The history of the Curonian Peninsula, that is washed by the waves of the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea, dates to the times when there still lived giants. A legend has it that the Curonian Spit was formed by a good-natured giantess Neringa, who poured sand from her apron in order to create a haven for local fishermen from the raging sea monsters. For centuries, this legend has inspired the local people who live, work and create and who are characterized as having a staunch character, and are known for their reliability and hospitality. For many centuries, this land has been attracting travelers and artists from all over the world. The legend of Neringa with the Neringa’s scenery and unique traditions inspire painters, photographers and writers.

The exceptionally clean Neringa’s beaches of white sand of are recognized internationally, and since 2002, every consecutive year they have been awarded the Blue Flag. It is a sign that the beach meets the highest environmental and service quality standards. One of the most influential tourism publications, “The Lonely Planet”, has included the beaches of the Curonian Spit in Europe’s Top Ten Beaches 2015. In 2014, the Curonian Spit was awarded the Quality Coast Certificate and in the same year it was listed as one of the 100 World’s Sustainable Tourism Destinations.

Curative factors

Seaside.

The iodized and salt-rich ionized ultra-clean seaside air, a sunny seaside microclimate with very specific features of temperature, pressure, humidity, wind and contrastivity. Seashore air acts as a giant inhaler, supplementing the body with vital aerosols, electrolytes and trace elements. It should be noted that Neringa, just like other resorts located on the islands and coasts of the Baltic Sea, has a higher number of hours of sunshine and days than the areas that are more remote from the sea.

Water bodies.

The Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea with their 45 km long and 30-40 m wide ultra-clean sandy beaches, are suitable both for passive and active recreation, also the contrast, between the temperature of the water and the air, the cleanliness and lithology of the beach and the sand-bar, and the waves. Water procedures in the sea open up the pores and the skin’s receptors are saturated with a variety of trace elements, organic materials and mineral salts.

Landscape.

The forests of the Curonian Spit, the open wilderness, abound in plants, such as gypsophilia, thyme, juniper, thorn, etc., that have volatile compounds. Forests cover 70 per cent of the Curonian Spit, most of the forest (80 per cent) consists of conifers: pine forests, mountain pines, junipers. Many of the vegetation habitats (mature pine forests, recreational parks, herbs and aromatic herbs meadows) have a significant positive impact on the human body and psychological condition.

What can you do?

In Neringa, the most popular leisure activities are outdoor activities. Water activities offered during the warm season include a variety of boating trips: trips of various duration by pleasure boats, by yachts, by ancient sailboats – by the kurenas, by canoes and by paddles. Every year the number of fans of the extreme sport – force kites – is increasing.

Neringa has excellent conditions for cycling tourism. The Neringa resort has one of the longest cycling paths in the entire Lithuania, which feeds into the Seaside Cycling Ring and the “EuroVelo 10” International Baltic Sea Cycling Route. The cycling path has plenty of resting places where you can recover your breath or have a snack. For active leisure lovers –-for walking and jogging enthusiasts and for cyclists –- Neringa can offer orienteering sport parks located throughout the territory of the resort. The orienteering sport parks will be of interest not only to experienced orienteering sport enthusiasts, but also for beginners, for children who are only starting their acquaintance with the map. For Nordic hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers, Neringa offers a number of well-equipped cognitive walking trails: the cognitive – dendrological trail in Juodkrantė, the cognitive trail in Nagliai Nature Reserve and the Parnidis Cognitive Trail in the vicinity of Nida. One of the most popular outdoor attractions, Blokart’s windbreakers (in the winter season they turn into ice sledge) offer you to race with the wind on land.

In Neringa you can also try the following attractions: fishing, mini golf, outdoor gym, basketball courts, tennis courts and more.