Lakes and protected areas in Lithuania

Antalieptė Reservoir is an artificial water body in Gražutė Regional Park, formed in 1959 when the Antalieptė Hydroelectric Power Plant dammed the Šventoji. Flooding a hilly landscape created a labyrinth of islands, making the reservoir a favourite kayaking place in Aukštaitija.

Aukštumala Raised Bog in the Pamarys region stands out for its wooden trail across the bog, the memory of an old kūlgrinda causeway, restoration work, and international importance for early peatland science.

Bakanauskai Bog, more often called Bakanauskų pelkutė in official route descriptions, is a small wet stop on the Skroblus Nature Trail between Margionys and Kapiniškiai, important as an example of Dzūkija forest wetland and thermokarst landscape.

Baltoji Ančia in the Lazdijai region combines a 29.2 km Nemunas tributary, a hydrographic reserve, and the Baltoji Ančia Reservoir formed in 1955, so plan by the river, reserve, or shoreline section you want to visit.

Baluošas Ilgasalė is a rare place in Aukštaitija National Park: on an island in Lake Baluošas lies another small lakelet, so the site is best understood not as a beach but as a protected water-landscape phenomenon.

Čepkeliai Mire is Lithuania's largest raised bog and a strictly protected nature reserve, where visitors experience the wetland only on a marked trail and under seasonal rules.

Dubysa Valley in Dubysa Regional Park protects one of Lithuania's most expressive erosional river landscapes: slopes cut by ravines, Maironis memory sites, the Lyduvėnai bridge, and slow routes along the river.

Glynas Landscape Reserve is a 281 ha protected area deep in Dzūkija National Park, about 6.5 km east of Merkinė. It protects the expressive hollow of Lake Glynas, the Glynupis stream, and one of Lithuania's richest clusters of Stone Age settlements, including some of the country's oldest Magdalenian-type flint arrowheads. It is a quiet wooded Dainava Forest place with high lake banks.

Gražutė Regional Park in the Zarasai and Ignalina area protects the lake-filled, forested upper Šventoji landscape with Lakes Luodis, Dūkštas, and Šventas, the Antalieptė Reservoir, the cultural layer of Salakas, and long water and cycling routes.

Kalotė Lake in Seaside Regional Park is a shallow, reed-fringed coastal lake of lagoon origin only a few kilometres from the Baltic. Once an open sea bay cut off by dunes, it is now an important bird-migration place in Kalotė Botanical-Zoological Reserve, reachable through forest from Giruliai.

Kauno Marios is Lithuania's largest artificial body of water, created by damming the Nemunas. Today it connects regional-park trails, outcrops, a monastery, and the memory of flooded settlements.

The Kirkilai karst lakes in Biržai Regional Park are a system of water-filled sinkholes where gypsum karst, a pontoon trail, and the observation tower help visitors understand northern Lithuania's relief from close range.

Krokų Lanka is a shallow lagoon-origin lake in the Nemunas Delta, formed when Nemunas alluvium cut off part of the Curonian Lagoon. The nearly 800 ha water body with reedbeds and polders is an important bird place in Nemunas Delta Regional Park.

Kupiškis Reservoir, officially the Kupiškis or Lėvuo Reservoir, is a large Aukštaitija water body formed by damming the Lėvuo in 1986. It has long shorelines, islands, recreation areas, and the Uošvės Liežuvis dendrological park.

Lake Asveja, also called Lake Dubingiai, is Lithuania's longest lake: a narrow, deep, winding waterway with Dubingiai Bridge, a castle site, and wooded slopes.

Lake Beržoras is a small but important landscape point in Žemaitija National Park beside old Beržoras village, linking a 52 ha lake with an island, the Beržuoja flow, a 1746 wooden church, and an 18th-century Calvary chapel route.

Lake Drūkšiai is Lithuania's largest lake, spreading across the country's north-east by Visaginas, reaching the Belarusian border and lying close to Latvia. It is known not only for its 4,480 ha area and numerous islands, but also because from 1983 to 2009 it served as the cooling-water source for the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.

Lake Dusia in Meteliai Regional Park is one of Lithuania's largest lakes and a key southern Lithuanian water landscape, important for recreation, birds, and Dzūkija routes.

