The highest elevation of the Curonian Spit rises in the Karvaičiai Reserve. This is the Vecekrugas, or Old Tavern, Dune, which is more than 67 metres high, so it offers a truly impressive view of the landscape. It is said that a tavern once stood at the foot of the dune, which probably gave the hill its name, derived from the Curonian words "vece" (old) and "kruogs" (tavern). At the top of the Vecekrugas Dune there is a small open area from which you can clearly see the rolling waters of the sea and the lagoon, the green carpet of mountain pines planted by people across the hills, and the panorama of the Curonian Spit widening at Bulvikis Cape. The Vecekrugas Dune looks especially majestic when you view it from the north. No one is left indifferent by the white diagonal strips of sand girdling the dune's green cloak of mountain pines. Mountain pines began to be planted on the Curonian Spit as early as the mid-19th century. At first the seedlings were specially brought from Denmark, and later they began to be grown locally. Many of the dunes that had been drifting towards the settlements of the Curonian Spit were planted with mountain pines, which stopped the forests and the nearby settlements from being buried in sand. With its regular summit covered in a rustling green carpet, the highest dune of the Curonian Spit reminds visitors of Mount Fuji in Japan. The viewing platform on the Vecekrugas Dune reveals all the natural beauty of the Curonian Spit. From here the lagoon shorelines stand out, the panorama of Bulvikis Cape opens up, and travellers' souls fill with peace as they listen to the murmur of the Baltic Sea.