🌿 Nature SpotsAlytusChallenging
Čepkeliai Raised Bog
Varėna, Alytus3-5 hoursBest: May to October; morning mist adds atmosphere
Lithuania's largest raised bog — a vast, ancient, and eerily beautiful wilderness of sphagnum moss, carnivorous plants, and rare wildlife near the Belarusian border.
Čepkeliai Strict Nature Reserve protects Lithuania's largest raised bog, a vast expanse of sphagnum moss, dark pools, and stunted pines stretching across 11,212 hectares near the Belarusian border. This is one of the last truly wild places in Lithuania — a primeval landscape that has remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years.
The bog is home to an extraordinary array of wildlife, including wolves, lynx, black storks, golden eagles, and several species of carnivorous plants including sundews and bladderworts. Walking across the quaking bog surface — where the ground bounces beneath your feet — is an otherworldly experience.
Access to the reserve is restricted to protect its fragile ecosystem, but guided tours along the peripheral trails are available. The landscape has an ethereal quality, especially in morning mist when the dark pools and twisted pine silhouettes create an atmosphere straight from a fairy tale. This is Lithuania at its most wild and pristine.
Why Visit
Experience one of Europe's last great wildernesses. The Čepkeliai bog is ancient, vast, and home to wildlife you won't find anywhere else in Lithuania.
History
Designated as a strict nature reserve in 1975. The bog has been forming for over 5,000 years. Part of the Dzūkija National Park ecosystem.
Address
Čepkeliai Reserve, Varėna district
Admission
Free (guided tour required)
54.0333, 24.4833
Visitor Tips
- 1Guided tours only — book through the national park
- 2Wear waterproof boots — the bog is wet
- 3Bring binoculars for wildlife
- 4Mosquito repellent is absolutely essential
- 5No marked trails — guide required
