Other Dunes in Lithuania

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Anyone who has read about or visited Lithuania knows about the beach at Palanga and the beautiful Curonian Spit with their incredible coastal sand dunes. Did you know that there are other dunes in Lithuania?

Less than an hour away from the famous spa-town of Druskininkai in southern Lithuania is Dzūkija National Park – established in 1991 to preserve the pine forests, the landscape, and the villages of the region. The area encompasses 584.53 square kilometers on the banks of the Nemunas River. The park is the largest protected area in Lithuania.  Its most distinctive landscapes are the mainland dune massifs located in MarcinkonysLynežerisGrybaulia, and Šunupis.

This is the largest mass of continental dunes in Lithuania. To preserve the unique continental dunes, the authorities have established four geomorphological reserves at the DNP. However, almost all of the dunes in Dzūkija are forested. Now, part of the forest will be cut down to open up at least one continental dune. According to the DNP, this will also help preserve endangered species and foster tourism. It was decided to open up the dunes not only to biodiversity, but also to their knowledge so that visitors could see their vast expanse when driving by, said DNP director Eimutis Gudelevičius. “Eighty-seven percent of the DNP is forested [and] these dunes have disappeared in these forests,” he explained. According to the director, the park will start erecting tourist stands and other infrastructure once the trees are removed. The clearing will also allow visitors to see the processes of the mainland dunes.

According to biologist and biomedical scientist Dr. Mindaugas Lapelė, the dunes will help preserve species, including lizards and snakes. The open spaces are very favourable for those southern species that are found nowhere else in Lithuania, said Lapelė. “There are species listed in the Red Book that we are responsible for preserving. And those areas are getting smaller and smaller.”

PHOTO: Dzūkija National Park

E-letter text: The Other Dunes in Lithuania