Four driving routes for the weekend, or where you can find mountains in Lithuania

The 100 km trail is not only in Vilnius

Lithuania is not yet as egalitarian a state as it seems. Although it is a flat country, there are also scenic trails with considerable height differences in Lithuania, and they are easily accessible by car.

The 108 km “Around Vilnius” trail installed last year aroused people’s desire to march, and the “Actively Actively” team that passed pushed it to find routes of similar length in and around other major cities. They toured four cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda, and Alytus – and hikers shared route maps on their page.

You can find the planned routes and detailed information about them here.

“We are aware that navigating all 100 km at once is a great challenge, so we always recommend tourists to overcome individual parts of the route. It can be reached by car. In some places, access is complicated by the heavy snow, but there’s no problem with a car with higher traffic, ”said Šarūnas Sakalauskas, founder of the“ Let’s Live Actively ”tour guide team, who was driving the Nissan Qashqai car.

Swiss mountains near the center of Vilnius

“Not everyone knows it, but Vilnius also has mountains,” Šarūnas continued. – Sapiegine and the erosive Swiss mountains will make you breathe more deeply and maybe even repel the hike in the mountains. On the Sapieginė nature trail here you can climb up to 53 m high. Along the way you will be accompanied by a forest and emerging sights of Vilnius. A possible 6 km walk does not seem long, but every kilometer in mountainous places is more difficult to overcome.

The hiker says that he can find interesting historical places on the Vilnius road, such as “Antakalnis bunkers”. They were once used as hiding places or stores for military ammunition. The bunkers have 10 entrances, which are sadly currently closed. The bunkers are not used for cultural purposes, so they attract adrenaline lovers with their darkness and secrets.

Not only Vilnius is characterized by picturesque 100 km routes. The Let’s Live Actively team also marched a route of this length in Kaunas, creating routes in Klaipeda and Alytus.

More water in Kaunas

“Maybe Kaunas is in a wooded area and descends to Vilnius, but certainly not with the beauty of nature. Kaunas Marios, Neris, Nemunas, Lampėdžiai, there are many water attractions and others. We recommend to overcome it again in sections”, – Šarūnas, the representative of “Let’s Live Actively” spoke about the route in Kaunas.

True, the route around Kaunas presented on the hikers page does not reach 100 km, its length is 93 km. To cover the remaining 7 km, travelers offer to fly to the Pypliai mound, leave the car on a picturesque gravel road and walk towards Kačerginė.

Traveling by car is easier. Inventory and picnic food can be stored in the trunk, and the built-in navigation system will help you find a better way to get to your destination without unnecessarily grabbing your smartphone.

“The trunk of our Qashqai has just swallowed two large travel backpacks. There would be free space for four travelers and all the equipment even for camping. Unfortunately, we only have to travel in two during the quarantine. The car was delighted with the navigation system convenient and easy to use and the 360-degree camera, which helps to park with precision between the narrow trees, ”the tour operator described the vehicle.

He drove to Kačerginė. He reached the Pypliai mound by a narrow forest road. From there he began to walk along the left bank of the Nemunas.

Kačerginė is a spa near the city

“Kačerginė is a real resort located very close to the city. Not for nothing Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas lived and worked here. Walking along the bike path, you will continue until you reach one of the oldest houses of worship in Lithuania: Zapyškio St. Church from St. John the Baptist. The trail will lead close to the longest river in Lithuania, the Nemunas, so it will definitely not last long, “commented Šarūnas Sakalauskas.

Upon his return, he recommended visiting the Spring Trail near Kačerginė. It contemplates several routes of different lengths, ranging from 2.5 to 5.5 km and leading along undulating springs, whose clean and high-quality water is used by sanatoriums located in the forest territory and a large part of the population from the city of Kačerginė.

“Along the way, you can see several dozen ant, fox and badger caves of various sizes and shapes. There are four viewpoints on the route, from which you can admire the views of the Nemunas “, said the hiker” Let’s live actively. “

The trails are beautiful all year round, but in a winter as snowy and cold as this one they open up in new colors, so a visit is necessary. True, if you don’t want to go the entire route, most of the most beautiful places can be reached by car. The road is not in the best condition everywhere, it is not smooth everywhere, it is not clean everywhere, it just passed. There may be difficulties with the car, but Šarūnas, who checked the inputs with the Nissan Qashqai model, said that the increased ground clearance did not cause any problems. Four-wheel drive would be an advantage when flying in deeper snow, but a single axle drive will suffice on the roads around cities.