The Efa Dune is located at 42 kilometers of the Curonian Spit, stretching from Zelenogradsk (Kaliningrad region) to Lithuanian Klaipeda. The sand ridge received its name in honor of Wilhelm Franz Eph, a German scientist and engineer who was involved in strengthening and landscaping the spit.

Oddly enough, but a couple of hundred years ago, today’s attraction posed a serious problem for the local population. Long-term deforestation and cattle grazing led to the fact that in the 18th-19th centuries. A real environmental disaster broke out in this area of ​​the dune landscape. The place turned into a lifeless desert, and the sands that began to move began to fill up the houses of local residents. The German authorities (at that time the territory of modern Kaliningrad belonged to Prussia) decided to stop the advance of the dunes by entrusting the development of a project to strengthen particularly dangerous sections of the spit to V.F. Efu. It is thanks to the efforts of the engineer that today’s visitors to the heights of Efa can admire its desert landscapes without fear of being buried under a layer of sand.

Walk among the dunes

Regular excursions are organized to the Efa dune, but at the same time, many travelers prefer to get acquainted with the natural beauty of the height on their own. Since the area of ​​the site is small, it is easy to get around on foot. The tourist route passes through the southwestern slope of the Orekhovaya dune. The highest point of this majestic dune is the height of Efa (64 m above sea level).

Please note: to avoid accidents, walking on the Efa dune itself is prohibited. For walks and excursions, wooden boardwalks are used here, leading to the main viewing areas.

The sand ridge is located a little away from the 42 kilometer of the highway, as evidenced by the road sign. If you are traveling with your own car, then leave it at the roadside parking lot and walk along the wooden boardwalk passing through the pine forest. Along the way you can come across a large number of information stands telling about the flora and fauna of the Curonian Spit, as well as the history of this amazing natural-anthropogenic landscape.

Walking along the footbridges winding among the snow-white hills, don’t be too lazy to climb the Orekhovaya dune. It is from here that a wonderful view of the Curonian Lagoon, the Baltic Sea and the nearest village of Morskoe opens.

An interesting fact: the history of the village of Morskoye began in the 13th century. The first settlement on this section of the spit was founded by the knights of the Teutonic Order, giving it the name Pilkoppen. Throughout its existence, the village was periodically covered with sand, which is why it changed its location three times.

The height of Efa is equipped with 2 observation platforms, from which you can not only admire the cosmic landscape of the ridge, but also see the remains of the dune fortification system invented by a German scientist. On some slopes, fragments of fences made of dry reed stems are still preserved. Herbs with a powerful root system were planted in these improvised cells, which helped hold the sand mountains in place.

How to get there

Since the Efa Dune is located in close proximity to the highway, it is better to get here by car or bus. You can rent a car immediately upon arrival in Kaliningrad. Those who prefer to travel by public transport have two options: bus route 593, which goes from Kaliningrad to the village of Morskoye, or a trip on route 210, which departs from Zelenogradsk.

The long sandy peninsula of the Curonian Spit stretches from the southwest to the northeast. The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long sandbank separating the freshwater Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. The Curonian Spit is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is included in the list of natural wonders of the world as the longest sand bar in the world. Today it is difficult to imagine that once upon a time there was only a small ridge of islands on the site of this picturesque landscape. The peninsula began to form more than 8,000 years ago. Encountering an obstacle in the form of islands, the sea current slowed down, leaving sand on the shallows. Sand carried by the sea formed new islands, and shallows became sand dunes.

Even during the times of the Crusaders, the Curonian Spit was an important road junction connecting Prussia, the Baltic states and the Russian Empire. For five centuries, this road was used by the army, goods were transported, carriages and stagecoaches rode, horses rode, and Russian Emperor Peter I and Prussian Queen Louise passed by. Back in the distant 14th century, the first settlements began to appear along the road, postal stations began to operate, and helmsmen appeared. When people cut down the forests, nothing stopped the wind from freely moving sand, which began to cover roads, houses and even entire settlements. Sand, not retained by green spaces, has become a real disaster for local residents. People had to leave their homes and look for new places to live, where sand and wind could not overtake them.

The sand advanced so quickly that even the doors in the houses had to be made of two halves so that in the morning one could get out through the upper one.

