Located the furthest south of all the Baltic states, Lithuania’s sandy beaches, enchanting castles and cobblestoned towns combine to make this country an ideal place for geocaching — and now, it has the added distinction of being the latest addition to the geocaching country souvenir collection!
To celebrate geocaching in Lithuania, we’ve pulled together this list of five awesome geocaching experiences you’ll definitely want to add to your bucket list:
This EarthCache takes you to the most famous national park in Lithuania, which is also listed as a UNESCO site. Here you will find sand dunes and lush forests jutting out into the Curonian Lagoon.
Photo by geocacher bolyak.
“What a place. The true magic of nature showed here. And tonight’s lighting was perfect. A beautiful sunset in the west and glimmering lights from the cities in the east. The wind on our back walking upwards was perfect.” — Team Davidsson
Lithuania’s capital city, Vilnius, is known for the city’s Old Town. Here you’ll find impressive architecture dating back to the 13th century, like the cathedral near this geocache. While you’re there, you might also want to check out GC1Z4H6.
The Vilnius Cathedral was first built in the 13th century, but has been rebuilt and restored many times since then.
“Wow wow wow! I liked this one very much. I didn’t expected it in such visible location, very well masked! Thank you for the great cache.” – SNlEGS
After visiting the Vilnius Old Town, you can catch a view from above at the Gediminas’ Tower, pictured in the new Lithuania souvenir. This tower has become a symbol for Lithuania.
From the Gediminas’ Tower, there are spectacular views of the famous Old Town in Vilnius.
“Found on our Baltic Cycle Tour with cb_caching. Wonderful place with fantastic panoramic view, best to visit in the morning sun…” – Geolej
This series of geocaches will take you on a tour of Lithuania’s border towns. Be sure to bring your passport, as some of the geocaches will take you into Lithuania’s neighbor countries, Russia and Belarus, which are outside of the European Union.
Photo by geocacher valdisj at one stop on the series, GC5CV3C.
“Thank you for guiding us to this church: when coming closer, we have noticed a professional orchestra was doing their final check for this night’s concert in this church. We used the opportunity to listen to Edvard Grieg’s music and went for the cache later.” – TheWinterClan
Visit the city of Kaunas to soak in Lithuanian art, culture and history. Be sure to make a stop at the Kaunas Grand TB Hotelto swap out a trackable!
Located nearby: the Kaunas Castle and another great geocache (GC58XD1).
“WOW! Once [the muggle] left, we found the key and opened the mysterious door. The geocache idea – amazing. Thanks to the hider for such an exciting treasure!” – Raccoons. Casimir
We’ll unveil one new souvenir every week until all FIVE are officially released and awarded by mid December. Learn about last week’s new souvenir announcement, Slovenia, here.
Slovenia is the first of FIVE geocaching country souvenirs to be released this year!
That’s correct! If the allure of varied landscapes, rich culture, and countless barrels of wine weren’t enough, you can now earn a geocaching country souvenir for logging a geocache in Slovenia (in addition to four other new countries that will be revealed soon). Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art that are displayed on your geocaching profile page when you find a geocache in certain locations.
As an aperitif, we’ve put together five must-see geocaches from “the green piece of Europe.” Enjoy!
GC14916 Vas Kocno is a 6 stage Multi-Cache in a charming village
According to the geocache’s listing page, this geocaching is in one of the most idyllic regions of Slovenia:
Kočno is a wonderful small village, surrounded by unspoiled nature. It counts about 20 homes with 85 inhabitants. It’s located on the eastern side of Pohorje mountain at some 500 meters altitude and on the south side of the Polskava river. The villagers are mostly occupied with farming, primarily agriculture, growing cattle, fruits and wine. The village is nicely arranged and is a real open-air ethnological museum. Old farming machines, tools and gadgets that were used in old times on farms in Kočno and surroundings, are put on display all around the village.
GC488RH – Ljubljanski nebotičnik / Skyscraper is a Traditional Cache with an amazing view of the capital city
In the capital city of Ljubljana, one of the most recognizable landmarks is Nebotičnik also known as Ljubljana’s skyscraper. When construction was complete in February of 1933, it was one of the tallest buildings in all of Europe. When you enter the skyscraper, take a moment to admire the gorgeous spiral staircase before heading up to the grand 360° view and tiny geocache on the observation deck.
GC3QWBD Morigenos is a Traditional Cache in the seaside town of Piran
This geocache will take you to a beautiful location overlooking the Adriatic Sea, and was made in partnership with the Morigenos – Slovenian Marine Mammal Society who study a resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the area. For an additional cost of 1 € and some extra time, head up to the top of the church tower for a view of the town and coastline.
GC26YR7 Blejski otok / Island on Lake Bled is a Traditional Cache on Slovenia’s only island
One of the oldest castle in Slovenia is the site of countless picturesque postcards. As tradition goes, if a couple gets married at the church on Bled Island, the groom must carry the bride up all 99 steps to ensure a long and happy marriage. You have three methods for reaching the geocache on Bled Island:
Take a boat
Swim over in the summer months (make sure to bring extra clothes that are appropriate for entering the building on the island), or
Walk across the frozen lake in winter
One would think that the storybook nature of finding this geocache would be impossible to top, but inside the geocache is another set of coordinates for a nearby bonus geocache. Fairy tales do come true!
Given the piercing green color of this lake, it’s obvious to see how Zelenci Sources got it’s name: Zelen means “green” in Slovene. You’ll be able to spot mini water “jets” that resemble tiny volcanoes under the surface of the water, and find two types of lizards in this area. If you want to see super cool 360° photos of this natural wonder, click this link.
