Aukstaitija National Park was founded in 1974. At present the total area of the park is 40,570 hectares. The park is located nearly 100 km to the north of Vilnius, and roughly 170 km to the north east of Kaunas. The railway St. Petersburg.- Vilnius - Warsaw - Berlin passes along the south-east boundary of the park. 50% of the park area belongs to Ignalina district, 25% to Utena district, and 25% - to Švenčionys district. The headquarters of Aukštaitija National Park is in the village of Palūšė, Ignalina disrict.

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VILLAGE
Aukštaitija National Park has 116 villages with the total population of 2000. The largest settlement in the park is Kaltanėnai with 300 residents. Other 10 settlements have about 100 inhabitants. Most of villages are in fact as a group of a few farmsteads. The Northern part of the park with largest woods is the most sparsely populated. Here villages are located close to lakes or on riverbanks. There are some surviving lone farm- steads. Six ethnographic villages - Šuminai, Strazdai, Varniškės-2, Salos-2 - retained the old village development structure. Kretuonys, Sakališkės, Meironys, Ginučiai are villages with one street planing structure. Their peculiarity is that houses are built on both sides of the streets with their narrow side facing the street and auxiliary building behind them.

RELIEF AND CLIMATE
The relief of Aukštaitija National Park is especially various. The park area is on the average 150-155 altitude above sea level. The highest hills rise over 200 metres a.s.l. The deepest hollows (down to 40-60 m) are flooded by water. The range of surface variation is nearly 100 meters. The relief was shaped by Ice Age which had covered Lithuania a number of times. Moraine eminencies with lakes were shaped during the last glacier period.

Siliniškės ridge of the hills is of special interest, extending into Ginučiai and Papiliakalnė mounds and the Hill Ladakalnis. From both sides it is surrounded by two deep lakes. The climate in Aukštaitija National Park is sea-continental. The park has on the average 1707 sunny hours of a year. The annual average temperature is +5.5 °C. July is the warmest month (average temperature +18.5 °C). The early frosts come in the second half of September, while the last ones may occur as late as May 20. Permanent snow cover forms in late December. Annual precipitation is 600-650 mm. The highest temperature of 33 °C was registered in summer of the 1992.

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