At the heart of the Aukstaitija National Park (Paluse (Lithuania))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Paluse (Lithuania)
Date:	05/11/08 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and beautiful

Disadvantages: None

Paluse is a village in the Eastern part of Lithuania, a tiny place on a lake with the countries oldest surviving wooden church which has been made completely without nails. Rarely visited by foreigners but regularly by people from Vilnius, it lies at the heart of the Aukstaitija National Park and ironically rather close to the Nuclear Power Plant at Ignalina.

The area is beautiful, a very leafy area with clear lakes and pure nature, lots of birdlife and a perfect place to relax. It is possible to rent chalets from 14lt - 40lt (5 litas = 1 pound), these are often filled up with teenage school kids who come for the weekend from Vilnius and grill sausage on an open fire, drink beer etc with their teachers on camps.

Getting there is rather easy, personally I hitchhiked there along the road to Utena and then changed road at Moleitai, as in most of the country, people are extremely willing to stop. There may be bus services but the most common way of getting there is by train, a service to Ignalina which costs 13 litas and takes about 2 hours from Vilnius. (Trains leave at 05.15, 08.00, 12.00, 14.00, 14.49, 16.47, 18.40 and 20.37), from the station, take a left and follow the road. It is a short walk to Paluse.

As far as I can remember, there was just the one shop - a fairly popular place to stock up on basic food and drink. Don't expect anything too flashy from it, you are best bringing food from Vilnius. You need special permission to fish as it is in a Nature Reserve.

This area is beautiful and very clean, with 126 different lakes connected with little rivers, there is plenty to admire. A great location for walking or swimming. Highly recommended.

Summary: A must visit if you like nature