort town of Narva-Jõesuu and the historic city of Narva.
This section of the route is also marked R1, as it is part of the international Route R1. The R1 connects London with St Petersburg via Central Europe and the Baltics.
The road conditions between Tartu and Narva tend to vary quite a lot. Longer cycle paths are available near Tartu, Jõhvi and Narva, with shorter stretches elsewhere as well. On some short stretches you will also have to cycle along the main roads, but most of the route is on smaller paved roads with low traffic. There are 6 km of gravel roads in the Kurtna Lake District and nearly 4 km before Sillamäe.
Cycling this route will give you an excellent overview of Estonia's diverse landscape.
