SAIDĖ COGNITIVE WALKWAY

Distance from Vilnius ~15 km
The length of the walkway ~ 0,75 km
It will take you 1 hour to go along  the walkway.

    The length of Saidė cognitive walkway is 750 meters. It is set out along the unique and beautiful Saidė stream. In the shade of the old oaks, listening to the Saidė stream flowing through the abundant stones, it is possible to feel the remarkable beauty of the nature of this place. A lot of secrets shroud the apparent sacred place, which is near the stream and where stones are arranged in a circle, and the Altar stone lying close. Travelling along the cognitive walkway you will be able to visit the great Saidė boulder, which is close to the confluence of the Saidė and the Neris and which is of impressive measures.  

The values of Saidė cognitive walkway:

	1. THE SAIDĖ STREAM     The length of the Saidė stream is only 5 km, and only the lowland of the stream belongs to the Neris Regional Park. The Saidė outflows from Didžiulis Lake. The water surplus of the great Trakai lakes flows with this stream and with the Bražuolė to the Neris. The stream is refreshed by the springs gushing out of its steep slopes. With a view to preserving the unique torrential Saidė stream, the boulders in its riverbed, the narrow steep-sloped canyon and the confluence with the Neris, the Saidė hydrographical strict nature reserve has been established.
	2. THE HILL FORT OF STIRNIAI      Stirniai mound is set out at the end of the narrow coast cape in the confluence of the Neris and the Saidė. It is thought that people used the mound at the beginning of the second millennium. From the side of the nearby hills, a complex defence system had to be installed. Here there are traces of several embankments and ditches remained so far. Local inhabitants tell that their grandparents used to say that in ancient times on this hill called the Tall Hill, there was a big castle, the same as in Trakai.
	3. SAIDĖ RIFT     Saidė rift is one of the greatest rifts of the Neris, which is between the villages of Volai and Saidžiai, and consists of several thresholds; its inclination is 1 m/km. Here the river does not freeze even in sharpest frosts. There was a saying among the rafters: ”If you sail past Saidžiai, you will travel farther,” because the other rifts of the Neris were not so treacherous.
	4. THE GREAT BOULDER OF SAIDĖ     The Boulder of Saidė is on the bank of the stream, as it maybe was on the slope of a powerful river somewhere in the north, in Sweden or Finland, until the moving glacier tore a piece of a rock from a hill and started to roll to Lithuania. It rolled and rolled until only this-sized boulder was left from the rock. Its width is 2,5 m, and the height is about 1,5 m.
	5. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF THE VALLEY      Saidė cognitive walkway curves among the old tuberous-branched oaks. The age of the oaks of these places is more than 200 years. A more careful visitor will notice that openings of the rough bark of some oaks shine bright yellow, which is given by the lumps of rare lichens -  Chrysothrix candelaris.Torrential water of the Saidė attracts spawning fish. One can see trouts here, in the confluence with the Neris even salmons spawn.