One of UNESCO’s natural assets is the Curonian Spit (Lithuania), an amazing work of nature located between the Baltic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon. The reserve of the same name located on its territory is included in most tours of Kaliningrad and the region. But there are many independent travelers here who want to not only touch nature that has not been spoiled by civilization, but also enjoy the peace, cleanliness and European quality of service.
Description of the famous scythe
The Curonian Spit from Lithuania is famous for its resort town of Neringa, which includes 4 former fishing villages that have retained the color of the 19th century - Nida, Juodkrante, Pervalka and Preila. The Lithuanians lovingly kept the houses covered with thatch and from afar similar to the gingerbread houses.
The villages themselves, surrounded by greenery and surrounded by forest, promise an unforgettable vacation in one of these houses, some of which have been converted into hotels, and others into bars, museums and restaurants. Local establishments are distinguished by folklore interior design, which gives them a cute charm.
The pride of these places (Curonian Spit) is the dunes, some of which reach a height of 70 meters. Vacationers also note the amazing beauty of the promenades and beaches, equipped with the latest technology - there are telephones, and convenient slopes for the disabled, and toilets. For their purity, they were awarded the famous Blue Flag, this certificate of quality and environmental friendliness, which is awarded only to truly worthy beaches in the world.
In summer, you can watch sailing regattas from the promenade, and August is truly rich in festivals. Curonian Spit (Lithuania) awaits jazz lovers in early August, and in the middle of the month there is a festival of reconstruction of the life and life of medieval Lithuanians. On it you can not only observe the work of artisans, but also learn from them or buy their work. At the end of August, the hotels of the Curonian Spit are filled with moviegoers, artists and directors who have arrived at the Baltic Wave international festival.
Those who do not like unnecessary hustle and bustle will enjoy relaxing in secluded villas or mini-hotels with equipped beaches, delicious local cuisine, clean sea and European service.
Way to get
Travelers who are interested in the Curonian Spit, how to get there, should not worry, you just need to choose a transportation method:
- By plane to Kaliningrad, Vilnius or Kaunas, from where you can take a bus in the direction of Nida. The price of a flight from St. Petersburg or Moscow will average 3000 rubles, but numerous stocks from airlines may well reduce this amount.
- By train, you can get to Kaliningrad only from some cities of Russia, for example, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Chelyabinsk and Adler. Residents of other places will have to travel with transfers. It is important to remember that the train crosses the border of Lithuania, so you need to have a passport with you, and a transit visa is issued directly on the way.
- A car trip is one of the most beloved types of travel, but care must be taken not only about a passport in advance, but also a Schengen visa and international transport insurance. The only highway in this direction is Zelenogradsk-Klaipeda, which, upon entering the park, is equipped with a toll station. The cost of entry to the Curonian Spit (Lithuania) depends on the size of the car and averages 5 €. It is important to know that machines accept only banknotes, which also needs to be taken care of in advance.
- Active people are offered a bike ride , so when you come to Zelenogradsk or Klaipeda, you can rent it. This is all the more convenient because the Curonian Spit (Lithuania) is part of the European R1 bike path.
- Public transport is another way of traveling, and the cheapest. Buses run from Kaliningrad, Zelenogradsk and Svetlogorsk to Klaipeda up to 5 times a day. The disadvantage of this method is that they stop at just a couple of places that may not even be close to attractions.
- Buying an excursion is another type of travel that relieves of such hassles as searching for transport, organizing sightseeing, checking into a hotel and finding a cafe or restaurant.
Whichever method you choose to visit the Kurshu Neriya Nature Reserve (Curonian Spit, Lithuania), you should think in advance about the route and overnight places.
Park "Curonian Neriya"
This famous park is located in the northern part of the spit. It covers an area of ​​26,500 ha, the most unique part of which are the dunes. For dozens of kilometers, wherever you look, there are sandy hills that environmentalists and enthusiasts are trying to keep from destruction.
The landscape of the spit is truly unique, it is not for nothing that it was chosen by millions of birds migrating to the north and back. Ornithologists count up to 20 million birds per season, among which rare species are found.
Watching them is another type of ecotourism. Hundreds of people climb dunes or specially equipped observation towers to monitor the behavior of birds.
The most popular is the Parnigio dune, which is rightly called the ornithological observatory. Migratory birds should be observed from March to May, but the most impressive thing is their return from August to November, when their grown chicks join them.
