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Most of HIIUMAA island is forested (elk, wild boar and lynx are among the local fauna) with swathes of peat moor and swamp at its heart. The sandy, rocky soil is of little agricultural use and supports a permanent population of just 12,000 but, like Saaremaa, Hiiumaa is a very popular holiday destination and weekend/summer-house location. Places to head for are the smaller island of Kassari , linked to southern Hiiumaa by a causeway, and the Kopu peninsula at the western end of the island. Mainland ferries arrive in Hiiumaa at Heltermaa from Rohukula near Haapsalu and there's also a ferry service (summer only) to Hiiumaa from Triigi on Saaremaa, although it's not met by any buses. Hiiumaa's capital is KARDLA , an uneventful little town that nevertheless serves as the island's main transport hub. The centre of the town is just south of the bus station at Keskvaljak , where the tourist office (mid-April to mid-May Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-2pm; mid-May to mid-Sept Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-2pm; mid-Sept to mid-April Mon-Fri 10am-4pm; tel 246/22233, www.hiiumaa.ee ) can arrange both private room and hotel accommodation. Other accommodation possibilities include Sonajala, at the western end of the village on Leigri valjak (tel 246/31220), with simple rooms with shared facilities (GBP5-10/$8-16/?9-18) or comfier ensuites (GBP10-15/$16-24/?18-27); the Nuutri, a pleasant bed and breakfast just east of the main square at Nuutri 4 (tel 250/98023; GBP5-10/$8-16/?9-18); or the more stylish Padu , at the eastern entrance to Kardla at Heltermaa mnt. 22 (tel 246/33037; GBP10-15/$16-24/?18-27). You can pick up food from shops and cafes on the main square. Regular buses head 20km south from Kardla to the village of KAINA , a useful jumping-off point for the small island of KASSARI , joined to the rest of Hiiumaa by a causeway, and containing some of the most unspoilt juniper-covered heathland in the region. The road to Kassari leaves the Kaina-Heltermaa road 3km east of Kaina, passing after a further 3km a turn-off to Kassari Kabel , the only reed-roofed church in the country. A couple more kilometres beyond the turn-off is Kassari village, where a signpost points the way to Saare Tirp, a promontory jutting out into the sea at the southern end of the island. After 2km the track to the promontory terminates in a car park, and a path flanked by juniper bushes leads to the foot of Saare Tirp, ending in a shingle spit that peters out into the sea after a couple of hundred metres. All of Kassari can be covered on foot if you make a day of it, and it also makes a good place to explore by bike; ask at the Kardla tourist office for information on places to rent bikes. If you want to stay overnight head for the well-appointed hotel in Kaina, Liilia , Hiiu mnt. 22 (tel 246/36146; GBP15-20/$24-32/?27-36) which also has a reasonable restaurant . The Kardla tourist office has information about private rooms in the area. Forty kilometres or so west of Kardla the Kopu peninsula juts out into the sea. The main sight here is the Kopu Lighthouse (Kopu Tuletorn), one of the oldest continuously operating lighthouses in the world. The heavily buttressed lower part dates back to 1531 and was built at the request of the Hanseatic League to warn ships away from the Hiiu Madal sandbank and the pirate-infested coastline. Initially a pyre was burned at the top, but in 1845 a properly enclosed light was built. You can climb to the top for a view of trees and sea (admission 5EEK).
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