South Estonia
The South of Estonia is a diverse region with unique cultures, ski resorts and Tartu.| Tap on a place to explore it |
Photo: Martin Mark, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Essential Destinations
Top destinations include Tartu and Viljandi.
Tartu
Photo: Mihkel l, CC BY-SA 3.0 ee.
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759. It is 186 kilometres southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres northeast of Riga, Latvia.
Viljandi
Photo: Iifar, CC BY-SA 3.0 ee.
Viljandi is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu.
Võru
Photo: Atsirlin, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Võru is a city in Southern Estonia. Despite the picturesque location on the shore of the lake, Võru does not inhibit much of a medieval history. The central landmark is the cosy house-museum of Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, the collector of the Estonian epic poetry and one of the founders of Estonian literature.
Destinations to Discover
Explore places such as Valga and Otepää.
Valga
Photo: Atsirlin, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Valga is a town in southern Estonia, on the border with Latvia. Valga and Valka in Latvia are actually one town, Valga making up the larger part with around 12,000 inhabitants in 2021, almost three times the population of Valka.
Otepää
Otepää is a small town with 2,000 inhabitants set in the hills of south Estonia, approximately 50 km south from Tartu.
Põltsamaa
Põltsamaa is a town of 4100 people in South Estonia. Põltsamaa is the centre of Estonian winery and wine production. The main attraction is the castle, first established in the 13th century but now reduced to its walls, with several buildings inside the castle walls including the St.
Kallaste
Photo: OlariP, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Kallaste is a town of 770 people in the South-Eastern Estonian plateau of South Estonia. The city sits on an approximately 2-km-long stretch of beach between Lake Peipsi and the Tartu - Mustvee highway.
Karula National Park
Photo: Aleksander Kaasik, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Karula National Park is a national park in southern Estonia. It was established in 1979 as a protected area and in 1993 became a national park. It is the smallest national park in Estonia.
Soomaa National Park
Photo: Iifar, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Soomaa National Park is in Viljandimaa and Pärnumaa of Estonia. With 390 km², it's the second largest national park in Estonia.
Setomaa
Setomaa is in Võru County in southeastern Estonia. Everything in Setomaa is the same as in Estonia, just completely different. Setomaa has always been a border area — between Western and Eastern culture and religion — and because of this it has its own kind of people who are neither this or that, just Setos.South Estonia
- Type: region
- Description: geographic region
- Location: Estonia, Baltic states, Europe
- View on OpenStreetMap
Latitude of center
58.1359° or 58° 8′ 9″ northLongitude of center
26.4331° or 26° 25′ 59″ eastWikidata ID
Q14210093
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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Satellite Map
Discover South Estonia from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
In Other Languages
From Dutch to Venetian—“South Estonia” goes by many names.
- Dutch: “Zuid-Estland”
- Estonian: “Lõuna-Eesti”
- French: “Sud de l’Estonie”
- German: “Südestland”
- Italian: “Estonia meridionale”
- Russian: “Южная Эстония”
- Venetian: “Estònia meridionałe”
Estonia: Must-Visit Destinations
Delve into Tallinn, Saaremaa, Pärnu, and Narva.
Explore These Curated Destinations
Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “South Estonia”. Photo: Martin Mark, CC BY-SA 3.0.