Only when shifting sands began to cover the road, and the Curonian Lagoon became significantly shallower, did the state intervene in the situation to save the unique Curonian Spit. An environmental project lasting almost 200 years was developed, which in terms of the volume of activities carried out, labor costs and financing had no equal in the history of human civilization. In the 18th century, a special competition was announced for the best idea to save the road and people from the nomadic dunes. The winner was the project of Wittenberg University professor Johann Titsus. He proposed dividing the peninsula into two zones - green protective and residential protected. According to the scientist’s plan, the protective zone of the spit was supposed to consist of ramparts along the Baltic Sea, a strip of dune lowland and a stopped sand ridge. To prevent the dunes of the Curonian Spit from moving further, Titius proposed planting them with various plants so that they would create a stepped barrier to the westerly wind blowing from the sea. And the narrow dune strip on the side of the bay could become a residential area of ​​the spit.

The first work on creating the shaft began in 1803. Individual dunes on the sea side were united by wicker barriers, the wind began to push sand into the voids, and as a result a long wall appeared, stretching along the entire Curonian Spit - the foredune.

In the battle for the spit, the dunes often won; sometimes the sand completely covered the road, and people had no choice but to make their way near the sea. Fishing carts drove along the wet sea sand and royal carriages raced; they say that it was along this shore that the Prussian Queen Louise fled from the Napoleonic army.

Here, under the protection of the rampart, the best beaches of the Baltic States were formed. Wide, spacious beaches with clean sand attract tourists from all over the world, but here you can not only sunbathe, but also fish. One of the local delicacies is smoked fish. Flounder weighing 1 - 1.5 kilograms is caught here.

By the beginning of the 19th century, defensive fortifications appeared on both sides of the Curonian Spit. An artificial foredune grew along the sea, and from the side of the bay the movement of sands was stopped with the help of special barriers made of brushwood located on especially dangerous slopes.

Dune Efa is the highest point of the Curonian Spit. Named after the forester Franz Ef, who perfected the technology of sand fixation. By the way, his official position was called dune inspector.

A two-hundred-year-old technology for fixing sand - strong stakes are driven into the dune, they are laid with dry brushwood to create cells measuring approximately 2x2 meters. Subsequently, they should be overgrown with grass, flowers, and ideally trees, so that their powerful roots prevent the dune from moving further towards the bay.

The first plants grow a few tens of meters from the water; they are also called sand lovers. A strong wind from the sea carries seeds throughout the desert, and it turns out that rare but beautiful flowers sprout among the dunes. Sea mustard and coastal violet have adapted best to such harsh conditions. The plants have a powerful root system and stems that spread along the surface of the ground, which hold them on the sand and do not allow the wind to blow them away. On the slopes of the dunes of the Curonian Spit there are birch trees, of which only the top is visible at the top, and the trunk is hidden by a thick layer of sand.

Franz Efa managed to save the village of Pillkoppen (Morskoye) from complete falling asleep, but in fact this village had to be moved three times, people actually fled to escape the advancing sand. Dozens of fishing houses from past centuries are buried under 100 m of sand from the Efa dune. But now, thanks to the fortifications, the Efa dune no longer moves; it has retained its shape and location for more than a hundred years, which cannot be said about its nomadic neighbors, who continue to move. During this time they moved 400 meters.

From the village of Morskoye you can see how several centuries ago the dunes of the Curonian Spit were approaching the villages. But even now the neighborhood between man and sand can be called quite close. Right next to the old houses overgrown with grass, a threatening rampart of sand rises, ready to demolish all the buildings at any moment. However, the roots of the trees have woven real networks and reliably hold the sand, so that nothing threatens the local residents.

To preserve this amazing corner of the planet, it was decided to leave part of the dunes of the Curonian Spit for tourists.

But it is forbidden to walk on the sand in order to avoid the destruction of the dunes; the staff of the national park very carefully protect the pristine desert. The Baltic Sea beach, through the foredune, can be reached via special wooden boardwalks.

After the first day on Kos, we had walks through cities and towns, visiting architectural sights, hanging out in amber shops, and visiting museums. And after all this, on the last day of the vacation I wanted to go back to nature and to the sea. And we returned to Kos.
Here is the checkpoint at the entrance to the reserve.

If you enter by personal car, you will be charged a fee of about 300 rubles. Locals living on Kos, of course, have a pass; they do not take money from passengers. If you enter by bus, no one collects money from you either, however, my heart feels that somehow a small extra charge is still included in the fare. Compare prices: for approximately the same distance towards Kaliningrad and Kos, we paid 42 and 72 rubles, respectively. Well, this is nothing, of course.

This time it was decided to explore the part of the Spit close to the Lithuanian border, and we walked along the magnificent routes of Efa Heights and Swan Lake.

