Aukštaitija National Park - Nationalpark Aukštaitija

View from the lookout tower at Ginučiai

Aukštaitija National Park (also Aukštaitija National Park, Lithuanian Aukštaitijos nacionalinis parkas) is a national park in Lithuania.

background

history

The national park status has existed since 1974, making it the oldest national park in Lithuania.

landscape

The area is a glacial moraine landscape with hills and many lakes, with sandy bottoms. The most scenic area with the most lakes is a strip running roughly in a west-east direction between Tauragnai and Palūšė (in the middle of the national park when viewed from north to south).

After Curonian Spit this is the country's most important natural landscape for tourism.

Flora and fauna

The area is mostly covered with forests. Above all pines, but also deciduous trees can be found. There are also some moors with their typical flora and fauna. However, these (like some other areas) are often under the highest protection status and can only be entered with special permission. Part of the national park is used for agriculture, mostly as grazing land.

climate

getting there

Public transportation

A long-distance bus runs between once or twice a day Kaunas and Ignalina, who stops in Palūšė. Palūšė can also be reached from some other places in Lithuania by individual trips, also to or via Ignalina. To other destinations in the national park, it is usually necessary to take a taxi from Ignalina. This city is accessible by both train and bus Vilnius reachable.

Fees / permits

According to some, also currently distributed sources, a daily fee of € 1 is due. However, there are neither signs nor controls, nor is it clear where you should pay this fee.

mobility

Within the national park, you are largely dependent on your own means of transport, be it a car, bike or boat (see also section "Activities"). Buses are only available for individual trips geared towards school traffic (not to be found on the Internet). In terms of their route, they are only suitable for trips within the national park to a very limited extent, as they go to Ignalina and thus do not connect Palūšė with other touristically important places.

Tourist Attractions

More information can be obtained from the National Park Administration in Palūšė or from National park website.

Some villages are under monument protection. Vaisnoriškė should be mentioned here, among others. The settlements Salos II and Varniskės II have the strictest protection status. There you feel like you are in an open-air museum, only that everything is in its original location and is partly still inhabited.

A compact passage through various forms of landscape in the park (including a small bog) can be found on the Botanical Trail near Palūšė. You get to see a lot of different plants and also insects (e.g. butterflies, dragonflies). Various information boards are set up, but only in Lithuanian. Without knowledge of the language, you can only take the botanical names of the plants shown there. However, it is difficult to assign them to reality - there are no signs directly at the plant locations.

Otherwise, among others:

  • Palūšė wooden church. Usually only to be visited from the outside, only open for church services.
  • Ginučiai watermill. Origin in the 19th century, operated until 1968. The mill itself is original from this time (apart from a few professional restorations), the building has been renewed according to the old model. Visits only with a guide - is offered several times a day in summer, also in English. 1.20 €, reduced 0.60 €.
  • Senovinės bitininkystės muziejus, in Stripeikiai. Museum of Beekeeping History. The park-like museum is nicely designed, but information boards are rare and the existing ones only in Lithuanian.

activities

The national park is ideal for hiking, cycling and boating. Bicycles and boats (rowing boats and kayaks) can be rented in various accommodations. Please note for cyclists:

  • It is generally mandatory in Lithuania to wear safety vests. When you borrow a bike, she is partly with you.
  • Because of the sandy soil, not all roads may be passable after a long period of drought. Otherwise, however, the forest paths are more pleasant to drive than the various gravel roads that exist. The latter are also passable - it is not loose gravel, but with sand.

shop

Those who come by car are best shopping in Ignalina. There are also ATMs only in Ignalina. There are grocery stores in Tauragnai, Palūšė and a very small shop in Ginučiai.

kitchen

accommodation

A comprehensive list is available on the Internet, unfortunately only sorted by name, not by location: here Call up "Download full accommodation list". In Ginučiai it tends to be more expensive than elsewhere, but it is the most advantageous starting point in the middle of the national park.

Hotels and hostels

camping

security

trips

Linkmenys is located directly southwest of the national park and has a church that is well worth seeing. There is also a small hammer museum, which can only be visited by appointment (Tel. 00370-698 18583).

literature

Web links

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