About Võru County

Võru County is a place where one can be alone with nature. The nature here is incredibly varied, untouched and primeval. Wandering around, you can end up in places, where seemingly nobody has been before. Võru County is also home to several natural records of Estonia:

• Suur Munamägi (the Great Egg Hill), the highest point of the Baltic States – 318 m above the sea level
• Vällamägi, a dome hill with the highest relative height in Estonia – 304 m above the sea level
• Lake Rõuge Suurjärv – the deepest lake, 38 m
• Lake Tuuljärv – the highest-lying body of water – 257 m
• Kütiorg – the deepest primeval valley, 70 m
• the Piusa River – the river with the highest fall
• the highest sandstone denudations at the Piusa River
• Võhandu – the longest river, 162 km
• Tamme-Lauri oak – the widest tree in Estonia, diameter 8 m
• Naha village – the southernmost place in Estonia

The character of the area is shaped by its people. Two indigenous ethnic groups live in the area – the Võru people and the Setus. Both ethnic groups have their own dialect, but the word ‘language’ is used in Estonia, as the dialects are just on the border of comprehensions to speakers of standard Estonian.
The inherited knowledge and skills facilitate the uniqueness of the local people. People in Võru County respect old wisdom and skills. They know how to perform chores done by their ancestors: scything, shearing wool from sheep, knitting socks, making curd and sour milk cheese, smoking meat, making bread, building a log house or a sauna stove. Things made with own hands are valued the most.

The traditional food of Võru County has its own taste or ”uma mekk man” as it is said in Võru dialect. Smoked meat prepared in smoke sauna, golden-yellow sõir or home-made cottage cheese, bread, beer and refreshing birch juice – all these have a characteristic taste. Learning how to cook the traditional food of Võru County is possible in workshops held in tourist farms or acitivity centres.