Panga is the highest cliff on Saaremaa, and at just over twenty metres it is a good example of how scale is relative. In a country as flat as Estonia, twenty metres of Silurian limestone rising out of the Baltic counts as a mountain range. The cliff runs along the northern coast of the island for about two and a half kilometres, a pale band of layered rock with a green fringe of grass on top and a rough beach of stones and seaweed at the foot. The sea looks very big from up here, and on a clear day you can see all the way to the horizon.
The rock is part of the Baltic Klint, a line of limestone escarpments that runs along the southern edge of the Gulf of Finland, and the layers at Panga are packed with fossils of corals and shellfish from the seas that covered the region more than four hundred million years ago. Wind and waves slowly undercut the base, and every few years a section collapses, which is why the paths along the top keep a safe distance from the edge. Look but do not lean. Juniper grows on the heath above, and in late spring the meadows are full of orchids.
The ride to Panga is flat, quiet and pleasant, along roads that cross open fields and juniper heaths, passing old farms and the odd windmill. The surface is generally good, with some gravel stretches near the coast, and traffic is light, so this is a place to ride at an easy pace and enjoy the open air. The north coast road runs on to the ferry harbour at Triigi, from which boats cross to the neighbouring island of Hiiumaa, so you can extend the ride if you have time. Wind can be fierce on the open coast, and the temperature drops quickly after sunset, even in summer.
A small car park and a few signs mark the spot.
The cliff is best at sunset, when the limestone glows gold and pink and the sea turns the colour of pewter.