In the Lithuanian part of the Curonian Spit there is a resort town of Neringa, consisting of four villages: Nida, Juodkrante, Preili and Pervalka. All settlements store the "gingerbread" flavor of the Lithuanian fishing villages of the XIX century with their one-story wooden houses, covered with straw and painted in traditional colors of the local guild. Add to this an abundance of greenery and flowers, generous forest tracts, endless whitish dunes and an extraordinary silence of seclusion and contemplation

The nicest place to stay in Nida or Juodkrante . Here, well-renovated, old fishing lodges are turned into private hotels, restaurants or beer bars with folkloric interiors and delicacies of national cuisine . Nida embankment with a beautiful green esplanade, favorite place for walks of regulars of the resort, repeatedly during the summer season to become a "proscenium" numerous sailing regattas, and the town itself is famous for its jazz festival "Nida Jazz Maraton" (the first half of August), a holiday of ancient crafts, reconstructing the local medieval life (mid-August), and the international film festival "Baltic Wave" (end of August) . Both resorts have well-developed tourist infrastructure and offer hotels and private villas of various levels of comfort and privacy, well-kept and equipped beaches, the clearest sea, local home gastronomy and rich festival programs (muses literature, and folklore) . Here you can also collect mushrooms and berries, go boating and fish in the bays .

The whitish sandy beaches of Neringa are stretched by a strip 25-70 meters wide along the coast of the Baltic Sea. They are equipped according to all European standards up to special descents, telephones and toilets for disabled people and are maintained in impeccable cleanliness. This allowed the local beaches to acquire an honorary "Blue Flag" - an international certificate guaranteeing the safety and environmental friendliness of the territory.

Tourist Information Centers:

  • Nida - Tajkos, 4, phone: 8 469 523 45, fax: 8 469 525 38, info@visitneringa.lt
  • Juodkrante - L.Rezos, 54, phone: 8 46 534 90

How to get

By plane or train to Vilnius, Kaunas, Kaliningrad, then by the bus routes Vilnius-Nida, Kaunas-Nida, Kaliningrad-Nida . Bus schedule on the site . From Klaipeda to Kos, you can only get on the ferry . Old ferrying (lit. Senoji Perkėla) connects the final bus stop in Smiltyne and the center of Klaipeda, only passengers carry passengers . New ferry is equipped with ferries transporting all modes of transport . Inlet The Nida-Smiltyne bus, a minibus connecting Nida bus station with the beach (only in the summer), a bus from the old ferry to the Maritime Museum .

If you prefer to use your own or rented car, then at your service is the only one highway Zelenogradsk-Klaipeda . It passes through Lesnoye, the outskirts of Rybachy and Juodkrante, congresses to the other villages branch off . There are only one lane in each direction throughout the highway . Entering the territory of the National park paid . The post "Alksnine" is equipped with payment machines that accept cash only and denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 litas, delivery is issued by coins . When paying on the panel, one of the buttons corresponding to the paid vehicle . So the passenger car journey with a capacity of up to 9 people in summer will cost 20 litas . The nearest ATMs are located next to the ferry .

The part of the European cycling route R1 passes along the Lithuanian side of the Curonian Spit - from Nida to Smiltyna. In the vicinity of the rest of the settlements local bike paths are laid. Cycling routes Nida-Klaipeda, Klaipeda-Palanga-Latvia border and Klaipeda-Silute-Rusne are also open
Presentation in the Dolphinarium in Smiltyne

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of the Curonian Spit

Northern part of the Curonian Spit, part of Lithuania , is the National Park "Kurshu Neria" (26, 5 thousand .ha), which in 2000 was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List . The uniqueness of the Curonian landscape lies in the endless sand dunes reaching up to 70 meters in height and stretched by a continuous chain for tens of kilometers . Kosa is also located on the White Sea- Baltic migration routes of migratory birds that stop here for feeding and resting . Approximate number of feathered "nomads" reaches 10-20 million per season, among them there are rare endangered species . Exposition of the Museum of Nature "Kurshu Neriya" in detail story geographic and geological features of landscape formation, archaeological finds, flora and fauna of the region .

Observe the migration of birds best from high hills, dunes, from specially installed panoramic towers or simply in an open place: on the seaside or on wide fields . The most popular bird observatory is the Parnidgio dune, located near Nida and dubbed Sandy Dune hours . In the spring, the first "migrants" arrive in early March, and the last - at the end of May . Many more birds can be seen in the autumn - from August to November - when the young summer brood . joins the huts More closely on the Curonian Spit, you can get to know the local half-handled boars that go out on the roadways in the hope of getting something delicious . Near Juodkrante you can observe the most numerous and ancient colonies of herons and cormorants in Lithuania .

