The Parnidis Dune is the great natural sight of Nida and one of the strangest landscapes in northern Europe. It rises 52 metres straight out of the pine forest at the southern edge of the village and looks for all the world like a piece of the Sahara. The dune is still alive — it moves about half a metre east each year as the wind blows sand across the summit into the Curonian Lagoon.
A boardwalk climbs from the village edge to the top in about twenty minutes; the summit has a granite sundial and immense views across to Russia and back along the Lithuanian coast. Sunset is the unmissable time; mornings are quieter. The wind on top can be fierce — bring a windbreak even in summer.