Towards the southwestern region the national park serves as a recreational facility, especially for the residents of Riga. Near the northeastern parts the park is protected and administered more strictly, with very close attention paid to protecting and preserving the flora and fauna.
One of the most prominent features in the park are the Devonian sandstone cliffs. The cliffs rise up as high as 90 metres near the banks of the river, and especially in the regions around Sigulda, where the administration office of the park has also been built.
Most of the national park comprises of forest land. As much as 47% of the park lands are covered by forest, and the majority of these are made up of pine and spruce forests, however a few regions have a bit of deciduous foliage as well. The park is also known for its lakes, the biggest being the Lake Ungurs.
Diversity Found Inside The Gauja National Park
Inside the Park one can find 341 species of plant and animal life. Out of these, 121 species belong to the category of plant life, while 18 species belong to the category of fungi. There are 202 species of animal life to be found in the Gauja National Park.
As many as 16 different varieties of habitats have been officially listed on the Annex II of Council directive regarding the habitats found inside the national park. 2 habitats belong to the category of raised bogs, fens and mires, 2 of the habitats belong to the category of natural and semi natural grassland formations, 3 of the habitats belong to the category of caves and rocky regions, 4 habitats are classified under the freshwater category, while the remaining 5 fall into the bracket of forest habitats.
Visit the Gauja National Park by signing up for a Palace and Manor Tour package, a highly sought packages by the tourists.