Large Ellīte

Lielā Ellīte also known as Velna ceplis (Devil’s Oven) are the only natural sandstone with arches in Latvia. It consists of a 23m long cave, arcade and natural spring. There are three arches next to each other, which are combined to create an arcade. The total floor area of the cave is 55 m2.

Lielā Ellīte could be formed around 6,5–7 thousand years ago. The cave and the spring were once an important holy places. Spring has created unique rock formation. Groundwater is collected over a watertight, flat clay basin, and then flows through layers of sandstone that filters and purifies water.

Lielā Ellīte is a natural geological monument, and is located in the Gauja National Park.
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Extraordinary sandstone outcrop for Latvia (Amata suite) with several arches, pillars, hollows, and a cave – shaped as a result of suffusion processes. The total length of Lielā Ellīte (also called Ellīte, Velna ceplis, Velna krāsns, Vella Cave, Liepmuiža Cave, Liepa Cave) is slightly above 20 m, the ceiling height reaches 3.5 m, and width – 5 m. A powerful spring flows out of the cave. Probably its formation had started some 7000 years ago. The place has been much damaged; at the beginning of the 20th century the white sand was extracted, later on it was trampled and damaged in other ways.

Nowadays the object and its closest vicinity are clean and well managed. Lielā Ellīte is an ancient pagan place and an object with long tourism history.
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