Height of Efa.
“Efa” is not a beautiful, incomprehensible feminine noun, but the genitive case of the proper name “Ef”. Franz Ef is another master forester who saved the village of Kosy from the uncontrollable sand.
The 1.5 km long route is located at 42 km of the spit, to the right of the highway. It runs along the southwestern slope of the Orekhovaya (Petsch) dune, which was planted with forest in the 80s. 19th century. At that time, this dune was rapidly moving towards the Curonian Lagoon. The village of Morskoe (Pillkoppen), which can be seen from the observation deck along the route, was in danger of being buried. During the sand disaster, the village changed its location three times to escape the onset of wandering dunes. Intensive systematic forest planting was required. They lasted five years, and they were led by the dune inspector (what a title, huh?) Franz Ef. Therefore, one of the highest points of the peninsula was called the Efa Heights, and the dune inspector himself began to be called the king of the Curonian Spit.

The trail goes up, but the walking is easy and pleasant, because this is one of the few routes on Kos, lined with wooden flooring.

On the sides there is a beautiful coniferous forest, you can breathe easily and somehow differently, so unlike the city or even the Moscow region.

There are two observation platforms along the route. From the first - a view of the slopes of the dunes opposite the sea, of the forest and undergrowth. The beauty around is such that you want to stay here.

However, the trail calls, go up a little more and here is the second observation deck at the top of the dune. A magnificent view of the bay opens up in front of you. The dunes run down to the water sparkling in the sun in smooth folds-waves of a dazzling white tablecloth. It’s impossible to take your eyes off: time after time, again and again, your gaze travels from the beginning of the sand near the guardian trees to the mirror of the bay.

Don’t listen to those who tell you that if you have already been to the heights of Muller, you don’t need to go to the heights of Efa (the real advice that we were given). They are completely different. As I already wrote, Müller’s height is a green forest height. A remarkable feature of the route to the heights of Efa is that it passes along the border of white and “green sands” - a surprisingly contrasting and unforgettable combination. White sands are loose sand massifs of the Staroderevenskaya dune (Altdorferberg).

By the way, depending on the type of vegetation cover, the Spit dunes today are called white, that is, devoid of vegetation, gray, that is, covered with grass vegetation, and green, that is, planted with forest. Since the crest and slopes of the dune are practically not overgrown in natural conditions, they continue to be strengthened with fascine fences, just like centuries ago.
This photo shows today's work on strengthening the sands:

The beauty of the “living”, that is, open dunes, is the greatest value of the Spit. And despite all the measures taken, it is gradually being lost. Although the bulk of the Great Dune Ridge, the most important element of the peninsula's topography, is fixed, moving dunes make up about one-third. And this one third, driven by constant western winds, intensively dissipates and moves to the Curonian Lagoon, pouring into it, losing significant volumes of sand and height.

That is why on all, without exception, posters and special signs on Kos there are written reminders and prayers for all our naughty, careless tourists greedy for a good shot: do not leave the path covered with flooring, do not go out onto the sand, do not trample the precious plants that hold it and etc. Wave erosion and wind erosion already have their destructive effect, especially during strong storms.
As always, to great regret, for some, the law is not a decree. We personally saw people walking freely among the dancing trees and going down the dunes to Swan Lake. And this is not yet the season, when there is really no one on Kos yet. And it’s scary to even imagine what’s going on here during the mass tourist rush.

Returning along the route to the road, we walked in the other direction from the highway (it’s very close there) and came out to a beautiful beach

In any place on the Curonian Spit, in order to access the sea, you need to overcome a long and fairly wide sand bank.

This is a foredune - a protective wall that protects the peninsula from storm waves and constantly blowing westerly winds. It is not entirely a natural formation: it was created over the course of a century, starting in 1803, using natural coastal beach dunes. Today the foredune has unequal width (from 10 to 70 meters) and height (from 3 to 12 meters).

Having poured the ubiquitous sand out of our sneakers, we returned to the road and walked towards the village of Morskoye.
To be continued.

A story with photos about one of the most picturesque tourist routes Curonian Spit — "Height of Efa", laid along the slopes Orekhovaya dunes near Morskoye village.

