Gutman's Cave

According to an ancient legend, the famous Latvian Gutman's Cave was formed during the rule of the Livs tribe's leader, the legendary Rindaugs. After learning about the betrayal of his love, he ordered to bury the girl alive near the river. The bitter tears of the traitress formed a salty stream which made a huge deep cave in the dungeon. For a long time, the cave had remained nameless until a talented healer settled in these lands. The ancient Latvian cave was named after him, Gutman, which means "good man". Today, tourist guides still offer travelers to touch the water in an underground healing spring.

Today, the Gutman's Cave is considered the largest not only in Latvia but in the entire Baltic region, although its true size is not so huge. With an area of ​​170 square meters and a depth of almost 20 meters, the cave has become famous all over the world. Every year it is visited by tens of thousands of tourists, who come here to touch the walls of red Devonian sandstone more than 400 million years old. Some travelers are attracted by ancient stones with incredible energy, some – by the local source, which is believed to have healing properties, and others – by rock inscriptions dating back to the 17th century. The walls with the engraved names of local barons and dates of their reigns, coats of arms of noble families are covered with fluffy moss. It seems that if you touch it, you can hear the whisper of ancient stones.

Anyway, the cave in the vicinity of Sigulda has become famous as a popular tourist attraction. Scientists believe that its age is more than 10 thousand years, and once ancient people carried out pagan rituals here, and possibly sacrifices. An underground stream flows into the Gauja River, and the Gutman's Cave is located within the Gauja National Park. You can find out about other attractions of the park at the tourist center near the cave.