The islands of Lake Galvė form one of the most recognizable landscapes of Trakai Historical National Park: 21 islands, 14.9 ha in total, in a 361 ha lake. Castle Island with the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Trakai Island Castle connects water, defence, town, and tourism history in one panorama.

Lake Kretuonas is the largest and one of the oldest lakes in Aukštaitija National Park, known for bird colonies and Stone Age settlements on its shores. Nearby, on Lygumai Hill, an observation tower opens views toward Kretuonas, Kretuonykštis, and Vajuonis.

Lake Lūkstas near Varniai is a large Samogitian lake in Varniai Regional Park, linked with amber, Debesnas Bog, ancient settlements, and the Sietuva kūlgrinda.

Lake Metelys is one of the three great water bodies of Meteliai Regional Park: a 1,289.5 ha mixed-origin lake between Dusia and Obelija, important for waterbirds, with Meteliai Landscape Reserve, Papėčiai Hillfort, and mythological Laumė Stone on its shores.

Lake Obelija is the third great water body of Meteliai Regional Park: a 573.4 ha elliptical lake with shallower habitat-rich shores, the Obelytė outflow, boating restrictions, nearby Obelytė Strict Nature Reserve, and hillforts on the southeastern shore.

Lake Orija, also called simply Orija, is the largest lake in Kalvarija Municipality: a tunnel-valley lake with high, steep shores about 3 km south of Kalvarija. Encyclopedic data gives its area as about 86 ha, length 1.9 km, and maximum depth 7.7 m. A rest area with a beach, stage, and water-bike rental makes it a popular local place for swimming, fishing, and summer events such as Joninės.

Lake Plateliai is the largest lake in Samogitia and the centre of Žemaitija National Park, with islands, Castle Island history, a viewpoint, trails, and water-recreation routes.

Lake Sartai is a branched Aukštaitija lake known for Lithuania's longest lake shoreline, the Šventoji flow, panoramas of Sartai Regional Park, and the Dusetos horse-racing tradition, which today does not always take place on the lake ice.

Lake Tauragnas in Aukštaitija National Park is Lithuania's deepest lake, a long and narrow water body between wooded shores and the landscapes of Tauragnai and Taurapilis.

Mergelių Akys Lake is a small marshy lake in a pine-forest hollow on the edge of Druskininkai, made up of two round basins that resemble eyes. Its poetic name is tied to a legend, but the main meaning of the place is tragic: a memorial beside the lake honours Dainava District partisans whose bodies were thrown into this lake in 1944-1953. The site is easy to reach by a walking path from Vijūnėlė Park.

The Minija Ancient Valley is a protected Klaipėda District landscape where the 202 km Minija River, steep slopes, ravines, and erosional forms show how a western Lithuanian river carved a broad ancient valley up to 1 km wide in the Coastal Lowland over millennia.

The Nemunas Delta is a Pamarys landscape where river branches, spring floods, polders, Rusnė Island, and bird migration create one of Lithuania's most distinctive travel experiences.

Novaraistis Ornithological Reserve is the largest ornithological reserve in Lithuania: about 827 ha of raised bog and water in a former peat-extraction area near Lekėčiai. Established in 1988, it protects bird breeding and migration-resting sites, and is best known for autumn crane gatherings, when up to 2,000 cranes concentrate here. Birdwatching is convenient from a tower on the eastern edge of the bog.

Pajauta Valley in Kernavė is part of a UNESCO-protected cultural landscape where hillforts, the lower town, the Neris valley, and archaeology combine into a story of early Lithuanian statehood.

The Panemunių Regional Park Visitor Centre in Šilinė is the gateway to the lower Nemunas castles route, with an interactive exhibition on valley nature, medieval defensive castles, and traditional river trades such as timber rafting, fishing, and navigation.

Pašiliai Bison Enclosure in Krekenava Regional Park is where European bison restoration in Lithuania began in 1969. From a viewing platform visitors can see Europe's largest land animal close up, while the park area holds the country's largest free-ranging bison herd.

