Administration of Dzūkija National Park and Čepkeliai State Nature Reserve

Čepkelių valstybinis gamtinis rezervatas is a protected area on the southern edge of Lithuania, in Varėnos district. The Katros river, which forms the state border between Lithuania and Belarus, is also the southern boundary of the reserve. From the north and west, the reserve borders Dzūkijos nacionalinis parkas, and there is a protective zone to the east. An exhibition is set up at the Directorate. The reserve covers an area of 11,212 hectares, with high bogs making up 54%. The Directorate is located in Merkinė. The reserve was established in 1975 to protect one of Lithuania's oldest and most unique forested bogs, inland forested dunes, relict lakes, the natural hydrological regime of the bog, and valuable and rare fauna and flora. It was created on the site of a botanical-zoological sanctuary established in 1960. Since 1993, it has been a wetland of international importance (protected under the Ramsar Convention). It is part of the European ecological network Natura 2000. In 2019, Čepkelių reserve was awarded the European Wild Natura Territory certificate. Čepkeliai is a unique bog complex little affected by human activity. The largest areas are covered by heathland high bogs, overgrown with rare shrubby pines. More than 20 small lakes are concentrated in the eastern part of the bog. In the southern part, the high bog gradually transitions into low bogs, where there are sedge meadows, reed beds, and alder thickets. At the western edge of the reserve, the Musteikos stream originates in wet black alder groves and sedge meadows. Around it are pine and mixed wetlands. The larger part of the reserve’s forests consists of dry heaths with lichens and cranberry shrubs growing on the dunes surrounding the bog. The reserve is notable for its exceptional habitat and species diversity and the abundance of protected plant and animal species. The reserve’s symbol, the crane, nests here, and it is home to the largest crane breeding grounds in Lithuania. Natural and cultural monuments include hollow pines.