Plateliai, Samogitian National Park

For those looking for the ideal combination of beautiful nature and authentic culture, we recommend going to Samogitian National Park. The unique and natural landscape – lakes, depressions, hills, swamps and forests – and the rich cultural heritage of Samogitians – mounds, shrines, centres of traditional crafts – will not let lovers of active and passive recreation feel indifferent.

Samogitian National Park offers visitors various types of excursions: cognitive, natural, cultural ones and different combinations of excursions. Travel is available on foot, by bike or by car. Although Samogitian National Park is rich in cultural and cognitive objects, many holidaymakers choose to relax in nature by the lakes.

There are 26 lakes in the territory of Samogitia National Park. The largest and deepest of them is the famous Plateliai Lake, which is very popular among Lithuanian holidaymakers. It is a lake of spectacular beauty with 7 islands. To reach them, holidaymakers are invited by various water vehicles, even transparent boats.

Around Lake Plateliai there is a great bicycle path, which opens up a wonderful landscape. By bike, you can easily reach the small town of Plateliai on the western shore of Lake Plateliai, with only 900 inhabitants. This charming town with Samogitian traditions attracts tourists with the abundance of tourist homesteads and resorts. There are cafes, a yacht club, the center of traditional crafts of Plateliai manor homestead, where various traditional educational activities take place, such as weaving, wood carving, clogging, making crosses, etc.

Holidaymakers are invited to visit the park of Plateliai manor – although small, but perfectly reflecting the landscape of Plateliai full of greenery and hills. A real natural monument grows in the manor park – the 200-year-old Plateliai linden tree, which reaches a height of 27 meters, and its trunk volume is 5.50 meters. Another pride of the park is the thickest ash in the country – the Ash of the Witch. 7 species of bats are registered in the park of Plateliai manor; therefore, it is considered to be the largest bat habitat in Samogitian National Park.

The Plateliai Lake observation deck is easily accessible by bicycle, car or even on foot. This is a place with a wonderful panorama of the landscape: Castle Island, the Islands of Calves, the peninsula of Šventorkalnis, large Plateliai lake and Plokštinė forests.

Samogitian National Park is fascinating not only with its impressive nature. While traveling, it is possible to observe the cultural development of Lithuanians and Samogitians. This land is rich in pagan manifestations, such as mounds, Shrine Hills, as well as Christian traditional chapels and crosses.

To make your trip around Samogitia National Park unforgettable, we invite you to stay at the Samogitian hospitable and cosy Oginski Hotel. Samogitian National Park and Oginski Hotel are for those who appreciate uniqueness and naturalness.

We guarantee that this trip will be your best choice!