The river begins at the
Lestenes-Ēnavas marsh, on the eastern side of the
Eastern Courland Highlands at an elevation of above
sea level. The upper Abava is straightened, and flows in a northerly direction. At
Kandava, it turns westward and follows a winding course. It descends through a height of . The river has a number of
dolomite rapids with a velocity of . The second largest waterfall in Latvia, the
Abava Waterfall (Latvian:
Abavas rumba), is on this river. The Abava is crossed by an unusual "Bridge to Nowhere" (Tilts uz nekurieni) in Irlava parish, near Sāti. Built in 1940 as part of a planned railway between Tukums and Kuldiga, it was completed but the railway linkage construction was halted by
World War II. During
their occupation of Latvia, the Germans made initial plans to complete the railroad, but were unsuccessful in carrying the plans to completion. The concrete span is 55 meters in length. ==References==