Visit Curonian Spit

About Curonian Spit

The Curonian Spit (Kuršių nerija in Lithuanian) is one of the most extraordinary landscapes in northern Europe — a 98km finger of shifting white sand pinched between the wide Curonian Lagoon and the cold Baltic Sea, never more than 4km wide and as narrow as 400m at its thinnest point. The Lithuanian half stretches 52km south of Klaipėda to the Russian border, and is mostly accessible by a single road and a string of tiny former East Prussian fishing villages. Nida (Nidden in German) is the prettiest — Thomas Mann had his summer house here, the famous brightly painted carved gables of the old Kuren-fishermen survive on dozens of cottages, and the towering Parnidis Dune just south of town is the most extraordinary single sight on the spit (sand drifts ankle-deep, the wind shifts everything by metres each year, a working sundial at the summit gives breathtaking views into Russia). The Witches' Hill in Juodkrantė is a delightful 1.5km woodland sculpture trail of carved wooden devils and folklore figures. The whole spit is a national park, with the Baltic side a long unbroken white-sand beach and the lagoon side good for windsurfing, kayaking, and fishing. Reached by short ferry from Klaipėda to Smiltynė.