Ignalina

Aukštaitija's more than 100 named lakes exist because of how the last Ice Age ended here specifically — as the glacier covering the region retreated roughly 12,000 years ago, it left behind uneven deposits of sand, gravel and clay called kams, and meltwater filled the depressions between them, creating the dense cluster of interconnected lakes and low forested ridges that define the park's landscape today. Lake Tauragnas, at over 60 metres, is Lithuania's deepest lake, a direct result of how deeply the ice scoured that particular basin, while Lake Dringis's larger, shallower surface makes it the park's most popular lake for boating and swimming. Rivers link many of the lakes into connected chains, letting visitors paddle between several in a single multi-day canoe or kayak route rather than treating each lake as an isolated stop.

Ginučiai, a small village on one of the park's lakes, holds a restored 19th-century water mill still in working order, its wooden wheel turned by the same small stream that has powered it for generations — a rare example of a functioning historic mill rather than a static museum exhibit, and a direct, tangible link to the traditional rural economy the national park's own conservation mandate was designed to preserve alongside the natural landscape. The mill sits within easy reach of several of the park's lakeside hiking and cycling trails, making it a natural stop on a half-day loop rather than a destination requiring a special detour.