Valga County

Valga county lies mainly in Lake Võrtsjärv catchment basih. Only Taheva Municipality and partially also Karula Municipality lie in the Koiva River catchment basin. The most well-known swimming places are Lake Riiska and Lake Vanamõisa  in Tõrva, the artifical lakes of Pedeli and Tambre in Valga, Lake Veskijärv in Valka, Sooru artifical lake, Lake Kaagjärv and the Väike-Emajõgi River. Valga, Valka and Tõrva are very clean towns because improving the environment is of special care for the inhabitants of the settlements. It is the municipalites that run their solid waste management issues.

There are several companies in Valga county that render additional value to the natural resources. Sanwood Ltd. of Keeni village, Sangaste Municipality, makes use of its wood residue heating the facilities of the company and the dwelling houses in the village. Landhaus Ltd. producing wooden houses and Sangaste Linnas flaked cereals are situated also in Keeni. Jumek Ltd. of  Puka Municipality and Valga Gomab Mööbel Ltd. produce high quality wooden furniture, Valga Lihatööstus (Meat Industry) Ltd. uses local raw material to produce  tasty meat products.

Those  companies use production residue for heating and make investments to achieve the best technology available. Hansa Graanul Ltd. of Patküla village, Helme Municipality, produces  wood pellets from sawdust that was considered  earlier as inconvenient  production  residue. Arantec Ltd. of Hummuli makes use of inferior quality  wood as raw material for charcoal. Puka Municipality is trying to retain the well-known Tori horse breed. Plant cultivation companies develop their production in environment-friendly way acquiring new and thrifty equipment  and giving up fertiliser overdoses that was  widespread earlier contaminating water bodies. Valmap Group Ltd. mines  peat in Valga county. Necessary raw material for local construction  industries is also quarried from smaller gravel and sand pits. Natural diversity, richness in species, different landscapes and rare species are also natural resources and unreasonable extermination of them is something that our  children would never forgive us. The people of Valga county develop their environment  thriftily taking into consideration other living beings and stringency of natural resources.
There are several beautiful parks  in Valga town that offer shade and create a pleasant living environment. We have got the Säde Park where people enjoy sitting on the coast of the pond having a fountain and the Town Park with its footpaths, ponds, the song-festival ground and the sports hall. The Õhne River  with its old mill and artifical lake runs through Tõrva. There is also varied scenery at Dance Hill and Tõrva Town Park as well as in Tikste Valley. Valga and Tõrva are romantic and green  resting places on riverbanks. Sangaste Castle Park is also rich in tree species. Most attractive types of forest for holidaymakers are wide and dry pinewoods that are rich in sunshine. There are many such pinewoods in Valga area. It is pleasant to walk in such pinewoods and pick cowberries, blueberries, mushrooms and herbs for example Icelandic Lichen that is cure against cough. Big trees always attract the wanderer’s attention and give energy and peace with their vast bulk that has been gathered within decades. Old trees have been considered sacred and protective.Grasslands give breadth to our landscape and it is pleasant to look over the wide plains. Woodlands are known as the association in our area having the largest richness in species.
In addition to beautiful sights, the hilly landscapes offer a holidaymaker physical senses on the roads taking him up the hill and down the valley. Valga town and its vicinity lie in a gently sloping hollow. Karula Hilly Landscape is quaint having miniature hills, attractive forests and lots og lakes, there is also a national park. Otepää Hilly Landcape lies to the north from Sangaste. A far-reaching view opens to the whole Valga county from Harimäe watchtower. Puka Municipality is famous for its three ancient settlements that are in  good order and are used as places for gathering people. The Helme and Koorküla caves dug intosandstone are also interesting sights.
Valga county is a quiet and peaceful place of living having clean air and water as well as picturesque landcapes where such enterprises operate that take good care for the environment. A holidaymaker finds himself here far away from town noise discovering and experiencing good accomodation and catering facilities as well as entertainment.