Gėrio Ūkis

Gėrio Ūkis is a remote and scenic base for discovering the peaceful lakes, pine forests and traditional villages of Aukštaitija National Park (20 minutes’ drive). If you’d like to get out on the water, you can hire canoes and kayaks (half an hour) to paddle down the Būka River – listen out for woodpeckers and keep an eye open for circling raptors or storks nesting in the treetops. Head up to Ladakalnis Viewpoint (25 minutes) for vistas over Lake Linkmenas, which you can circumnavigate on a way-marked hike. Alternatively, follow the footpath from Lake Almajas (also 25 minutes) through dense woodland to Papliaušis Spring (half an hour’s walk) to sample the pure water. Learn about Lithuanian heritage in the village of Palūšė (20 minutes’ drive), home of a fine 18th-century wooden church (it once featured on a banknote); it is also the gateway to paddleboarding jaunts around Lake Lūšiai (half an hour). Ginučiai (20 minutes) has a well-preserved, wooden 19th-century watermill; half an hour’s walk from the village takes you to the Ginučiai and Papiliakalnė Mounds – hill forts dating back to the ninth century.