Magnificent Vilia (river): geographical location, description

For many, the river Vilia is known for its pilgrimage walking along its banks along the nearby churches, springs, curative and other holy places. There are numerous legends and interesting stories about these places: the Tupal bridge, the "talking river", the ancient burial mounds, the wooden church in the grove, etc.

Viliya is a river that stretches across the territories of Belarus and Lithuania, which has the second (Lithuanian) name of Nyaris. It is one of the most attractive and popular places for travelers. In general, Belarus is considered the edge of numerous freshwater reservoirs, a paradise for lovers of ecological tourism.

About these stunningly beautiful places, the river itself and its tributaries will be described below in this article. But first let's make a brief survey of all the rivers in Belarus.

Rivers of Belarus

Not only Vilia is a river flowing through Belarus. They are surprisingly large number. Below is the list.

1. The Dnieper is one of the main European rivers (the 4th along the length). It extends from Russia through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea.
2. The Western Dvina flows through Russia, Belarus and Latvia (flows into the Gulf of Riga), then flows to the Baltic Sea.
3. The Niemen, or Nemunas, is one of the main rivers of eastern Europe. It starts in Belarus, flows through Lithuania, then flows into the Curonian Lagoon, and then into the Baltic Sea.
4. Pripyat flows through Ukraine, Belarus and again returns to Ukraine, but already falling into the Dnieper.
5. Sozh (tributary of the Dnieper) flows through Belarus, Russia and along the very border of Ukraine.

There are rivers along the country, such as Berezina, Svisloch, and the Western Bug.

Geographical position of the river Viliya

The river flows through the north-eastern part of the country. Is the right tributary of the river. The Niemen (Nemunas).

The total length is 510 km, with 228 km of which flows through the territories of Lithuania. The total catchment volume is 24 942.3 square meters. Km. (56% of them in Lithuania). The river has many tributaries: Naroch, Stracha and Servav (right); Elijah, Oshmyanka and Usha (left).

Relief peculiar. The total fall of the Vilia River within the country is approximately 110 meters. This exceeds the data of most waterways of Belarus. And the average slope of the aquatic surface (0.3 ppm) is correspondingly much larger than that of other major rivers in this country. Therefore, Viliya is characterized by a fairly high flow rate almost all over Belarus.

On the banks of Viliya, the cities of Smorgon and Vileika are located. Slightly higher than the second one is the Vileika water reservoir, which supplies Minsk with water and provides a small power for the Vileika HPP. Almost the whole territory of the basin forms an interesting historical area.

The river Viliya: description

Its name was given to the water artery in honor of the god of pagan Veles. The banks of the river were inhabited by people from the most ancient times. This is evidenced by the numerous finds of archaeologists.

Modern beaches are dotted with beautifully equipped beaches for holidaymakers. In addition to the flowing rivers, there are cascades of lakes adjacent to Vilia, quite popular among fishing enthusiasts. Various fish are found here : barbel, chub, and cheese. And in some places even carp, saffron, trout, salmon and carp, not characteristic for these places, even took root.

The most important thing for lovers of active recreation is that Vilia is a river that can be rafted by boats and kayaks. It is very popular, thanks to the well-known all-Union in the last century Water Route 34.

The river sometimes becomes shallow, and it can be seen that its bottom is strewn with stones, in some places protruding to the surface.

In conclusion about some of the sights

Vilia is a river, next to which there are many amazing historical places. Here you can see such natural monuments as the ancient stone-boulder Asilak. During the First World War, fierce fighting took place in these places. This is evidenced by a large cross and stone set on the river bank.

A little further (Zhodishki village) you can see a very old water mill, which is an architectural monument of the 18th century. And it still works. Further downstream there is a climbing wall popular with climbers.

Many surprisingly curious historical and beautiful natural places are preserved on their territories by the Viliya River, stretching across the territories of two states.