Camino Lituano

In July 2017, a group of Lithuanian pilgrims gathered in the small town of Punia to inaugurate a route they had spent a year mapping, marking, and negotiating with landowners. The Camino Lituano — Lithuania's section of the Way of St. James — was open. Yellow arrows and scallop shells now guide walkers 500 kilometers from Žagarė on the Latvian border to Seinai on the Polish border, connecting the Baltic states to the ancient pilgrimage road toward Santiago de Compostela.

📜 History & Significance

Lithuania was the last European nation to accept Christianity. Grand Duke Jogaila's baptism in 1386 ended centuries of pagan resistance, and once converted, Lithuanians embraced the faith with a distinctive intensity visible today in roadside crosses, wayside chapels, and ornate Baroque churches.

The Camino Lituano was founded in 2016 by a group of enthusiastic Lithuanian pilgrims and travelers who saw the need to connect their country to the broader European Santiago network. After a year of preparation — surveying paths, establishing accommodation, placing waymarks — the route officially opened in July 2017 with a celebration in Punia. The route also forms part of the Romea Strata, the European Cultural Route leading to Rome, with Romea Strata waymarks appearing alongside the traditional scallop shells in certain sections.

🥾 Route Overview

The main Camino Lituano stretches approximately 500 km from Žagarė to Seinai across 21 stages, typically completed in 20-21 days of walking. Each stage averages 18-30 km, starting and ending in towns where accommodation is available. The route crosses the gently rolling agricultural landscape of Lithuania — forests, farmland, lakes, and quiet villages — through the regions of Šiauliai, Kaunas, and Alytus.

The terrain is mostly flat to gently undulating, making it accessible for walkers of all fitness levels. Paths alternate between forest trails, country lanes, and quiet asphalt roads. The route is marked with yellow arrows at crossroads and side roads, supplemented by scallop shell markers on a blue background.

🗺️ Route Variants

Three official variants exist:

Main Route — 500 km, 21 stages. Žagarė → Buivydžiai → Gataučiai → Rusliai → Pakruojis → Rozalimas → Burbiškis → Vadaktai → Paberžė → Kėdainiai → Panevėžiukas → Biliūnai → Kaunas → Pažaislis → Daukšiagirė → Prienai → Punia → Alytus → Miroslavas → Meteliai → Lazdijai → Seinai.

Žemaitija (Samogitian) Route — 415 km, 18 stages. A western branch through the Samogitian highlands and the culturally distinct Žemaitija region.

Aukštaitija Route — 261 km, 12 stages. An eastern branch through the lake-rich Aukštaitija region, offering a shorter alternative.

All three variants are waymarked and supported with accommodation guides available through the official Camino Lituano mobile app (iOS and Android).

☩ Key Pilgrimage Sites Along the Way

The route passes near the Hill of Crosses (Kryžių kalnas) outside Šiauliai, Lithuania's most powerful expression of folk piety — a hillock bearing over 200,000 crosses planted by pilgrims, mourners, and resisters across centuries of occupation. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass here in 1993 and called it a place where one could feel the faith of an entire nation.

In Kaunas, the Camino passes through Lithuania's second city, where walkers can visit the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Church of Vytautas the Great before continuing to the Pažaislis Monastery — a masterpiece of Italian Baroque architecture set on the shores of the Kaunas Reservoir, housing the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.

Punia, where the route was inaugurated, sits on a dramatic bend of the Nemunas River with one of Lithuania's oldest hillforts. Further south, Alytus offers the Church of St. Louis and the Alytus bridge over the Nemunas. The final stages pass through the Dzūkija region with its pine forests and lakeland villages before crossing into Poland at Seinai.

🥾 Practical Information

Best time to walk: May 1 through October 31. Lithuanian summers are mild (15-25°C) with long daylight hours (up to 17 hours in June). Rain is possible year-round; waterproof layers are essential.

Accommodation: Pilgrim accommodations average approximately EUR 10 per person per night. Options include hotels, hostels, homesteads, and designated pilgrim lodgings at the end of each stage. Bed linen availability varies; a sleeping bag liner is recommended. Wi-Fi is not guaranteed at all locations but available in towns and cafes.

Pilgrim credential: A Pilgrim's Passport (piligrimų pasas) is required to access designated pilgrim accommodation and collect stamps along the route. Credentials are available from the Lithuanian St. James Way Association.

Navigation: The route is waymarked with yellow arrows and scallop shells. The official Camino Lituano app (available on iOS and Android) provides GPS navigation, accommodation listings, and points of interest for all three route variants. Printable PDF maps are available for each stage at caminolituano.com.

Flexibility: Pilgrims can skip stages by bus and resume walking later. Each stage starts and ends in a town with public transport connections.

🔗 Connections

From the north: The Camino Lituano begins where the Camino Latvia ends at Žagarė on the Latvian-Lithuanian border. Pilgrims walking the Baltic Camino from Estonia through Latvia continue seamlessly into Lithuania.

To the south: At Seinai (Sejny) on the Lithuanian-Polish border, the route connects to the Camino Polaco and the Way of St. James Via Regia, continuing through Poland toward Santiago de Compostela.

Romea Strata: The Lithuanian section also forms part of the Romea Strata — the network of pilgrimage routes from the Baltic states to Rome, recognized as an official European Cultural Route.