Pavilniai Regional Park is a protected area created in 1992 within Vilnius itself, preserving the scenic, deeply carved Vilnia River valley with ravines, slopes, and the impressive Pūčkoriai Outcrop. Often described as one of Lithuania's smallest regional parks, it is also one of the capital's favourite green escapes.

Plazė (Plocis) Lake near Karklė is Lithuania's lake closest to the Baltic Sea, only a few hundred metres from the shore. It is a shallow, overgrowing relict lake in strict Plocis Nature Reserve and may be observed only from a special birdwatching shelter; more than a thousand pairs of cormorants breed here.

Raigardas Valley near Druskininkai is Lithuania's largest suffosion cirque, a protected landscape, and one of Dzūkija's strongest panoramas, connected with legends and the work of M. K. Čiurlionis.

Reiskių tyras is the largest wetland in Samogitia, a typical western Lithuanian raised bog with bog pools, islands, and abundant birdlife. It is a protected Natura 2000 reserve near Kuliai, with no installed educational trail or observation tower; it should be visited only with a guide.

Salantai Regional Park protects the scenic ancient valleys of the Minija, Salantas, and Erla rivers and the karst landscape of Samogitia. It includes Imbarė Hillfort, Šaukliai Boulder Field, Orvidai Homestead, and many natural and cultural values, linking several famous sites into one route.

Sirvėta Regional Park in Švenčionys District protects a lake-rich watershed landscape between the Daugava and Žeimena basins. Visitors can climb two observation towers, walk a mythological trail with Baltic deity sculptures, and explore the old village of Didžiasalis.

Skroblus Stream, also searched for as Skroblaus upelis, is a 20.31 km spring-fed left tributary of the Merkys in Dzūkija National Park. From the thermokarst Bobos Daržas springs near Margionys to its mouth at Trasninkas, it is considered one of Lithuania's cleanest rivers.

Svilė Springs, also called Spaudžių Verdenė, are one of Lithuania's most impressive groups of springs: more than 100 spring eyes bubble in a wet meadow, and their water flows into the cold Svilė stream.

Varniai Regional Park protects the lake-filled and hillfort-rich landscape of the Samogitian Uplands, including Lūkstas, Biržulis, Paršežeris, Medvėgalis, Sprūdė, Šatrija, and wetlands.

Veisiejai Regional Park in Lazdijai District protects the forested Šlavantai-Veisiejai-Kapčiamiestis lake district with 37 lakes. In Veisiejai, Esperanto creator Ludwik Zamenhof lived and worked, joining natural richness with a rare cultural history.

Venta Regional Park protects the winding Venta River valley in Samogitia, an area of about 9,800 hectares across Akmenė, Mažeikiai, and Šiauliai districts. Its best-known value is Lithuania's richest Jurassic outcrops with fossil fauna about 160 million years old, especially Papilė Outcrop.

Vepriai Lake by Vepriai town in Ukmergė District is known for an unusual natural sight: floating islands of reed roots and peat that can move across the lake in strong wind. The small dammed lake has beaches, while nearby lie the historic Vepriai Calvary and remains of the former manor.

Versva Landscape Reserve in Kaunas protects the Versva stream valley as an integral natural-cultural territorial complex. The 108 ha protected area, established in 1995, holds geological, geomorphological, hydrographic, botanical, and zoological values on the edge of the city.

Viešvilė State Nature Reserve in Karšuva Forest is one of Lithuania's most strictly protected territories. Established in 1991, it protects the natural Viešvilė basin with raised bogs, old forest, and rare species, and since 1993 it has been a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

Vištytis Regional Park in south-western Suvalkija protects the highest part of the Sūduva Highland and scenic Lake Vištytis, where deep lakes, moraine hills, old forests, and the Lithuanian-Polish-Russian border landscape meet.

The Žeimena is an 80 km right tributary of the Neris, flowing from Lake Žeimenys near Kaltanėnai. Its clear, little-regulated course links Aukštaitija's lake country with the Neris valley, protects salmon, sea trout, and river lamprey spawning grounds, and in summer becomes one of Lithuania's popular canoeing rivers.

Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve is Lithuania's oldest protected area and the country's only UNESCO biosphere reserve, where a shallow lake, reedbeds, mires, and meadows protect a world of bird migration.