Dune Nut or Petsch(German: Petschberg) is part of the Great Dune Ridge, which begins at the 16th kilometer of the Curonian Spit. The western windward slopes of the Great Dune Ridge are long and gentle, while the eastern leeward slopes are short, steep and often fall into the Curonian Lagoon or onto the narrow plain located on its shores. The average height of the dunes of the ridge is 35 meters, and the maximum height of the Orekhovaya dune is 64 meters. Some visitors mistakenly call it “Efa Dune” after the name of the tourist route. In fact, only its highest point is named after Efa - in honor of the famous dune inspector Wilhelm Franz Efa, who was the first to come up with the idea of ​​​​arranging foredunes in order to strengthen the Curonian Spit. In years past, at the top of the Walnut Dune there was a small monument to the person whose name the peak is named after, but it has not survived to this day.

Before the start of large-scale strengthening work, the dunes of the Curonian Spit were mobile (currently about a third of them remain) and seriously threatened the villages of local residents. For example, Morskoye village(formerly Pilkoppen) is located literally a stone's throw from the Petsch dune overhanging it, and for this reason it had to change its location three times to escape the sands advancing from the west. On the site of the very first location of the Morskoye village there is now dune Staroselskaya(Altdorferberg).

Curonian Spit, Morskoe village

Once upon a time, on the current site of the village there was a small Curonian village named Pilkupa. In 1283, the Teutonic knights, who were actively expanding into the lands of modern Poland, Russia and the Baltic states, captured the Curonian Spit and founded a castle on the site of the village Neuhaus(“New House”), not far from which a German settlement arose Neustadt("New town" ). However, this name did not take root and in 1663 it was renamed Pillekop(or, in German, Pielkoppen). After the annexation of part of East Prussia to the USSR in 1945, Pilkoppen was renamed Marine.

Shifting dune sands posed a constant threat to Pilkoppen, and it was precisely to eliminate this threat that Wilhelm Franz Efa worked throughout his adult life. In 1888, sand almost covered the village again, but this time the long-term work to strengthen the dunes bore fruit and another sand disaster was averted.

By the way, the sands did not always threaten human settlements - this began only after the inhabitants of the Curonian Spit destroyed the forests growing on it and turned the land into a sandy desert. About 6-7 thousand years ago, Baltic winds gradually deposited sand and formed a long narrow strip of land, later called the Curonian Spit. It took nature several more centuries for plant seeds to take root in the infertile sand and for the dunes to become covered in summer and bushes. And in this natural way - by the roots of plants - the dunes were very effectively held in place. But it took man very little time to, with his thoughtless actions, upset the fragile balance that had been formed over centuries - the forests were cut down, and the dunes began to attack his homes. And so, fleeing the advancing sand, people had to restore what they themselves had destroyed: again planting plants on the slopes of the dunes that could hold the sand in place. And the already mentioned Wilhelm Franz Efa made a huge contribution to this work. A large-scale and expensive project to strengthen the dunes and save villages from sand implied the creation of a protective foredune along the entire 98-kilometer length of the Curonian Spit, designed to protect the spit from sea waves, wind and sand driven by it, as well as strengthening the moving ridge of large white dunes stretching along the coast Curonian Lagoon.

And, although a lot has been done in the century and a half that has passed since the start of dune strengthening work, the sands are still moving - this can be seen in the half-buried wooden flooring that lines the paths on the “Heights of Efa” tourist route. In addition, the movement of sand can be heard - sometimes the ear catches a barely audible rustling or quiet whistle: these are grains of sand, moving, rubbing against each other.

So work to strengthen the dunes of the Curonian Spit continues to this day. In the village of Morskoye, a sand spit is clearly visible, which is the result of work to strengthen the coast carried out in the second half of the 20th century: an artificially reclaimed spit and reed islands protect the coastline of the village from erosion.

Curonian Spit, Efa Height

In 2000, the artificially created landscape of the Curonian Spit was included in the UNESCO List of Natural and Cultural Heritage. Currently, one of the most interesting tourist routes of the Curonian Spit, “Height of Efa,” is laid along the slopes of the Orekhovaya dune.

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Wishing you vivid impressions from the Curonian Spit and the heights of Efa!
Your Roman Mironenko

One of the most popular attractions in the Baltic is the Efa Dune. It stretches along the Curonian Lagoon for 4.5 kilometers and extends all the way to the border with Lithuania. Compared to other similar sand mountains, this one is the largest in Europe. Many tourists from all over Russia, Lithuania and various countries come to see the unusual sand mountains.

The Orekhovoy dune is often called Efa height because of its highest point, which reaches 64 meters.

Until the 18th century, the Efa dune was surrounded by numerous trees whose roots held back the sand, but for unknown reasons they were cut down. No longer having any barriers, the wandering sands, under the influence of the wind, began to move freely across the territory, which resulted in the destruction of 14 nearby villages.