The boars living here are no less enthusiastic about travelers. The Curonian Spit (Lithuania-Russia) is not only their homeland, where they are not in danger, but also the opportunity to chat with people who have these semi-wild animals asking for food. Well, where else can you find a boar standing on the road in the hope that the car will stop and something tasty will fall over to it?
Another reason to come to these parts is the opportunity to observe the oldest colony of cormorants and herons that settled here during the Middle Ages. During this time, hundreds of generations of birds have been replaced, and they continue to live where they are protected.
You can learn about the local landscape and its changes over a thousand years, about the plants and animals that have been here and have disappeared, and about those that grow today, in the Curonian Neria Museum (Curonian Spit). The border with Lithuania divides the reserve into 2 parts, but does not make it less unique.
Historical Museum of Neringa
Once upon a time, the Curonian people inhabited the spit. They had their own legend about the appearance of these places. One lord had a daughter Neringa, who was a giant. Her mission was to help fishermen during a storm, for which she had to go into the sea and pull ships to the shore for anchor chains. The travelers who got lost in the forests, whom she led to the nearest villages, also knew her kindness.
Once people managed to anger the god of the winds, who sent such a force to a hurricane that Neringa could not go through the huge waves to the ships. Then she collected sand in her apron and began throwing it into the sea until there was land formed on which people sheltered. In honor of their salvation, they named the sandy shore of Nering, where the city of the same name later appeared.
The Neringa Historical Museum tells in great detail about the events from the first settlement of people here to the present day. More than three hundred years ago, the local population, not thinking about the consequences, began to cut down forests for the construction of ships, and when their houses began to be absorbed by the dunes one by one, a decision was made to landscaping the area, which continues to this day. For this, herbs and plants with a strongly interwoven root system were planted. The net from the roots stopped the sand, and later trees were again planted on the dune-free lands, which are now protected and cut down only when there is a danger of falling from old age.
To preserve the thin layer of the earth and the dunes themselves, the reserve has installed flooring, which is not recommended to be left. The weather on the Curonian Spit allows you to walk here at any time of the year, although in winter fishermen are more common than tourists.
Nida
This city, once a former Curonian settlement, is today the capital of this region. It is simply amazing how people were able to maintain the flavor, life and homes of the people who once lived here. For many tourists, the Curonian Spit (Lithuania), whose sights differ even from what can be seen on the mainland, is an island of a completely different life.
Every house is original here, and the local architectural style is not found anywhere else - neither in Lithuania, nor in Germany, nor in Finland, nor in Latvia, countries, natives of which became the future Curonian people with their own language and culture.
Each Nida building has its own carved decoration and platbands. The Curonians were not only fishermen, but also woodcarvers and raven catchers. You can find out about their lives in the small museum "Fisherman's Life". In Nida, even cemeteries are a attraction.
The chicken had its own custom of burying the dead. Instead of a cross in the head of the grave, they placed crickets at their feet - carved wooden posts with different shapes of tops. They were buried to the depths of the grave, since this people had a belief that during the Last Judgment the resurrected could get out of them, grabbing the pole.
Admirers of Thomas Mann can visit his house-museum, and amber lovers will find a whole gallery of this beautiful sun stone.
Amber Museum
Every year, thousands of people are attracted to the Curonian Spit. Rest, the cost of which will cost from 2500 rubles per night per room, is considered inexpensive, given that these places are rich in attractions, beautiful landscapes, that there is a clean sea and European service.
The pearl of Nida is the Amber Museum, in which guides will lovingly tell the most romantic legends about the origin of this stone and about all its deposits in Lithuania. Amber of various shapes and sizes is presented here, unprocessed stones are especially impressive with their pristine nature.
In addition to the exhibits, the museum has a department dedicated to the work of jewelers, where their work is exhibited from the already processed sun stone in different colors. In the gallery you can buy both amber separately and products with it. From a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, eyes just run up, but the prices for this stone are quite high.
Those who are lucky enough to get to the amber exhibition will be more fortunate. The prices there are more democratic, and the choice is much wider, since "amber" masters from all over Lithuania come to her.
Juodkrante
This village is interesting to everyone who is attracted to the otherworldly and witchcraft. The witch’s mountain, near which he sheltered, for many centuries was a gathering place for pagans, who performed their rites here until the 19th century.
Especially numerous was the pilgrimage of the Gentiles to this region during the Inquisition, when, on the slightest accusation, people were burned at the stake. People from all over Europe came here, and the Curonian Spit was their natural protection.
