Kalita Hill Webcam – Anyksciai’s Ski and Toboggan Hill

The Kalita Hill Webcam looks across the open flank of Kalitos kalnas, the ski and toboggan hill on the edge of Anyksciai in northeast Lithuania. Grass fills the foreground and the right of the frame from spring to autumn, curving up toward buildings and a fence along the crest. On the left, a long fenced track and a tall white mast drop down the hillside toward a line of pine forest on the horizon. In winter the same slope turns white with natural and machine-made snow, and the runs are floodlit after dark. At night the camera switches to black and white infrared, so the near slope glows pale while the forest beyond goes black. The operator labels this view Kamera 5, and the feed keeps running after dark.

About Kalita Hill

Kalita Hill stands within Anyksciai, a town of 8,495 people (2021 census) on the Sventoji River, 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of Utena. The hill was developed into the Kalita sports and leisure park in 2009, and it is run today by the Anyksciai Tourism and Business Information Centre. Local legends recorded by the writer Antanas Vienuolis place the manor of a powerful nobleman named Nykstis on the summit, with his castle of Voruta on the neighboring hills. Nothing of either remains. Locals later took to the slope for skiing and sledding, it grew into a winter sports center, and as the winters changed it became a park that stays open all year.

The skiing takes place on a cluster of hills covering about 500 by 300 meters (1,640 by 984 feet). Runs are 250 to 350 meters (820 to 1,150 feet) long with a vertical drop of 40 meters (131 feet), graded blue and red, and there is a snow park for snowboarders. Four lifts serve the slopes, six snow cannons back up the natural snowfall, and a grooming machine works the pistes. Instructors teach children and beginners.

The toboggan run works in every season. Its 500 meter (1,640 foot) track was the first twin-rail run of its kind in Lithuania, with five bends, a jump and a loop. Centrifugal brakes hold the sleds to 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour), two adults fit in one sled, and riders are hauled back up the hill without getting out. A 60 meter (197 foot) tubing run follows the natural fall line of the slope, and there is also a virtual reality ride.

Weather and Climate in Anyksciai

Anyksciai has a cold, snowy winter and a mild summer. Open-Meteo’s 1991 to 2020 record for the hill puts January highs at about -1.5°C (29°F) and lows at -5.8°C (22°F), with roughly 20 centimeters (8 inches) of fresh snowfall a month from December to February. That is when the camera shows a white slope by day and the floodlit runs after dark. December days are short at this latitude, with only about seven hours between sunrise and sunset, so much of the winter picture comes from the infrared view or the lit runs.

March highs average 4.1°C (39°F) and April reaches 11.4°C (53°F), and by May the slope is green again. July is the warmest month, with highs of 22.5°C (73°F) and lows of 14.3°C (58°F), and July and August are also the wettest, at about 80 millimeters (3.1 inches) of rain each. Late June brings around 17 and a half hours of daylight. Autumn cools steadily, from 9.7°C (50°F) highs in October to 4.0°C (39°F) in November, and November averages the first real snowfall of the season, around 9 centimeters (3.5 inches). Yearly precipitation is about 676 millimeters (26.6 inches).

Things to Do Near Kalita Hill

On the hill itself, the toboggan run and the tubing slope are the main draws in summer, with skiing and snowboarding taking over in winter. In town, the Church of St. Matthew has spires 79 meters (259 feet) high, which makes it the tallest church in Lithuania. A monument to the poet Antanas Baranauskas stands in Anyksciai, and his home is preserved in Anyksciai Regional Park. His poem The Forest of Anyksciai is about the pine forest south of town, where the Treetop Walking Path now runs. Anyksciai also has a horse museum and a station on the Aukstaitija narrow-gauge railway.

About 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) south of town, on the left bank of the Sventoji, lies the Puntukas boulder. It is 6.9 meters (23 feet) long, weighs about 446 tonnes (492 US tons), and is the second-largest boulder in Lithuania. In 1943 the sculptor Bronius Pundzius carved portraits of the pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas into its southern face, in memory of their 1933 transatlantic flight. Right beside it, the Treetop Walking Path opened in 2015: a walkway about 300 meters (984 feet) long that climbs to 21 meters (69 feet) above the forest floor and ends at an observation tower.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More cameras from Lithuania, the Baltic states and small ski hills:

• Birstonas Webcam
• Cesis Webcam
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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Kalita Hill located?

Kalita Hill is at Kalno Street 25 in Anyksciai, a town in Utena County in northeast Lithuania. It is 32 kilometers (20 miles) west of Utena and about 94 kilometers (58 miles) north of Vilnius in a straight line.

What can you see on the Kalita Hill Webcam?

The camera looks across the upper slope of the hill, with grass or snow in the foreground, buildings along the crest on the right, and a fenced track and a white mast running down the left side toward pine forest. It does not show the town center or the Church of St. Matthew.

Can you ski on Kalita Hill?

Yes. In winter the hill has blue and red runs of 250 to 350 meters (820 to 1,150 feet) with a 40 meter (131 foot) vertical drop, a snow park, four lifts and floodlighting for evening skiing. Snow cannons cover the slopes when natural snow is thin.

How long is the toboggan run on Kalita Hill?

The toboggan track is 500 meters (1,640 feet) long, with five bends, a jump and a loop. It operates in both summer and winter, and the sleds are limited to 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour).

What is the weather like in Anyksciai?

Winters are cold and snowy, with January highs around -1.5°C (29°F) and lows near -5.8°C (22°F). Summers are mild, with July highs around 22.5°C (73°F). July and August are the wettest months.

How far is Anyksciai from Vilnius?

Anyksciai lies about 94 kilometers (58 miles) north of Vilnius in a straight line. By road the trip is longer than that.

Does the Kalita Hill Webcam show the Treetop Walking Path?

No. The Treetop Walking Path and the Puntukas boulder are about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) south of town in Anyksciai Regional Park, well out of this camera’s view. The webcam shows only the slopes of Kalita Hill.

Source: Kalitos kalnas, Anyksciai Tourism and Business Information Centre