Sustainable Travel · Latvia
Eco-Friendly Hotels in Aglona — Your 2026 Guide to Sustainable Stays
Aglona, in the lake country of Latgale in eastern Latvia, is the spiritual heart of the Baltic's largest Catholic community. Its Basilica of the Assumption — the most important Catholic church in Latvia — draws tens of thousands of pilgrims each year, most dramatically on 15 August, when the Feast of the Assumption turns this village of under a thousand people into one of the biggest religious gatherings in Northern Europe. But Aglona is far more than its basilica. It sits on a narrow isthmus between two lakes, ringed by pine forest, with an island, a 'Devil's Lake', and castle mounds within easy walking distance. In summer the countryside fills with berry-pickers and swimmers; in winter the frozen lakes host cross-country skiers. An IMPT booking in Aglona removes 1 tonne of CO₂ per night at the same price as Booking.com.
The Basilica of the Assumption
The church and monastery were founded by Dominican fathers in 1700; the current basilica, begun in 1768 and consecrated in 1800, is a baroque landmark in red brick with twin towers visible across the lakes. Its interior holds the revered icon of the Aglona Mother of God, a 17th-century work of unknown authorship that has drawn pilgrims for centuries. Pope John Paul II raised the church to a minor basilica in 1980, visited in 1993 — drawing a crowd estimated at 300,000 — and Pope Francis followed in 2018.
Outside the Assumption festival, the basilica is calm and open to all. Visitors can tour the church, the monastery grounds, and the small museum. The annual August pilgrimage — a three-day walk from Rēzekne, Daugavpils, and other towns — is the emotional peak of the Latvian Catholic calendar, and even non-pilgrims find the arrival of the walkers an unforgettable sight.
Visit Aglona with IMPT — the same price as Booking.com plus 1 tonne of CO₂ removed per night. Search Aglona hotels now →
Lakes, Islands, and Latgale Countryside
The Lake District
Aglona sits between Lake Cirišs and Lake Egles, with swimming spots and walking paths on both. Upursala — 'Sacrifice Island' — on Lake Cirišs is a local legend site, reachable by boat in summer. Velnezers ('Devil's Lake') and the Madelānu castle mound are short drives away, each with its own folklore. The whole Latgale region is Latvia's 'land of blue lakes', and the area around Aglona has some of the best.
Stays and Local Food
Accommodation in Aglona ranges from guesthouses and farm stays to a small hotel near the basilica. Latgale cooking — grey peas with bacon, potato pancakes, smoked fish, and the region's famous dark bread — features on every table. In summer, berry farms and honey producers sell direct from their gates. The nearest cities, Daugavpils (40 km) and Rēzekne (45 km), offer larger hotels and the region's museums, including the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavpils.
How IMPT Makes Your Aglona Stay Carbon-Negative
Here's the maths. An average hotel night produces roughly 35 kg of CO₂ — from heating, air conditioning, laundry, lighting, and food service. When you book any Aglona hotel through IMPT, we retire 1,000 kg of UN-verified carbon removal credits. That's 28 times what your stay produces. Not carbon-neutral — carbon-negative.
The cost to you? Zero. IMPT funds the removal from its booking commission. You pay the standard nightly rate — in fact, IMPT is consistently the same price as Booking.com on the same room. The carbon credits are tokenised on Ethereum, retired against a named project, with a public retire code anyone can verify. No double-counting. No greenwashing. Just verified carbon removal, every night.
- €5 free credit when you sign up — applied to your first Aglona booking
- 5% back on every stay — 3% funds carbon projects, 2% as travel credit
- 8M+ hotels worldwide, 195 countries — Aglona is just the start
- Free cancellation on most rates, typically up to 48 hours before check-in
Beyond Hotels — More Ways IMPT Works in Aglona
Shop through IMPT's 25,000+ retail partners for cashback on every purchase that also offsets carbon. Send someone a trip credit gift to visit Aglona — IMPT plants trees with named farmers, GPS-tagged and photo-verified.
For business travel, IMPT's B2B Corporate Travel platform gives you exclusive rates, automatic ESG reporting, and a single dashboard tracking every booking's carbon impact. Companies with CSRD compliance needs get automated sustainability reporting out of the box. And when you book flights to Aglona, IMPT Flights adds carbon offset at checkout.
Interested in running IMPT in Latvia? Country Ownership offers 50% revenue share on every transaction from Latvia-registered users, with 8% APY staking yield. Book a call →
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to visit Aglona?
For the full experience, 14-15 August — the Assumption pilgrimage and festival, when the basilica grounds fill with pilgrims and markets. For a quieter visit, May-June and September offer pleasant lake weather without crowds. Winter is atmospheric, with frozen lakes and the basilica's warm interior.
How do I get to Aglona?
Aglona is about 40 kilometres from Daugavpils and 45 from Rēzekne, both with train stations and bus connections. From Rīga it's roughly 3 hours by car via the A6. Local buses connect Aglona with both regional cities several times a day.
Where should I stay in Aglona?
Guesthouses near the basilica put you steps from the church and a short walk from the lakes. Farm stays in the surrounding countryside offer peace, home-cooked Latgale food, and access to swimming and berry-picking. Book through IMPT to remove 1 tonne of CO₂ per night.
Is Aglona worth visiting outside the August festival?
Absolutely. The basilica is a major architectural and religious landmark all year round, the lake district is among Latvia's loveliest, and the countryside around Aglona — castle mounds, legend lakes, and working farms — rewards at least an overnight stay.
Is Aglona suitable for eco-conscious travellers?
Very much so. The region is rural, low-impact, and locally owned — no chain hotels, no mass tourism. Walking, cycling, and swimming dominate. Booking through IMPT removes 1 tonne of CO₂ per night, 28 times the average hotel night's emissions.
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