40 routes, slopes, uphills, streams and historical buildings - all this is offered in one of the interactive maps of the city of Vilnius - "Vilnius for Feet". Considering today's war in the near future in Ukraine reality - for the compatriots of the track - it is also a device for spiritual security.
In "Vilnius for legs" you can find not only leisure and daily hiking trails, but also a 100-kilometer trail around Vilnius.
Experts consider that the maps collected by "Vilnius plan" are a great help for residents to find information in one place. However, the maps intended for active leisure may lack a little integrity, even with the activities of cultural institutions, but the information on many maps is constantly updated and supplemented.
"This year, such structured maps will continue to be "on the wave", - the head of the largest local tourism agency "Kelionii laikas" Ilona Joženienė is convinced. - Due to various restrictions on traveling abroad, the eyes of Lithuanians are still focused on our land. We have already discovered that you can get to know something even without going anywhere."
"The tracks are really worth paying attention to," confirms Tadas Kertenis, head of the travel agency "Tedo" to I. Joženienei. – After choosing which route you would like to travel, you will easily find marked cultural objects, information stands, or the nearest public transport stops, how to reach them. In order to bypass Vilnius, you can also choose a 100 km route. The track is covered in more than one weekend, so traveling will not be boring. In the future, such tracks could also be linked to the still popular game "Geocatching". Other cities could also organize public tracks into one place. Now you can often try individual fragments of certain tracks if you know them personally".
Psychologist Tomas Lagūnavičius considers the "Vilnius kojams" tracks as an immediate aid to the feeling of security.
"In the current difficult period, three types of people stand out even more - those who fight, those who provide aid, and those who engage in one or another ritual actions," said T. Lagūnavičius. - If it is impossible to change the situation, and you need to calm down, then maybe you can get strength from nature."
"I would liken hiking to ritual actions, so people's desire to go on hikes of a few or a dozen kilometers is not accidental," said the psychologist.
The employees of "Vilnius plan" themselves are already seeing the results based on the number of visits. Maps.vilnius.lt maps were visited by more than 120 thousand people last year, and "Vilnius kojams" maps by 80 thousand.
"The idea to systematize not only educational trails and routes, but also other relevant information for Vilnius residents and to integrate it in one place came back in 2014. Some of the interactive maps are constantly updated, we try to offer the city new topics and open up more and more data," said Aurelijs Deksnys, head of the GIS department of Vilnius Plan.
According to A. Deksnis, how to diversify your free time can be found not only in "Vilnius for your feet", but also in the "Laisvalaikios" theme of the interactive map. The latter contains information not only about pedestrian cableways, but also green stops where you can sit down and rest, dog walking areas where you can bring joy to your pet, and learn about planned and equipped children's playgrounds. This is especially convenient when going on a hike with the whole family. Interactive maps have an advantage - in one place we can find out not only what is happening in the home environment around us, but also in the whole city.
The data of the interactive Vilnius maps covers more than 20 topics - from leisure or kindergartens in the city with free places to investment projects. Currently, the map contains more than 180 layers of various topics, allowing residents to conveniently and quickly find information important to them. And in case of difficulties, you can use wizards to help you not get lost on the interactive maps.
"Vilnius for Feet" maps can be found here.
