The artificial Kupiškis Reservoir gives Kupiškis District Municipality a distinctive waterside character. A manor house, churches, museums and sculptures add their own cultural highlights. When choosing a holiday rental, you can start by considering whether you want to focus mainly on the shore and water sports, forests and nature, or historic places.
Waterscapes and events
The Kupiškis Reservoir was created in 1984, after the Lėvuo River was dammed. The artificial reservoir covers 828 hectares and is about 25 kilometres long. Along its shores are a beach, 19 recreation facilities, sports grounds and car parks, as well as houses on the water, houses in the pine forest and a campsite. These listed amenities describe the lakeshore area; check whether individual facilities are available before your trip.
Sports events are held at the Kupiškis Reservoir every year. These include the Kupiškis Reservoir regatta, international Formula water races, Lithuanian and international triathlon competitions, and the Lithuanian beach soccer championship. Ice-fishing competitions and summer festivals are also held. If you want to plan your trip around a particular event, check its date separately.
Island park and activities on the water
The dendrological park on Uošvės Liežuvis Island covers 8.97 hectares and is home to more than 50 tree species. You can reach the island via a bridge from the village of Pajuodupė or via a pontoon bridge from the Aukštupėnai recreation area. The park has educational trails, recreation areas with shelters, toilets and an event area.
Water sports are also part of the island experience: a 225-metre wakeboard course with ramps runs between the Aukštupėnai recreation area and the island. Check whether the wakeboard facility is operating before using it. This helps distinguish the island’s permanent features from an amenity whose current operation matters for planning.
Manor house, church and monastery
Adomynė Manor is a rare monument of Romantic Classicist wooden architecture and is listed in the Lithuanian Register of Cultural Heritage. Its surviving features include tiled stoves, a bread oven, frescoes, decorated doors with metal fittings and patterned parquet floors. The manor is also associated with a local culinary speciality: the certified Lithuanian cultural heritage pastries called Adomynė “Pagrabinės” are baked exclusively there. A tasting is not guaranteed.
The history of the Dominican monastery in Palėvenė began in 1676, when the first Dominican monks settled there. At the restored monastery granary, visitors can try monastic dishes and homemade beer from the Kupiškis region; confirm that tastings are available before your trip. The church in Palėvenė offers its own architectural point of comparison: its interior has eight altars and is considered one of the most original examples of so-called folk Baroque in Lithuania.
Museums and art in Kupiškis
The Kupiškis Museum is housed in a former parish school building dating from 1823. Its collections include a collection of traditional Lithuanian clothing and accessories from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, assembled by Stefanija, Mikalina and Elvyra Glemžaitė. The museum also preserves aurochs horns almost 4,000 years old, considered the largest aurochs horns found in Lithuania. Which items are on display may vary.
The Adomas Petrauskas Museum consists of a residential house, two granaries, a tower and a tool shed; its collection comprises more than 7,000 exhibits. The museum also offers the ethnographic and folkloric educational game “Kas suras Pagranduką?” with an interactive map and a special multimedia programme. Check in advance whether the programme is available during your visit.
The open-air museum trail featuring sculptor Henrikas Orakauskas’s work in Kupiškis showcases more than two dozen sculptures. The most visited sculptures have information boards with QR codes; special programmes on mobile devices provide a brief introduction to the artwork in the artist’s voice after scanning. Check whether the QR and audio features are available before your visit. Kupiškis also has a musical fountain at Laurynas Gucevičius Square, combining water, light and musical effects. It was built in 2019, when the square was redesigned, replacing the previous fountain; its operation and programme may change.
Forest and historical interpretations
The approximately 1.4-kilometre “Į girią” educational trail in Šimonys Forest has shelters, a fire pit, benches, information boards and learning games for children. The trail borders the Iženas telmological reserve; check the reserve boundaries and seasonal rules before your trip. Animals living in the forest include moose, roe deer, wild boar, foxes, hares and wolves. Protected species include the black stork and lesser spotted eagle, but sightings are not guaranteed.
As a historical point of interest, Kupiškis or Aukštupėnai Hillfort is located right by Kupiškis, on the left bank of the Lėvuo, near the Kupiškis Reservoir and the village of Aukštupėnai. Historians speculate that a wooden community castle or refuge stood there and that the earliest beginnings of the later town were located there. This remains a hypothesis; it complements the tangible architectural and museum evidence with a cautiously worded historical perspective.
Discover more destinations: Subačius Eldership, Juodpėnai, Pasvalys District Municipality, Biržai District Municipality, Panevėžys District Municipality, Rokiškis District Municipality.
For the broader travel overview: Panevėžys County.
