- The best eco-trails in Lithuania
- Curonian Spit
- Natural and cultural attractions
- International trail
- On a note
Lithuania is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea and, of course, most of all we know about its sea resorts: Klaipeda, Palanga and the Lithuanian part of the Curonian Spit. But there are many national parks - in some places they border on Russian ones, unique oak and pine forests, mineral springs with resorts, swamps, lakes and rivers. Ecological tourism is actively developed here. But, in addition to natural, there are many and many cultural attractions where you can walk for several hours.
The best eco-trails in Lithuania
A walk along the eco-paths of Lithuanian national parks and reserves is a great way to get a lot of new impressions and relax. Short routes are suitable for families with children, long ones - for hardy lovers of outdoor activities.
- Route "Through the Chepkeliai-Raistas bog" in the Dzukia National Park. The largest swamp in Lithuania, which can be dangerous in the spring season - from April to June you can only come here with a guide. Completely, outside the ecological path, this area is open only a few days a year - during the cranberry harvesting season, everyone is allowed here. A high observation tower has been built over the swamp, from which one can estimate its enormous size. The raised bog itself was surrounded by wooded dunes. The length of the route is 1.5 km.
- "Juniper Valley" near Kaunas is a favorite resting place for the townspeople. A path overgrown with juniper and birch along the banks of the Nemunas and Kaunas reservoir. The air here is healing, and the trail offers a beautiful view of the ledge floodplain of the Nemunas, which changes its appearance after each spring flood. The trail is landscaped and accessible for people with disabilities. The length of the route is 1.2 km.
- "Botanical Trail" in Palūšė, the administrative center of the Aukštaitija National Park. There is a whole museum center, a unique wooden church, and much more. There are several lakes and rivers on the territory of the park, so it is the main center of water tourism in Lithuania. The botanical educational trail is marked with information posters telling about the vegetation of these places - here you can see many rare flowers and herbs listed in the Red Book. It runs partly through the forest and partly along the shores of the picturesque Lake Lusiai. The length of the route is 3, 9 m.
- "Dukstase hiking trail" in the Neris park near Vilnius. Once all of Europe was covered with oak forests - in the Middle Ages, the climate was milder than now. Gradually, they began to be replaced by conifers, but several oak forests in the Baltic States are still preserved. Neris Park is an ancient oak forest, the trees in it are 200 years old. And the trail ends with a mysterious boulder, on which an incomprehensible inscription has been preserved. Tradition says that she tells how to find a treasure buried somewhere in the vicinity. The length of the route is 1, 4 km.
- The “high-altitude trail” in Anykščiai National Park is laid at an altitude of about 5-20 meters right along the tree crowns. The trail starts from a giant glacial boulder called Puntukas and ends with a thirty-meter observation tower. Information signs are only in Lithuanian, but the trail is interactive: there are panels with which you can, for example, hear birdsong. The river, which can be seen from the tower, is called Sventoya, "holy" - it is believed that its waters are curative. The length of the high-altitude route is 300 m.
Curonian Spit
The most popular vacation spot in Lithuania and its most important natural attraction is the Curonian Spit, a sand spit almost 100 kilometers long, stretching along the coast. Part of it belongs to Russia, part to Lithuania, but the amazingly beautiful sand dunes and fantastic landscapes are the same. Both national parks (in fact, he is one) are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Witch Mountain is the most interesting place on the Lithuanian part of the Curonian Spit - a sand dune near the village of Juodkrante. Once this place was a sacred place of the Curonian people, who inhabited these places before the Germans, Lithuanians and Russians. Christianity came here only in the XIII century, and before that the meta were the most pagan. Since 1979, creative people have simply come here and decorate this braid with wooden sculptures. From the village to the sandy, wooded dune, a staircase rises, and then the path leads through a variety of funny and scary wooden sculptures. Some are designed as benches, so you can relax here. The length of the route is 1.6 km.
Dune Urbas is one of the highest dunes near the village of Nida, which can be climbed along a trail in a pine forest and admired the views of the Baltic and the lighthouse. This tower is almost 30 meters high. The lighthouse on this site has existed since 1874, the current building was built after the war - the previous lighthouse was blown up by the Germans in 1944. The length of the route is 2.5 km.
Natural and cultural attractions
The Stelmuzh oak is the oldest oak in the Baltic. Its exact age is impossible to determine - part of its core has been removed, and the annual rings can no longer be counted, but it is definitely more than a thousand years old. He is 23 m. In height and 13, 5 m. In girth. The tree has been declared a natural monument. It is located in the village of Stelmuzhi, where, in addition to it, you can see a church of the 17th century, and another natural attraction - a huge glacial boulder that has grown into the ground, it is called the Plain Stone. In addition, the remains of the park have survived from the old estate: oak alleys, park buildings, so this place can become a walk for the whole day. The length of the route is any.
The Hill of Crosses is 12 km away. from the city of Siauliai. The most sacred place in Lithuania: a mountain on which crosses have been erected for a long time. Not cemetery, but vowed - with requests and thanks. Now there are several thousand large crosses installed here, and everyone who comes can leave their own, with some kind of prayer or request, crosses are sold here. There is even a cross installed here by Pope John Paul II. There is a small monastery near the mountain. A wooden staircase leads to the mountain itself. The length of the route is 12 km. from Siauliai, 1, 5 km. from the nearest public transport stop, 200 m. from the car parking.
Kernavė on the banks of the Naris River, 35 km. from Vilnius it is the oldest capital of Lithuania. Now it looks like many picturesque green hills on the coast, a church and an archaeological museum. Festivals of reenactors are held here every year. You can go to the museum, or you can just wander among the hills - the remains of an ancient settlement. They are often called burial mounds, but this is not true - these are not burials, these are hills, under which the ancient city is hidden. Each of them can be climbed, they end with flat viewing platforms, which offer magnificent views of the river and other hills. The length of the route is any, you can climb the high hills.
International trail
The trans-European route E-9 passes through the territory of Lithuania, which starts from Portugal and ends with Estonia. This is an amazing trail that runs along the entire European coast from the Atlantic Ocean to the Baltic.
It runs along the entire Lithuanian coast, past huge lakes that lie very close to the coast, along the entire Curonian Lagoon, and along the Curonian Spit (here the route bifurcates) through Kintai, Dreverna, Klaipeda and Palanga - and then goes to Latvia. The length of the Lithuanian part of the route is 110 km.
On a note
The climate throughout the Baltics is rather damp, so you should take waterproof shoes, clothes and mosquito and tick repellent on any trip. Entrance to national parks requires payment of an environmental fee.
Ecological trails in national parks are usually very well maintained and accessible to everyone.“Rural tourism” is especially developing now: guest houses and mini-hotels in villages and estates with full immersion in the countryside surroundings.
