The Čepkeliai State Nature Reserve aims to keep any disturbance of natural processes to a minimum, so from 1 April to 1 July visits to the area are restricted and allowed only with a guide. From 1 July to 1 April you can visit on your own, but you need to call in at the visitor centre in Marcinkonys to get a permit. The reserve was established in 1975 to protect one of the oldest and most unique forest bogs in Lithuania, forested inland dunes, relict lakes, the bog's natural hydrological regime, and valuable and rare fauna and flora. Čepkeliai is a unique complex of bogs little touched by human activity. The largest area is taken up by a raised bog overgrown with sparse stunted pines. In the eastern part of the bog there are more than 20 small lakes of primary and secondary origin. In the southern part the raised bog gradually gives way to fens, with sedge beds, reed beds and willow thickets. On the western edge of the reserve, the Musteika stream rises in wet black alder woods. Most of the reserve's forests are dry lichen and cowberry pine forests growing on the dunes surrounding the bogs. The reserve stands out for its exceptional diversity of habitats and species and its abundance of protected plants and animals. Capercaillies, which have become the symbol of the reserve, breed here, and there are the largest crane breeding grounds in Lithuania. The Čepkeliai reserve is the largest area of natural wilderness in Lithuania: a distinctive mosaic of vegetation and the habitats of capercaillies, cranes, black grouse and other rare animals, plants and fungi, undisturbed by human activity. A special natural environment has formed in the Čepkeliai reserve. The largest raised-bog areas in the country are a habitat for species typical of northern regions. In the sands surrounding the raised bog, which build up a lot of heat on summer days, southern species have settled. Finding suitable conditions side by side, northern and southern inhabitants (both plants and animals) make up the specific biodiversity of Čepkeliai. This combination of natural conditions is also important for some species. The nature trail is 1.5 km long. On the edge of the Čepkeliai bog, 5 km from Marcinkonys village, an educational trail has been laid through the bog and its surroundings. On this trail visitors see the Čepkeliai bog and pine-covered dunes and get to know the bog and forest vegetation. It offers a chance to glimpse, at least from the corner of your eye, one of the most valuable sites in our country – the Čepkeliai bog. From the observation tower vast expanses of hazy bog dotted with wooded islands open up, and a boardwalk leads to a viewing platform.