The sand gradually fell into the houses and after some time absorbed them completely. Over the course of a year, the dune moved approximately twenty meters; local residents did not know how to stop such a natural phenomenon and simply left the villages. When the Efa Dune became a threat to the fishing industry and shipping, people began to look for a solution to the problem. In 1768, a competition was announced in Europe on this matter. The most relevant and appropriate idea at that time was the proposal of Professor Titius. He advised planting trees around the spit, thereby returning it to the appearance it had many years ago.

The dune was reinforced with cages of dry reeds, which held back the sand, making the dunes grow taller. On high mountains, grasses and shrubs were planted with large roots to strengthen the edges and hold the mound in one place. The work lasted for a hundred years, and was supervised by dune inspector and forester Franz Efa for 40 years; the highest point of the dunes was named in his honor. Thanks to his work, it was possible to stop the huge sand and prevent the destruction of many villages, one of which is the village of Morskoy, which used to be called Pillkoppen. Residents, in gratitude, installed a memorial plaque to Franz Ef on the dune, but after many years, it can no longer be found.

Despite the fact that work to strengthen the dunes lasted for quite a long period of time, they have not stopped to this day; approximately 15 percent of the mountains remain to be planted with vegetation. According to experts, this is the most mobile dune of Efa, which was left as a feature of the area. For convenient viewing of all the beauties of the dunes, walking excursion routes have been laid along the spit, along which you can leisurely admire the unique landscapes of the Efa dune. In addition to the unusual vegetation and topography, the Curonian Spit is a place of bird migration, therefore, especially in autumn or at the end of summer, many birds can be found here. Not far from the mountains there is an ornithological station where birds of a wide variety of species are ringed, which provides a high probability of capturing them.

Passing the route

To preserve the high dune mounds, walking throughout the entire territory is strictly prohibited, so tourists take a tour along specially installed wooden platforms along the entire route, which stretches for 2.8 kilometers. You can cover this distance in about two hours.

But despite the ban, many people break the rules and go down to the bay directly along the dunes, which can damage it and destroy centuries-old work. The beginning of the route is marked with a sign, but it is difficult not to notice it, since there are always a lot of people and vehicles here, and there are also souvenir shops. The entire tourist route is located on the southwestern slope of the dune and is called “Height of Efa.” The beginning of the path extends through a forest clearing, where the beauty of the pine forest delights with its freshness.

Observation platforms

After walking about 200 meters you can go up to the first observation deck and see the famous dunes in greater detail. The second site is located a little further, it is located at a higher point of the dune, so it allows you to see much more terrain. Thanks to such platforms, you can see the indescribable landscapes of the heights of Efa, where you can see a magnificent view of the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea. Also from the second site you can see the entire Morskoy village in all its glory. The structure of the sand mountains resembles a desert; when the wind rises here, you get the feeling of being in a sandstorm, which leaves an unforgettable impression. The first viewing platform allows you to clearly see Staroselskaya Mountain; it has its own history. According to legend, it was here that the crusaders built a fortress, and local residents worshiped the ancient gods. But the wandering sands destroyed everything and hid it under its thickness.

How to get there

You can get to Efa Heights by bus that comes from Kaliningrad, or get to Zelenograd and transfer to the Zelenograd - Morskoe bus. It is also very convenient to travel by minibus, it is much faster than a bus. Many tourists prefer to come by personal transport or taxi. You can call a taxi using the Uber app. In this case, you need to apply for a pass, since the Efa Dune is a national park, this can be done at the park checkpoint. The cost of travel to the territory is 300 rubles and includes a driver’s fee. For each individual passenger you need to pay 150 rubles. Children under 12 years old are admitted free of charge. Veterans and disabled people receive 50% discounts.

To avoid getting lost on the road, do not miss the route sign before the village of Morskiy.

Where to stay

Tourists who come to see the Efa Dune often need a place to stay overnight. You can stay both in Kaliningrad and in the village of Morskoy itself. Everyone can find a suitable place for themselves. The city has quite a variety of offers - from expensive hotels to more modest apartments and hostels. Various tourist recreation centers and guesthouses have been built in the village, which are ready to receive tourists all year round. It is worth considering that the Baltic climate is very changeable and changes often, a sunny warm day can suddenly give way to downpour, or vice versa, so you need to prepare in advance, taking with you not only a hat and a Panama hat, but it also wouldn’t hurt to take an umbrella and a raincoat. But despite this, the impression from the unusual relief and landscape of the heights of Efa will remain for a long time.

Curonian Spit National Park "Efa Height"