Kretinga District Municipality: Nature, History and Garden Art

Key facts

• Salantai Regional Park protects the landscape of the ancient valleys of the Erla, Salantas and Minija rivers and their surroundings.
• At Imbarė hillfort, the Curonian castle was an administrative and economic centre of the land of Ceklis from the 10th to the 13th century.
• The visitor centre exhibition introduces the park landscape shaped by the Ice Age; an interactive game lets visitors explore its landscape and natural features for themselves.
• The visitor centre also introduces the Samogitian dialect, traditional architecture and archaeology.
• The Japanese Garden in Mažučiai covers 16 hectares and features bonsai, a rock garden with sakura and several ponds.
• The cable tow at 313 Cable Park is 610 metres long; the facility has 12 features by UNIT Parktech.

Nature and culture in Salantai Regional Park

The ancient valleys of the Erla, Salantas and Minija rivers define the landscape of Salantai Regional Park, which protects them and their surroundings. At the visitor centre, you can learn about the park landscape shaped by the Ice Age. Alongside the exhibition, an interactive game gives you the chance to explore the landscape and its natural features for yourself. So, as well as taking in the sights, you can engage with the natural environment in a playful way.

The visitor centre also introduces the Samogitian dialect, traditional architecture and archaeology. These subjects broaden the focus beyond the park landscape: nature and cultural heritage each have their own place there. For your plans, this makes a clear difference between a stay focused on landscapes and one that also includes an interest in regional culture and archaeology.

Hillfort, garden and wakeboarding

Imbarė hillfort connects an archaeological site with the history of the land of Ceklis. The Curonian castle was an administrative and economic centre from the 10th to the 13th century. Its historical significance therefore cannot be attributed to just one function: its documented role encompassed both administration and the economy, and extended across several centuries.

The Japanese Garden in Mažučiai offers a different focus. Its 16 hectares feature bonsai, a rock garden with sakura and several ponds. These elements give the garden a variety of features, from bonsai design to the rock garden and water features. If, when planning your trip, you are more interested in gardens than historical sites, you will find a distinct area of interest here in Kretinga District Municipality.

At 313 Cable Park, the focus is on wakeboarding and the facility’s equipment: the cable tow measures 610 metres and has 12 features by UNIT Parktech. The length of the tow and the number of features describe two different aspects of the park. This makes it clearly distinct from the park landscape, archaeological heritage and garden.

In the wider destination of Klaipėda District

In the wider destination of Klaipėda District, you can consider adding other landscapes and destinations to your plans. Two hiking trails there can be distinguished by their starting points and lengths: “Miško Katedros Takais” starts in Juodkrantė and is 6 kilometres long; “Kuršių Niūrija” starts in Preila and measures 5 kilometres. These details offer a direct comparison of the trail lengths without presenting the trails as parts of a single route.

Nemunas Delta Regional Park is also part of the wider destination of Klaipėda District. Its landscapes include shallow bays of the Curonian Lagoon, wetlands, Rusnė Island and the Ventė Cape peninsula. The biodiversity of the delta’s rivers can be explored by boat from Šilutė, Rusnė, Minija or Ventė; boat availability and departure options may vary seasonally. At Ventė Cape, the museum and visitor centre of the ornithological station offer insight into the history of bird migration and bird ringing.

Another cultural attraction in the wider destination of Klaipėda District is the Palanga Amber Museum. It is housed in the manor palace of Count Feliksas Tiškevičius in Birutė Park and has more than 30,000 exhibits. The district also offers museum visits with a distinct focus on amber, alongside its landscapes and nature.

Discover more destinations: Darbėnai, Šlaveitai, Rūdaičiai, Laukžemė, Kartena, Dupulčiai, Neringos savivaldybė, Klaipėda District Municipality.

Back to the wider travel overview: Klaipėda District.