Inspired yet? Better start packing your bags and exploring the wonders of Slovenia and meeting their lovely citizens!
Slovenian GIFF Weekend 2015 in Ljubljana
We’ll unveil one new souvenir every week until all FIVE are officially released and awarded by mid December. Souvenirs that are currently available can be found here. A list of currently available geocaching souvenirs and even the ones you’ve already earned can be found on Geocaching.com. And, if you’ve already found a geocache in Slovenia, we will retroactively add this souvenir to your profile after all five country souvenirs are announced.
Geocaches are placed throughout the beautiful town of Helena and its surroundings.
Why Helena is a great place to visit:
Helena is halfway between Glacier and Yellowstone National Park — the perfect midway point for your Montana tour. While you’re in town, the GeoTour will take you to some of the most beautiful Helena vantage points. Be sure to catch a ride on the Last Chance Tour Train or the Gates of the Mountain Boat Tour for a guided Helena experience.
Most geocaches are accessible March through October.
Smiles all around!
Must-see attractions:
In addition to the Last Chance Tour Train and Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour, check out the Montana State Capitol Building (GC4AJVG), Montana History Museum (GC4AG5E), The Parrot Confectionery — an old-fashioned soda fountain (near GCJZ9C) — and 75 miles of hiking & biking trails directly accessible from Downtown Helena.
Hidden gems only locals know about:
Don’t miss Two Camps Vista (GCM27T), the perfect combination of Montana history and spectacular views. This off the beaten path destination is also a monument to the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
Prizes:
A locally made trackable Geocoin!
Geocache GC2CXWT is located near the spectacular Cathedral in town.
What geocachers are saying about the Helena Montana GeoTour:
“I am visiting Montana from Lubbock, Texas, and wanted to see your capital building. It is very pretty and I’m glad Montana was able to restore it to its original grandeur. I took the guided tour — very informative and interesting. Helena seems to be such a nice little city. Thanks for the cache.” –P. M. McNabb
“We were on holidays to Yellowstone Park from Canada and when we heard about your GeoTour, we simply could not resist doing it. We changed our route and came to Helena and we are so glad we did. This was a spectacular adventure and the highlight of our trip, well done!” – Kelly S., Alberta, Canada
Additional Information:
Plan on spending two to three days in Helena in order to complete the GeoTour. Check the website for local hotel discounts.
Note: All the above information was provided by the GeoTour host. Copy has been edited by Geocaching HQ.
Soweit haben wir dieses Jahr 15 Jahre Geocaching gebührlich gefeiert. Wir fanden einen Geocache am Jahrestag des ersten jemals versteckten Geocaches, haben viel über #TBT-Fotos aus den frühen Tagen des Geocaching gelacht und uns sogar mit unseren Geochaching-Freunden auf einen großen Road Trip begeben. Wie die meisten Geocaching-Strähnen wird jedoch auch das Jahr 2015 unweigerlich zu Ende gehen…
Aber hier ist die gute Nachricht: Dieses Jahr laden wir Euch ein, Lebewohl zu 2015 und Hallo zu 2016 mit zwei neuen Geocaching-Souvenirs zu sagen. Finde einen Geocache oder nimm am 31. Dezember an einem Event teil, um dir ein Lebewohl-2015-Souvenir zu verdienen. Beginne dein Jahr gleich mit dem Hallo-2016-Souvenir, das man sich auch durch Finden eines Geocaches oder der Teilnahme an einem Event am 1. Januar verdienen kann.
Wie kann ich mir beide Souvenirs verdienen?
Verdiene Dir das Lebewohl-2015-Souvenir, indem du einen Geocache findest oder an einem Event am 31. Dezember 2015 teilnimmst.
Verdiene Dir das Hallo-2016-Souvenir, indem Du einen weiteren Geocache findest oder an einem anderen Event am 1. Januar 2016 teilnimmst.
Kann man zwei Souvenirs für einen Event verdienen, wenn dieser am 31. Dezember beginnt und am 1. Januar endet?
Netter Versuch. Um beide Souvenirs zu bekommen, musst du zwei verschiedene Geocaches finden und/oder zwei Events besuchen – je einen bzw. eines pro Tag.
Kann ich aufeinanderfolgende Events organisieren, um beide Souvenirs zu erhalten?
Nein! Die Geocaching-Richtlinien verbieten das Aneinanderreihen von Events. Um das Aneinanderreihen von Events zu vermeiden, sollten Event-Geocaches zeitlich getrennt und von unterschiedlichen Geocachers organisiert sein, mindestens 30 Minutes dauern und an anderen Orten als andere Events stattfinden. In den Geocaching-Richtlinien findest Du weitere Informationen über das Planen eines Event-Geocache.
Wie veranstalte ich einen großartigen Neujahrs-Geocaching-Event?
Keine Sorge, wir haben die Lösung für Dich. Dieser Blogeintrag zeigt Dir in 5 einfachen Schritten, wie Du eine fantastische Geocaching-Party veranstalten kannst.
Ob Du das neue Jahr nun feiern wirst, indem du Trauben isst (wie in Spanien), Dein Zuhause dekorierst (wie das in Japan üblich ist), oder indem Du Geocachen gehst (wie das auf der ganzen Welt getan wird), Neujahr ist die Zeit, an das alte Jahr zurückzudenken und das neue Jahr willkommen zu heißen.
Wie wirst du Lebewohl zu 2015 und Hallo zu 2016 sagen?
