Before this trip, I have already heard of the infamous countryside of the Baltics. Its unspoiled and transquilent nature is world renown. Namely the famous Gauja National Park in Latvia, the Curonian Spit National Park in the western coast of Lithuania, and now the Aukstaitija National Park, located in North-east Lithuania. This time, I decided to head up there for 2 days, in order to find my own solitude, soaking up the natural beauty of what Lithuania can offer.
During the morning, I headed up to the train station, and got the next train to the town of Ignalina, the gateway town to the Aukstaitija National Park. This 2 hours train ride passing through unspoiled nature is really a breathtaking experience. Within moments I arrived in Ignalina and this was followed by a short taxi ride towards the town of Paluse, the first village inside Aukstaitija.
Paluse is an attractive village and there I booked a small wooden cottage house for my accomodation there, but the toilet and the bathrooms are all outdoors in another house. Nevertheless, this enable me t
o get a feel of the countryside in a traditional Lithuanian setting. Next to my accommodation is the beautiful Lake Lusiai, and there, like that of Kaunas Lake and Trakai, one can also rent small boats and row around the lake. I figured that is the best way to tour the area and so I jumped onto one and start rowing around. In fact, it is possible to row across the National Park through a network of lakes in 2 days, but I figure that would be a bit too exhausting for me. After an hour, I returned the boat and start doing something else.
Besides boating, another good way to explore the countryside is to rent a bicycle and cycle around. There is a road that go around the National Park and one should be able can complete the 40km circle in around 5 hours, while enjoying the beautiful nature along the way. By going south, I soon reached the area called Ladakalnis, about a 2 hours ride by bicycle from Paluse, where one climb up a 100m small hill in order to have a good view of all the surrounding hills and lakes. After this place, I conti
nued the northern loop, while passing through other small villages until I get back to Paluse, through the road that leads up from Ignalina. I arrived back to Paluse in the evening, totally exhausted only to find out that all restaurants are closed for the night. I headed to the only supermarket in the village and bought myself some bread and salami meat in order to fill up my hungry stomach, and this I called it the night.
The next day was pretty much walking around the Paluse area, taking more photos until noon. There I hired a taxi to take me back to Ignalina train station for the next train back to Vilnius.
During the morning, I headed up to the train station, and got the next train to the town of Ignalina, the gateway town to the Aukstaitija National Park. This 2 hours train ride passing through unspoiled nature is really a breathtaking experience. Within moments I arrived in Ignalina and this was followed by a short taxi ride towards the town of Paluse, the first village inside Aukstaitija.
Paluse is an attractive village and there I booked a small wooden cottage house for my accomodation there, but the toilet and the bathrooms are all outdoors in another house. Nevertheless, this enable me t
o get a feel of the countryside in a traditional Lithuanian setting. Next to my accommodation is the beautiful Lake Lusiai, and there, like that of Kaunas Lake and Trakai, one can also rent small boats and row around the lake. I figured that is the best way to tour the area and so I jumped onto one and start rowing around. In fact, it is possible to row across the National Park through a network of lakes in 2 days, but I figure that would be a bit too exhausting for me. After an hour, I returned the boat and start doing something else.Besides boating, another good way to explore the countryside is to rent a bicycle and cycle around. There is a road that go around the National Park and one should be able can complete the 40km circle in around 5 hours, while enjoying the beautiful nature along the way. By going south, I soon reached the area called Ladakalnis, about a 2 hours ride by bicycle from Paluse, where one climb up a 100m small hill in order to have a good view of all the surrounding hills and lakes. After this place, I conti
nued the northern loop, while passing through other small villages until I get back to Paluse, through the road that leads up from Ignalina. I arrived back to Paluse in the evening, totally exhausted only to find out that all restaurants are closed for the night. I headed to the only supermarket in the village and bought myself some bread and salami meat in order to fill up my hungry stomach, and this I called it the night.The next day was pretty much walking around the Paluse area, taking more photos until noon. There I hired a taxi to take me back to Ignalina train station for the next train back to Vilnius.
More photos of Aukstaitija National Park:
(Picture caption: Top - Tourist playing games at Lake Lusiai, Middle - Me taking a picture at Ladakalnis, the highest point of Aukstaitija, Bottom - Me on a bicycle next to Lake Lusiai.)
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