Spending free time at Saka Manor
When your daily routine becomes insufferable, it is time to escape. Saka Manor is the ideal destination with its untouched natural beauty – soothing sea waves, murmuring waterfalls, chirping birds, peace, quiet and isolation.
Tennis
Tennis is a highly popular sport and a great pastime. The edge of the estate park accommodates two tennis courts with artificial turf.
You can:
- Rent a tennis court for EUR 10/hour.
- Rent a tennis court with equipment for EUR 15/hour.
- Buy extra tennis balls for an additional 2.50 EUR/ball.
Archery
- Upon the recommendation of professionals, we provide bows of the Legend model. Bows are easy and comfortable to use even for beginners.
- Each guest is provided with finger and arm safety gear and briefed on safety issues.
NB! The archery services are unfortunately not available for children under the age of 12. The children aged from 12 to 18 can only participate with adult supervision and under their responsibility.
The hourly rate is EUR 7.
Beach tennis
Our beach tennis court is located in the park, near classic tennis courts.
Rates:
- Beach tennis court with your own equipment can be rented for EUR 5/hour (for two people).
- Beach tennis court with our equipment can be rented for EUR 7/hour (for two people).
Ping-pong
We also have a ping-pong table on the outdoor stage. The rent of the ping-pong table with our equipment is EUR 7/hour for two people.
Bicycle rental
You can rent a bicycle at Saka Manor. This is a great way to explore the surrounding territory and enjoy nature. It is a convenient and environmentally friendly travel mode.
Rates:
- EUR 5 / hour
- EUR 16 / day
Picnic basket
We have prepared a romantic picnic basket for two people, which includes a great selection of snacks and is perfectly suitable for a nice picnic outside.
The picnic basket does not include alcohol or hot drinks. You can order them extra if you wish. The cost of one basket is EUR 25, and it is meant for two people. You can also rent a picnic blanket together with the basket.
NB! Please order a picnic basket 12 hours in advance!
Coast
The Saka estate lies on the edge of the North-Estonian coastal cliff, where the Baltic Klint reaches its greatest height – rising 55 meters above the sea. Nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 1,200-kilometre-long limestone escarpment extends from the island of Öland, Sweden to the Lake Ladoga, Russia.
The tiny stretch of the coast in the Ida-Virumaa County has backpacking trails and abundant picturesque waterfalls, including the most well-known, Valaste and Karjaoru waterfalls. The coast is densely lined with lush ancient forests.
Beach
The white sandy beach is truly a gem for our guests. In search of the most direct path to the sea, countless streams and small waterfalls leave behind windy trails at the foot of the cliff wall, where bluish clay meets the sand.
The wild beach is scattered with trees ripped out from higher up on the cliff, their roots twisted together like snakes…
Waterfall
Twenty meters above the shore, the Kivisilla waterfall drops into the underbrush. Iron-rich water has colored the fall’s path dark brown and the omnipresent cloud of moisture has given tree trunks a warm, damp coat of moss.
The waterfall can be seen from both the beach and from atop the cliff. A lighted path leads from the hotel to the viewing platform and the waterfall.
Border guard tower Meretorn
Just 20 meters away from the hotel, a lonely old tower guards the seafront. This building that was erected decades ago belonged to the Soviet coast guard and it helped to make sure that foreign spies do not see or hear the things that are meant to be secret.
Today, the tower (very popular among local tourists) serves as a venue for seminars, with a view of the sea from rooms on three floors. A spiral staircase leads to the top of the tower, where all of our guests can enjoy an amazing view of the gulf and its islands, and, of course, the sunset and sunrise.
Between the tower and the hotel lies a parking lot. It can accommodate up to 15 caravan vehicles. Also next to the tower there is a tent site, a campfire and the beginning of a hiking trail.
Mansion
Saka Manor (also known as Sackhof) was established in the middle of the 17th century. The earliest historical record to mention the estate dates to 1629. The neo-renaissance manorial residence that survives today was built between 1862 and 1864.
Due to its role as a border guard station, the mansion is relatively well preserved today. All of the stairs and ceilings are sturdy, doors and windows open for a waft of Soviet air. It is easy to see what the various rooms were once used for. According to the townspeople of Saka, the mansion was once haunted during German times. Just a little.
Park
The manorial residence is surrounded by a park that is rich in species and dates to the beginning of the 19th century. A part of the park has been cleaned up. The park is a wonderful place for walks and picnics.
It also has an amphitheater and a playground, and tennis courts will be ready soon, too. Currently you can already do archery here.
Nature hike on the hiking trail
Nature lovers can pick up a map (and by prior order also buy a prepared picnic basket) from the hotel reception which helps guests hike on their own along a 2-kilometre trail, which leads down to the beach, by the Kivisilla waterfall, and back up the cliff. The path also has directional signs.
Saka Manor stone exposition
In addition to Klindimõisa hiking trail, which provides moderate physical exercise as well as some knowledge about the local nature and history, the park also has a small rock exposition named “The Time Path”.
Saka Manor rock exposition is located in the eastern part of the park, along the pathway, and it consists of scenic boulder-size rock monoliths (over 1 meter in diameter). The age of the rocks progresses from older to younger ones, as the pathway goes up, just like the passage of time.
“The Time Path” begins with Palaeoproterozoic rocks aged 1,900 million of years and ends with the rocks from central Ordovician period aged about 475 mln years. The rocks are positioned on six pedestals of no particular shape, covered with granite, on both sides of the pathway. They are illuminated, and every single exhibit has an information stand nearby with a short description.
Saka rock exposition serves purely educational purposes.
A memorial to mark the 35th anniversary of the historic flight of Mathias Rust
35 years ago, on May 28, 1987, an 18-year-old German recreational pilot landed a small plane Cessna Skyhawk 172 on Moscow’s Red Square. Mathias Rust embarked on his legendary flight from Helsinki’s Malmi airfield, entering Soviet airspace over the Gulf of Finland, flying over Saka and avoiding all air defences to land 6 hours later on the Red Square, right between the Kremlin walls.
Bronze sculpture “From Generation to Generation”
The bronze sculpture “From Generation to Generation” celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first mention of the manor. To mark the occasion, Aivar Simson, also known as Simson von Seakyl, created the bronze sculpture “From Generation to Generation”.
The monument was made by a well-known sculptor from Jõhvi, Aivar Simson, also known as Seaküla Simson, and symbolises the continuity of the manor through its coat of arms.
Monument “Umsiedlung”
In 2018, we inaugurated the monument “Umsiedlung” in Saka Manor to commemorate the resettlement of Baltic Germans and the jubilee anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.
Between 1939 and 1941, more than 20,000 Baltic Germans left Estonia for Germany and more than 60,000 Baltic Germans left Latvia as a result of the Molotov-Rippendrop Pact.
TAccording to Tõnis Kaasik, the owner of Saka Manor in Toila Parish, he and his wife Eha wanted the monument to be made with people in mind, rather than the agreements between countries at their time.
Sculpture “The Arrival of Kalev”
The idea of an eagle has been brewing in the heart and mind of Saka Manor’s owner Tõnis Kaasik for several years. He was inspired by reading the epic Kalevipoeg.
The sculpture of the eagle was made on the order of Lahemaa National Park nearly 50 years ago, but there was no historical and local connection with the sculpture.
This is the bond we have found in Saka Manor! There is no better place for an eagle than on a high cliff on Viru beach, where Kalev was thrown by the Eagle. The new sculpture will be called “The Arrival of Kalev”.
There are many places in the surrounding area that are worth exploring. If you want to undertake a memorable trip around Ida-Viru County or visit some other nearby attraction, please read the information below:
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