Sights Neringa

You can get acquainted with the history of the region and the Curonians, the people who originally inhabited these lands in the Historical Museum of Neringa (. Pamario, 53, Nida) . Here are the finds of the Stone Age, an exposition devoted to traditional local crafts, among to Otori and catch crows, photos, documents and objects from family and public archives . Another source of local lore is the Fisherman's Ethnographic homestead (street . arrogant, Nida), is located in one of the houses of the Old Nida (around 1900) . the decoration, furniture, utensils and interior organization itself is a living illustration of the fishing life of the late nineteenth - early twentieth century . . Here at home sheltered 4 original little vessel fishing from boats to kurenas .

Nida Attractions

Miniature Amber Museum (st . Pam Io, 20, Nida) tells about the origin of the Baltic amber, its rich morphology - the external signs: from transparency to the difference of shades, and the history of local crafts . Here you can see a unique collection of inclusions - minerals with insects inside . Gallery offers author's jewelry and accessories that differ from most of the proposed local products by original modern design . And in the exhibition hall of Nida cultural center "Agila" (ul ., Taikos 4) you can see and buy picturesque, Sculptural works and photographs of Lithuanian artists .

Sightseeings Juodkrante

Near the village of Juodkrante there is a mountain of witches - a sacred place, professing the old Vedic cults, cours . At the time of the Inquisition to this mountain, then rested on a small island and perfectly protected from "law enforcement" shoals, the pagans flocked to worship the forces of nature and the mother goddess from all over Europe . In the XIX - beginning . XX centuries the inhabitants of Little Lithuania loved to celebrate here the Day of the Summer Solstice - Jonina . Guests, choristers and musicians from Klaipeda, Tilsit, Rusne . sailed boats and small steamships During the epoch of Nazi rule on the mountain, the ancient Germanic and Aryan cults tried to revive . In the late 1970s-1980s a sacred hill rose park of wooden sculpture carved by Lithuanian masters and illustrating plots of local ancient beliefs and epics .

In the gallery of Daiva and Remigijus Zhadeikis (st. G.Rezos 13, Juodkrante) - Weathervane galleries - you can learn about all the secrets of the Kuusk weathercocks, the color, shape and combination of story elements are by no means accidental. There are also various ethnographic and historical exhibitions and fairs, sales of paintings, graphics, sculptures, ceramics and products of linen and amber in this space.

Feathered inhabitants of the park "Kurshu Neria"

Aquarium

At the northern tip of the Curonian Spit in the Smiltyne area in the German bastion fortress of the second half of the 19th century the Sea Museum-Aquarium (site) is located . The museum complex includes many thematic expositions devoted to marine flora and fauna, the history of Lithuanian shipbuilding, navigation, merchant fleets . In the restored central redoubt there are aquariums that are impressive for their exotic living creatures, a collection of ancient anchors collected throughout Lithuania is located on former gun sites and shafts, the life of Pomor fishermen is shown in an ethnographic exposition deployed on the site of a former fishing village - here lined traditional huts and vessels where fishermen entered the Atlantic and the Baltic Sea .

About 40 species of fish from Lithuanian rivers, lakes and the Baltic Sea (soma, chub, barbel, grayling, acne, chehon, sigi and t . d .), tropical freshwater fish (including a huge moray eagle), invertebrate inhabitants of coral reefs (sea stars, mollusks, sea urchins and t . d .) . The museum is also famous for the richest collection of rare species of corals and shells in Lithuania . The exposition of the prepared animals according to the scientific systematics covers the whole spectrum of marine animals: from sponges and to birds and mammals . In open pools you can observe penguins, seals, sea lions .

Here a step away from the museum there is a dolphinarium . During the summer season there are colorful performances with the participation of Black Sea dolphins and California sea lions. In the dolphinarium there is also a dolphin therapy center.

Until 1945 the Curonians who lived on the Curonian Spit spoke in their original dialect, close to the Latvian language. At the end of the Second World War and German citizenship, many of the local residents were evacuated to central Germany, and the Curonian Spit lost its own colorful language. Now only a few dozen elderly people live in the Curonian dialect
Curonian Spit, Lithuanian part

Amateur fishing

Curonian and Klaipeda Gulfs - excellent places for fishing . Here they gladly peck breams, perch, pike perches, roach, cheese, herring, etc. . There is also a very popular ice fishing for litters and capelin . In the Baltic Sea, catching flounder, herring, cod and halibut from boats is . You can catch from any shore on the float rod in any time of day and without "documents" in compliance with the rules of amateur fishing . D For fishing at a distance of more than 500 meters from the shore and using various fishing accessories, it is permitted only with a special license issued by the Ministry of Nature Protection, for a fishing raid in the Baltic Sea, border police permits are required . Total weight caught per day, fish not must exceed 5 kg per person .

  • Klaipeda Nature Protection Agency ul. Birutes, 16, tel .: (8 46) 21 71 06)
  • Nature Protection Agency of Neringa City, Taikos Ave., 2, tel .: (8 469) 5 12 32)

Photo of the Curonian Spit (Lithuania) (4)