National park "Curonian Spit" (Kaliningrad region): photo and reviews of tourists

There are many interesting places on the globe. We do not talk here about inaccessible beauties, but only about those where anyone can get there without any problems. A truly unique corner of our planet is the Curonian Spit, which shares a narrow strip with the freshwater Curonian Lagoon and the salty Baltic Sea. In 1987, it was in these places that the first national park was formed in Russia . We'll talk about it today, but let's start with history.

History of the Curonian Spit

This object of the landscape was created by nature about five thousand years ago thanks to sand, driven by waves of the Baltic Sea and the wind. And somewhere about three hundred years ago the Curonian Spit was transformed by the hands of a man, also specifically. It is for this reason that the peninsula (as a common Lithuanian-Russian international facility) was included as a cultural landscape, rather than a natural site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Where did this name come from? Prior to the colonization of Prussia by the Germans, the Curonians lived here - ancient tribes, that's the name of them. In the tenth century Vikings lived in these places, which was confirmed by the excavations of 2008, although the first traces were discovered as far back as 1893.

What is this object now

What is the Curonian Spit today? Photos of local beauties and landscapes will help us to answer this question a little. Only here in one day you can see absolutely different, sometimes quite opposite landscapes: sandy deserts and lichen and moss-covered meadows, dry pine forests and raw alders, undersized thickets of mountain pine and high-pine trees, southern taiga and broad-leaved forest, flat fields and sandy mountains , Lowland and upland marshes.

Sandy beaches in these places stretched for tens of kilometers as lake and flooded beaches, several scientific stations and fishing villages. On the spit very closely intertwined human activities and natural, natural processes that have significantly transformed the local reliefs over the last thousand years. The same continues today, because of which the natural system of the spit is very vulnerable and fragile.

Description of the Curonian Spit

What is the geographic representation of the Curonian Spit? The map explains this quite intelligibly. The sandy peninsula has a total length of 98 km, including the Russian part - 48 km. The width varies from four kilometers to four hundred meters. The area of the park is 7,890 hectares. Fishing, Forest and Marine - three villages that are located on this territory.

The top of the peninsula near the city of Klaipeda (in the north) is separated by a narrow strait from the mainland, and the base rests on the Sambian peninsula near the city of Zelenogradsk. Such objects can be found, but with such length, dimensions, dunes, richness of fauna and flora, beauty of landscapes, analogs of the Curonian Spit are not present not only in Europe, but all over the world.

Climate and local infrastructure

The weather here varies very often, and the seasons have the following characteristics: winter - mild, summer - moderately warm, autumn - warm, spring - cool. What else can the Curonian Spit boast of? Photo of the area offers us a look at the magnificent beach near the bay, near the village of Morskoye. Due to the shallow depth of the bay, up to a maximum of four meters, the water temperature in summer reaches 26 degrees. On the spit there is a migration of birds that connects Karelia, Finland and the Baltic states with Africa and southern Europe. In autumn and spring, there is a very high density of migration flow. All this creates very favorable conditions for their ringing. Therefore, in 1901, Professor Tinemann organized one of the world's first ornithological stations in these areas. Not long ago, since 1957, this is a biostation of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation.

How to get here

There is no problem with transport. But, of course, these places are not pilgrim, so every five minutes buses do not go. But the Kaliningrad-Kosa Kurshskaya bus runs regularly both from Klaipeda and from Svetlogorsk. They ply about once an hour. By the way, tourists who come here, do not necessarily have to stock up for food, in each village there is a grocery store. And you need to remember the need for a visa when you visit Lithuania.

Information for those who come by private transport: prepare for 300 rubles per entry by car, even in the event that you have a holiday package. The collection for the ecology of the region is not collected only from those who arrive by public transport. Rest on the Curonian Spit means walking tours, which were developed by the park's management. So, if you are tired of the city fuss and wanted peace, silence, clean air and sea, come to these places - you will not regret. Solitude with nature will well update you before returning home, to ordinary life.

Tourist routes and bans

What should travelers know who decided to come here by bus from Kaliningrad to Kosa Kurshskaya? It is only possible to visit the village zone and the territory allocated for cognitive tourism here, all other places need constant protection and care, since they are very vulnerable, entrance and entry On them paid.

