Location: 5.89 km from Nida

A visit to the Curonian Spit is not complete until you visit the highest dune of the peninsula, the Vecekrugas Dune. Standing at  67.2 m, the mound opens up a majestic vista of the almost Sisyphean effort of the local people to tame nature's mights. For many miles ahead and around, hugged by the lagoon shores and low-lying forest, an emerald carpet of mountain pines can be seen, which was planted by hand, one by one. Visitors can take in the vigour of this manmade barricade of all-engulfing sand that buried village after village on this narrow strand between two waters.

Situated in the Karvaičiai nature reserve, the dune is said to have been named after an ancient inn that nestled below its side. The most impressive is its northern side, where the dune’s sand stripes intersect with the picturesque Curonian pines.

The best way to reach the Dune of Vecekrugas is via the bicycle route, about 1.5 km south of Preila settlement, near the Horn of Preila.