The Merguva Lake Observation Platform offers a stunning view of the last stretch of the Nemunas River, where it begins to form its delta. In the meadows before the Nemunas, the oxbow lake known as Merguva shimmers. Beyond the lake lies a landmass once called Tusainiai Island. In the distance, on the high, forested left bank of the Nemunas, which belongs to Russia, two hillforts can be seen. One is known as Pilies Hill, and the other as Kaukaras Hill, with the silhouettes of a few Eisiuliai (Gorino) homesteads in the background. To the right is the Tusainiai (Chapayev) village area. Nearby is Ragainė (Neman), the administrative center of the ancient Skalvian tribe, a symbol of their battles against the Crusaders. Ragainė is also where Martynas Mažvydas, the author of the first Lithuanian book, served as a pastor, and it was an important 19th-century center of Lithuanian press and the birthplace of the first Lithuanian newspaper, "Aušra." The ruins of a Crusader castle and the chimneys of a cellulose and paper factory built in the early 20th century can be spotted there. Beyond Ragainė, near Tilsit, is the village of Paskalviai (Dubki) and a hillfort. Along the sharp bend of the Nemunas near Bitėnai, to the right, lies Rambynas Hill, the last sacred site of the Baltic (Skalvian) tribe, destroyed in 1812.
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