Labanoras Regional Park

Labanoras covers over five hundred square kilometres of pine forest, bog and water in the northeastern lake district, with something approaching three hundred lakes scattered through the trees, most of them small and many reachable only on foot. It is the largest of Lithuania's regional parks and the emptiest, with villages of wooden houses, an old wooden church at Labanoras itself, and long stretches of forest track with nobody on them. Fishing, canoeing between connected lakes, cycling and mushroom picking in autumn are what people come for. Wolves and elk live in the forest. Facilities are thin: campsites, a few homesteads offering rooms, and shops in the larger villages, so trips need planning.

What you actually see

• Pine forest - continuous woodland across the whole park.
• Scattered lakes - hundreds of small waters between the trees.
• Wooden villages - old houses and the church at Labanoras.
• Forest tracks - long empty routes for cycling and walking.

When to go

May to September for canoeing, swimming and camping; September and October for mushrooms and colour. Winter is quiet with skiing on the tracks in snowy years. Mosquitoes are heavy in June and July.

Honest expectations

Facilities are minimal and spread out, so supplies and accommodation need arranging ahead. Tracks are sandy and hard on bicycles. Signage is limited and in Lithuanian. Mosquitoes and ticks are a real nuisance in summer.

Nearby

Molėtai lies west; Ignalina and Aukštaitija park are east.