LOCATION
Curonian Spit National Park is located in the south of the Lithuanian Baltic coast. The headquarters of the park’s administration are in Neringa (30 kilometres from Klaipeda), located in the centre of the park. The furthest point from Klaipeda within the park is Nida (at 50 kilometres away). The park borders can be easily reached just as the ferry arrives at the spit. The direct distance between Palanga and Gdansk is 330 kilometres, but it involves travelling through the Russian Kaliningrad Region – taking a ferry to Curonian split and crossing the EU-Russian border twice. If you wish to stay within the EU area, you can choose to travel around the borders of the Russian Kaliningrad Region, which will lengthen the distance to 620 kilometres. Klaipeda has two ferry connections: Kiel- Klaipeda (from Germany) and Karlshamn – Klaipeda (from Sweden). There is a regional airport in the nearby city of Palanga. The geographical location of Neringa is: 55°22′N 21°04′E.
SIGHTSEEING IN CURONIAN SPIT NATIONAL PARK
After an active day on the sea, surfers can relax by slowly hiking Parnidis – at 52 metres, the tallest Lithuanian dune of the National Park, located close to the popular tourist resort of Nida. Averaging 35 metres, the park is home to the tallest moving dunes in the Baltic Sea Region. It is located on a narrow 98 kilometre-long spit which ranges from just 400 metres to 3.5 kilometres in width and divides the Baltic Sea and Curonian Lagoon (which is in fact a freshwater lake). The Curonian Spit’s settlements were established in the 19th century as fishing villages of the Eastern Prussia province of Germany. There are numerous marked hiking trails in the Park.
ATTRACTIONS NEARBY
The Curonian Spit has many attractions on offer – apart from sightseeing, many sports activities and sunbathing, you can also visit the nearby town of Nida. This picturesque fishermen’s settlement, with its small blue houses, historical cemetery with wooden crosses, parks, museums and witch-themed park in Juodkrante Forest, is a gem of the region. The Curonian Spit Natural park has a vast range of activities available – there are plenty of hiking trails and educational walking tours (especially through the ecologically sensitive Grobštas and Nagliai natural reserves) to choose from. On the Russian side of the spit there is an unusual “dancing forest”.
