The Kelmė district, being on the historic Via Hanza road, attracts visitors with the diversity of its region: the beautiful bends of the Dubysa, Venta and other rivers, clean lakes, and many heritage sites.
There are even 7 nature reserves (Šilkainiai geomorphological, Šatrija landscape, etc.) and 4 regional parks (Tytuvėnai, Kurtuvėnai, Dubysa, Varniai) in the district. Dubysa and Venta with tributaries flow through the territory. There are 53 lakes (the largest - Gauštvinis, Gludas, Bridvaišis, Karklėnai) and others.
We would like to start this trip with the natural heritage of Kelmė district in Tytuvėnai. As a first stop, we recommend to choose the Tytuvėnai Regional park visitor center, where You will get acquainted with the flora and fauna of the Tytuvėnai Regional park, get useful information, and, if it's necessary, rent a bicycle.
Tytuvėnai is famous for its amazing chain of lakes. Therefore, the next stop could be Bridvaišis or Gilius lakes. At Bridvaišis Lake, tourists are offered active entertainment - kayaks, water bikes, water boards, Wake Park, etc. The opposite is the shore of Gilius Lake, around which there is a hiking trail. It is an oasis of peaceful rest.
Another natural gem in Kelmė district is the Akmenų Rūža cognetive trail. You will find a 1.3 km long nature trail 11 km from Tytuvėnai near Kiaunoriai.
Another stop could be the Burbaičiai mound, which has an exceptional shape. According to the legend, in ancient times the mound of Burbaičiai was flooded by a giant: a giant of unparalleled size, once passed by this place, got tired and sat down to rest on the high shore of Kražantė. He then took off the wooden shoe, poured out the land from it and then it became a hill, which is now called Piliukas.
After looking at the panorama from the mound, You should visit the town of Kražiai, famous for its wide history, where the impressive Medžiokalnis and Vytautas Hill will be waiting for You.
Vytautas Hill was very comfortable for the locals to establish a place of pagan worship here, where an altar was built and a sacred fire was lit in it. On Vytautas Hill, people offered sacrifices to gods and ancestors, and there were pagan cemeteries. It is no coincidence that Grand Duke Vytautas ordered to build one of the first Christian temples in Samogitia. Everyone who wants to observe Kražiai should climb 50 steps made of stone to the top of Vytautas Hill. Here, in the most archaic archeological monument, still stands a brick belfry which was built of brick walls of a collapsing Jesuit church around 1852.
A lot of legends, stories have reached our days about Medžiokalnis. The stories include the holy oak and holy water, which comes from under its roots, sacred fire and a statue of the goddess Medeinė. According to the folklorist L. Jucevičius, who wrote in 1874, the dungeons went from the hill to Kražiai and Linkaučiai. The nobles rode and hunted on this Medžiokalnis hill. From there came the name of Medžiokalnis, the former zoo of Kražiai manor. There rested king Žygimantas Augustas, dukes Kęsgaila, Radvila and Chodkevičiai.
And we suggest to end the trip around the natural pearls of Kelmė district at Svilė sources. Svilė sources are one of the most impressive in Lithuania. They are the largest by surface area and the third by reducing groundwater levels. In 1.8 hectares boils over a hundred eyes the source from which flows about 350 meters long Svilė cold-water stream. We recommend You to bring empty containers and fill them with fresh source water.
There are 8 unique natural heritage sites along the route. If You choose this route, You will drive 112 km. The total number of kilometers of the route does not include the distances of the nature trails.
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