Aukštadvaris Regional Park

Aukštadvaris covers a stretch of glacial country of steep hills, kettle holes and some seventy lakes, moraine landscape left by the retreating ice, and its curiosity is Velnio duobė, the Devil's Pit: a conical hollow around forty metres deep and two hundred across in the forest, with wooded sides dropping to a flat floor. Its origin has been argued over, with a meteorite, a collapsed karst cavity and simple glacial melt-out all proposed, and the last is the usual explanation now. Legends account for it otherwise. Around the park are trails, the Verknė and Strėva rivers used for canoeing, an old manor and hillforts. Aukštadvaris village has a mound and the remains of a castle site.

What you actually see

• The Devil's Pit - a deep conical hollow in the forest.
• Kettle-hole lakes - some seventy waters in glacial hills.
• Canoe rivers - the Verknė and Strėva running through the park.
• Hillforts and mounds - the old earthworks around the villages.

When to go

May to October for walking and canoeing; autumn colour is good in the mixed woods. The pit is easier to appreciate when the leaves are off in late autumn or early spring. Winter is quiet.

Honest expectations

The Devil's Pit is hard to photograph and less impressive than the name suggests, especially in full leaf. Trails are lightly marked. Facilities are limited and there is little in the village. A car helps a great deal.

Nearby

Trakai lies northeast; Birštonas is southwest.