EXCURSION 2: Lake Võrtsjärv and Limnological Station

We start our trip from Tartu and head to the Võrtsjärv Visitor Centre on northern shore of the lake at the beginning of the Emajõgi River (https://www.visitestonia.com/en/visitor-centre-of-lake-vortsjarv?_ga=2.11071476.1983557617.1680526118-149346060.1680526116). Here we can climb to the observation tower and have a view of the large lake. Lake Võrtsjärv is a largest inland lake in Estonia (270 km2) with the mean dept of only 2.8 m.

From here we continue to the Võrtsjärv Limnological Station were we visit Lake Museum (https://www.visitestonia.com/en/lake-museum). The main exposition of the Lake Museum is live Estonian freshwater fish. You can visit 2 floor aquariums and 2 large cylindrical aquariums. There are more than 25 different aquariums in total. There is also a collection of fishing gear, an exhibition of primitive fish, and much more! Currently you can also visit the exhibition: “Amazon river – far and near”, which is based on materials collected by the staff of the Limnological Center during their expeditions to the Brazilian Amazon. During the visit also short overview of Limnological Station history is given.

There is also an option to visit Limnological Station laboratories and explore the harbour area, where the Festive dinner of our Conference will be held on 15th June.

With good weather, we will have a chance for a short pleasure cruise on museums raft. Lunch will be provided made from local fish from the lake Võrtsjärv. If anyone is interested in a short hike, then a beautiful bog lake hides in the shade of a pine forest nearby to the Limnological Station (https://www.visitestonia.com/en/mustjarve-hiking-trail). The natural lake is small (23 ha) and very shallow. The boardwalk that leads directly to the water offers scenic views of the lake and the surrounding bog landscape. The short hiking trail (2.3 km) runs around the lake.

When all the local sights have been visited, the bus takes everyone back to Tartu.