The mountain is actually a dune overgrown with pine trees. Today there is an amazing museum of wood, where master carvers embodied in this material all the beliefs and fears of the once-curious people who lived here. For example, there are many witches and dragons, there are water and gods of pagan Lithuania.
The legend of a storyteller, who knew thousands of stories of evil spirits and told them to everyone who wanted to listen, was embodied in the image of a wooden old man. God Pärkūnas demanded that he entertain them with them all night, for which he promised a bag of gold. The storyteller replied that he could not tell under duress, for which he was sent to Witch’s Mountain as a punishment.
In Juodkrante, a gallery of weathercocks, which were still built by the Curonians, is no less interesting. They are of different shapes and colors, each of which symbolizes a story from the life of this people.
Maritime Museum
If the weather on the Curonian Spit has turned bad, then the day can be spent in an interesting Maritime Museum - an aquarium. It is located in the 19th century bastion fortress, built by the Germans in the Smiltine region. Among the presented expositions there are stands dedicated to marine life, the history of shipping and shipbuilding, and the place of gun sites was taken by anchors that were brought here from all over the country.
In redoubts are aquariums, in which 40 species of marine inhabitants feel great. In the place of the former fishing village, near the bastion, an ethnic village appeared, where houses, utensils, and household items of Pomeranian fishermen living here, even their ships and boats on which they went to the Baltic for fishing, were reproduced.
The inhabitants of the aquariums are representatives of Lithuanian rivers, lakes and the sea, as well as guests from the tropics - catfish, chub, grayling, sabrefish, eel and exotic starfish, a huge freshwater moray eel, sea urchins and a collection of corals.
Equipped outdoor pools are inhabited by penguins, seals and sea ​​lions. In summer, a dolphinarium with the participation of the Black Sea dolphins works near the bastion.
Where to stay
Even at the height of the summer season, the Curonian Spit is available for new arrivals. Vacations, the cost of which ranges from 10 euros per night at the campsite and up to 4,500 rubles. in a hotel is considered one of the best and inexpensive in Europe.
As vacationers note, the only drawback of the braid is a certain load on this place by motorists, although most of them come only for a night or two.
The most popular are the hotels of the Curonian Spit, some of which are converted fishing houses, fully adapted for a comfortable stay. For example, Nidos Banga 3 is a home for guests of Hermann Blode, who founded a creative colony for artists in them at the end of the 19th century. Today it is 3 villas in which comfortable rooms and a restaurant with national cuisine are equipped.
Villa Elvira, located in the middle of a pine forest, is very popular among the guests of the Curonian Spit. This hotel has only 9 rooms, but each one has a private bathroom and satellite TV. Guests have at their disposal a common lounge with a fireplace and leather furniture, located in the basement of the house. The hotel has a garden with picnic arbours with barbecue facilities.
For travelers who love to not only stare at the sights, but also spend their holidays with benefit, the Nidos Seklycia hotel is suitable. There is a spa where you can spend time in the infrared sauna, large jacuzzi or in the bath. For business people, a conference room for 35 people is equipped.
Each room has a bathroom with underfloor heating, satellite TV, a minibar, bathrobes and slippers, and necessary bath accessories.
Camping and guest houses
The Curonian Spit also offers guest houses equipped with the latest technology. For example, Vasara (Nida) offers rooms with a DVD player, independent heating and satellite TV. There are allocated relaxation areas with upholstered furniture, a table and tea / coffee set and a bedroom with modern beds and hypoallergenic bedding. Guests can cook or warm up meals in the shared kitchen, although the nearest café is just 50 meters away.
But not only in Nida, the Curonian Spit offers to relax. Guesthouses Neringa and Juodkrante can also boast of their beautification. For example, Oro Pervalka is a great example of a combination of price and quality. This guest house offers its guests superior rooms with all amenities. It is chosen by those who are used to actively spend their holidays. If you rent a bike here, you can take walks in the surroundings and not depend on finding parking for cars when sightseeing.
Camping on the Curonian Spit (Lithuania) awaits people on private vehicles. Its location is simply unique. Situated between the dune of Parnigio and the sea, it is located just a hundred meters from the snow-white beach and the ancient camp of people of the Stone Age.
It offers comfortable rooms in the winter and a place where you can park a car and stretch your tent in the summer. Vacationers have at their disposal clean toilets and showers, a shared kitchen with several stoves for cooking. Here, even in high season, you can find a shelter, and there are never any lines to public places.
Beautiful scenery and friendly staff attract travelers from year to year. The Curonian Spit is not only the largest spit in the world, but also the most well-equipped both for recreation and for life.