You also need to know about the six walking routes available in the Curonian Spit park. The route map is placed on information boards. They are called: "Mueller height", "Fringilla", "Height of Efa", "Dancing forest", "Royal forest", "Lake Swan". There is a protected area, which is located between 46 and 49 kilometers of the spit, there people are prohibited. Also on its territory it is impossible:

1. Use open fire and install tents, except for places specially reserved for this purpose.
2. Park cars and move out of the road with a hard surface, except for certain places.
3. Collect medicinal plants and walk on dunes.
4. Walking dogs without a leash and ride a quad bike.
5. Cut down bushes and trees.

When you are on a hiking trail, follow the route and do not go off the piste.

The Curonian Spit National Park and its famous "Dancing Forest"

"Dancing Forest" is a unique place of the Curonian Spit. What is it that amazes us so much? All its pine trees are twisted into a ring, branched or bizarrely curved. In addition, there are no other trees on this part of the forest. According to ecologists, this forest is the most fragile place of this locality and tourists only harm it, cause irreparable damage. They touch trees, climb on them, trample down the soil. Therefore, a special ecological path was laid along the forest territory and resting people are asked not to leave it, to move only on the floor.

Very surprising is the behavior of the pines taking such amazing shapes. After all, they usually grow perfectly even. The causes of the phenomenon have not been established. Experts spread their hands and allow a variety of versions - from the intervention of aliens to the impact of electromagnetic fields.

Dangers that await tourists on the Curonian Spit

The entire Curonian Spit was surveyed, excursions to known places were carried out. What to do next? You can swim and have a good rest on the sea beaches located near the villages of Morskoye, Rybachy, Lesnoye, near the Museum of the National Park, near the tourist base "Dunes", not far from the parking lots of the routes "Height Efa" and "Royal Bor". But, traveling through the forest, passing along the routes, you must always remember the dangers that await almost every step of the way. In these places, Ixodidae are common, which carry Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.

Before you go into the woods, tuck in clothes, do everything to prevent the likelihood of getting on the body of the tick. Returning home, carefully examine the body and clothes. In a number of forest areas in July-August there is a silkworm hiking, a caterpillar, which causes a strong allergic reaction with its hairs.

Rest on the recreation center "Baltika"

We are considering options for carrying out holidays by Russian tourists, and not only tourists, but they have not asked themselves why many of them wish to spend their holidays on the Curonian Spit. And the answer is very simple. We take only one category of people - those who want to spend time at sea, but do not tolerate the heat of countries, for example, the Mediterranean. Such travelers are attracted by the cozy and beautiful places of the Kaliningrad seashore. Probably, the Curonian Spit is one of the most famous and popular places here. Fans of organized recreation choose one of the specialized for this place, the "Baltika" base, which is located in a very convenient place - the village of Lesnoy, which is directly on the spit itself. Here you will be pleased not only with the quality of service, but also with low prices and home furnishings.

This recreation center, which has 24 rooms, is only 200 meters from the beach with a sandy beach, next to it - the most beautiful pine forests. Designed mainly for a quiet family holiday, which will not only be pleasant, but also very useful. Especially for those who suffer from diseases of the nervous and respiratory system, or have reduced immunity. It is good and delicious to feed, organize excursions to the spit, beach vacation. You can get here and back without problems, besides there is a transfer order.

Excursions around the Curonian Spit

Tourist firms organize a number of very different, interesting excursions along the peninsula. Not only in Russian, but also in other languages. What can the park "Curonian Spit" offer to tourists? Several, at your choice, excursions:

1. An introductory tour, during which you will visit: dead dunes in Pervalka, the Witch Mountain in Juodkrante, a sundial, the Baltic Sea coast, the Gothic Evangelical Church and much more.
2. Inspection tour of Nida, along the following route: Dune Parnidgio, Gothic church, Tom Mann's house, etc.
3. Trip to the National Park.
4. Canoe trekking, where you can observe the unique changes in the spit.
5. Trekking on catamarans, lasting about eight hours, with a picnic in Venta and visiting the lighthouse.

We examined only a few, but there are a lot of other, equally interesting routes. Have a nice rest!