VU Kaunas Faculty invites students, lecturers and staff to take part in a 7-hour canoeing trip on the Ūla and Merkys rivers in Dzūkija National Park and have fun together at the VU Puvočiai base on 9 September, Saturday.
There is a possibility to stay overnight at the VU Puvočiai base for an extra fee.
Puvočiai village is one of the ethnographic villages of Dzūkija National Park by the Merkys River, next to the villages of Trasninkas, Mardasavas, and Trakiškiai, which are exciting to explore on foot, bicycle, or car.
You are welcome to bring your own transport and share the ride with your colleagues. A bus will be booked for Erasmus students. If there are seats available, there will be an opportunity for other members of the community to go by bus. The bus will return to Kaunas the same Saturday evening at 10:30 PM (departure from Puvočiai is scheduled for 9:00 PM).
The following items are recommended for canoeing: swimwear, comfortable clothes and footwear that are likely to get wet while paddling, a raincoat, a hat and sunscreen, insect repellent, drinking water and snacks, a sturdy polythene bag to store your gear in the kayak so it doesn’t get soaked. It is also recommended to have another set of clothes to change into and spend the evening outside in the campsite.
There will be a barbecue in the campsite, so you can bring charcoal to cook the food you have with you.
Students, lecturers and faculty staff interested in participating, please register by 6 September.
At 7:15 AM we gather in the courtyard of the Kaunas Faculty to discuss the logistics: some of us will leave our cars in Puvočiai, while others will leave them in Mančiagirė.
At 7.30 AM we leave for Mančiagirė. We drop off the colleagues, the drivers go to Puvočiai, leave their cars at the VU base and arrive in 1-2 cars to Mančiagirė.
At 10 AM, we start canoeing from the village of Mančiagirė.
6 hours down the Ūla, 1 hour down the Merkys to the Puvočiai campsite (just before the Grūda tributary).
Around 5:00:6:00 AM - dinner in the village of Puvočiai at the VU base. Dinner menu for students: steamed sausages with buckwheat or buns and seasonal vegetables. The local hares promised to bake pancakes as well 😊
7:300 PM departure by bus to Kaunas.
The Faculty will cover the Dzūkija National Park visitor fee, the canoe rental fee, the rental of the VU Puvočiai campsite for dinner and the cost of the food for the dinner.
The Erasmus Fund will cover bus rental costs for Erasmus students.
The participants of the hike are responsible for the transport and accommodation costs, drinks and snacks.