In the former valley of Lake Võrtsjärv there is the Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve. It is one of the largest protection areas of Estonia, established in 1994 – the Alam-Pedja nature reserve which is characterized with an extremely low density of population. On 260 km² there are only 20 permanent residents. On the meadows there are many plant species, rare in Estonia and Europe. Among the birds there are also many species, including the corn crake, the grass snipe, the spotted crake, the spotted eagle, the golden eagle, the willow grouse, etc. In the village of Palupõhja there is the Palupõhja Nature School.