Visiting the Kaali crater in Estonia, a gigantic lake created by a huge meteorite!
Image credit: Haus of Hiatus
Probably one of the most interesting places I’ve visited in Estonia over the last 9 months as a digital nomad, is the Kaali crater on Saaremaa Island – which is a group of nine meteorite craters located around 20 kilometres from the main city of Kuressaare on the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
I’ve come in the middle of winter, to see more of this beautiful country, to understand more about its culture and entrepreneurial spirit. After visiting Kuressaare castle, I decided that I should also visit the famous Kaali crater – even though it’s a bit of a trek in the snow.
The largest of the craters shown in the photos, is about 110 metres in diameter (so pretty enormous as you can see) and 22 metres deep from the top of surrounding ridgeline to the bottom of the lake, and one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island, due to its unique story.
The craters are located in a beautiful, forested area, and are known the world over, and whilst we visited when they were covered in a foot of snow, don’t be surprised if they’re busy in the summer months as they’re well known in the country. There is also a small museum and information boards located near the craters that provides in-depth information about their formation and history, although the information boards are quite well detailed.
According to the information boards surrounding the crater, it was formed somewhere in the region of 3000-7600 years ago by an enormous meteorite that weighed around 46 tons, with a diameter of between 3 and 6 metres – pretty immense when you try to imagine the sheer force of that!
If you’re interested to visit the craters, there is a regular bus from Kuressaare and a great little pub that serves food and local beers.
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If you’re seriously considering a year as a digital nomad, whether that’s to explore the world, setup a virtual business, or both, I strongly urge you to put Estonia at the top of your list for all the reasons I mention below – however don’t be surprised if you don’t want to return back to your country of origin at the end of it!
Secondly, I make no apologies for being so enthusiastic about the place, I’ve travelled in over 60 countries across the world and feel like I’ve found somewhere that is truly remarkable for many good reasons that people aren’t yet aware of.