Aukstaitija National Park

Aukstaitija was the first national park in Lithuania, and its heart is water: one hundred and twenty six lakes linked by streams and portages through old pine forest. It is classic Baltic lake country, best explored by canoe, with ethnographic villages and wooden churches scattered among the trees.

Background

The park lies about 100 km north of Vilnius and covers 410.56 km². It was founded in 1974. Four more national parks, named after ethnographic regions, followed in 1991, and the park was renamed after Aukštaitija. Woods cover more than 70 percent of the area, 80 percent of them pine stands, some 200 years old, and lakes take up 59.30 km². The largest lake is Kretuonas at 8.29 km², and Lake Tauragnas, at 60.5 m, is the deepest in Lithuania. On less than 1% of the country, the park holds 59% of all Lithuanian plant species, and the Red book lists sixty-four plant, eight fungus and 48 bird species found here.

Source: Wikipedia, "Aukštaitija National Park"

The landscape

• The lake chains - linked lakes made for canoe journeys and portages.
• Ladakalnis hill - a viewpoint over half a dozen lakes at once.
• Old villages - ethnographic wooden hamlets like Salos and Suminai.
• The beekeeping museum - a folk museum of the region's old honey traditions.

When to go

Summer for swimming and canoeing, when the lake network comes into its own; autumn for colour and quiet. Bring or hire a canoe to see the park properly.

Practical notes

The park is spread out and low-key, without big single sights, so it rewards slow travel and a boat more than a quick drive-through. Facilities are modest and English is limited. Mosquitoes are serious around the lakes in summer.

Nearby

The Ignalina area and the old villages around Palūšė are close; the border lake country runs on toward Latvia and Belarus.

Key facts