In 2010, two nature-loving journalists, the writer Liisi Seil and the photographer Elmo Riig decided to spend a year in Soomaa – in the National Park that is famous for large floods, swamps, floodplain meadows and forests.

A journey took the authors through five seasons – in addition to the regular winter, spring, summer and autumn there is the fifth season of flood. Adventures took them to the hiking trails, exploring the flood and meeting local people. The experience was compiled into a book describing this extraordinary year and was first published in Estonian in the summer of 2011. The book also provides nature observations, historic notes and stories of birds as well as animals. The texts noted down in the diary format are enlivened with photos and informative sections.

The book was acclaimed by both Estonian nature lovers and Soomaa people. However, as the National Park also fascinates more and more people from other countries to study, hike or rest in the nature here, the book has now been translated into English to make these unique memories accessible to more people interested in this area.

Although there is lots of information in the book on the values of and objects in the National Park, it is much more than a simple guidebook for tourists. It is a heart-warming story of Soomaa and its people.