Tips for one-day trips in the Czech Republic

Devil's Heads and other rock reliefs

Boarding place

Parking lot in the village of Tupadly.

Route description

This adventure hides many amazing rock reliefs, reaching a height of up to 10 meters. All of these reliefs were carved in the years 1840-1845 by sculptor Václav Levý.

You will start the route at a small grassy parking lot in the village of Tupadly, which boasts only a few dozen inhabitants. From there, you will set off on the blue-marked route towards Želízy, which will accompany you throughout the adventure. The blue one soon turns left and brings you to the first and most famous rock relief, which is the Devil's Heads. The view of the 9-meter-high sandstone statues is truly breathtaking.

From Čertové hlav you continue through the Klácelka cave to Liběchov, where we recommend a stop at the local castle. From Liběchov you will head through the forested landscape to other rock reliefs. Along the way you will see the Harfenice cave, the rock Sphinx or perhaps the rock Had. From Had you will complete the circuit along the blue path to the parking lot in Tupadly.

Rieger trail along the Jizera River

Boarding place

This pleasant and easy walk along the Riegrovo educational trail begins in the town of Semily, located at the confluence of the Jizera and Oleška rivers. Your starting point will be the train station located west of the city center.

Route description

After you arrive at the starting point and are ready for adventure, you will head north along the blue marked hiking trail to the bridge over the Jizera River.

On the Rieger Trail, which follows immediately after crossing this bridge, you will encounter a number of interesting places, including countless viewpoints or a beautiful suspension bridge, which is the main attraction of the Rieger Trail. The checkpoint will be waiting for you approximately halfway along the route, in the town of Spálov. Here you will connect to the Kamenický Trail, which will lead you to the Morava tourist signpost. Here you will turn left and continue along the blue marked tourist route to the town of Semily, where your adventure began.

The last attraction on the trek will be the beautiful U-shaped fortress, later rebuilt into the Semily Castle. From there, you just need to walk about a kilometer along the main road, after which you will arrive at the starting and finishing point of your adventure. Congratulations on completing it!

Trail around Olšina pond

Boarding place

You start the route less than a kilometer from the Hodňov train station. If you arrive by car, you can set off on the circuit directly from the parking lot of the Olšina visitor center in the village of the same name.

Route description

The Olšina Nature Trail is a hiking trail leading through Šumava wetlands, peat bogs and adjacent biotopes. A large part of it runs along gravel paths, but other sections require you to overcome real natural terrain.

After you get through the village of Olšina, the path will take you through a forest for a few meters, through which there are nice wooden walkways. Suddenly you will find yourself at a pier directly extending into the pond. The highlight of this attractive circuit is undoubtedly the system of wooden bridges approximately halfway along the route. If you happen to come across a day when there are not a lot of tourists rushing along the trail, you will definitely have a great experience from this adventure.

The bridge will take you across an otherwise impassable part of the pond and you will reconnect with the forest path that stretches all the way to the main road, which will accompany you on your last few meters of this trek.

Note: Not far from the train stop is a 15th-century fishing bastion, where you can visit a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the village of Olšina, as well as fishing and forestry. The exhibition is open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the summer months, and only on weekends the rest of the year.

A journey through the beauties of Pálava

Boarding place

The circuit starts at the free parking lot in the village of Klentnice.

Route description

From the parking lot, you will almost immediately join the green marked path, which you will follow until the first signpost, where your path changes to yellow marked. On this route, you can turn off and visit the ruins of the Sirotčí hrádek castle or continue the planned route to the viewpoint above Klentnice.

Your next steps will lead you along the red St. James's Way - Moravian-Silesian, on which there are viewpoints and the Soutěska shelter. After less than three kilometers, you will turn from the red to the green marked path until you reach the highest peak of the Pavlovské vrchy - Děvín (550 m above sea level), near which there is also a viewpoint of the same name. A route of just under 2 kilometers awaits you to other viewpoints and the ruins of the Děvičky castle. The moment you return to the signpost Dívčí hrad - sedlo, you will set off on the Děvín nature trail.

The second part of the trek is ahead of you, still leading through the forest, around the rock formation Velký Špunt, Trůn and the peaks of Obora and Pálava. When you leave the forest and reach the fields and meadows, you are approaching the village of Perná, where there is also a spring. There are other viewpoints on this path, which you can reach simply by turning off the trail a few meters.

From here you only have a few kilometers left to complete the entire circuit of the beauties of Pálava. This trek is a guide to the most beautiful things Pálava has to offer. Enjoy the remaining kilometers leading back to the parking lot, where this adventure ends!

Note: Sleeping in a tent or under a shelter is possible at the public campsite in the quarry near the village of Klentnice. In the Pálava Protected Landscape Area, sleeping in a tent or under a shelter is strictly prohibited outside this campsite.

Around the Cibulka lookout tower

Boarding place

You will start your journey at a smaller parking lot a few hundred steps from the Cibulka lookout tower.

Route description

You can definitely take this shorter circuit just outside Sokolov with your little adventurer or four-legged friend. It's a peaceful couple of hours trip that will surely excite even the most demanding ones.

From the parking lot, you will take a green marked path that climbs up to the lookout tower itself. From the thirty-meter high lookout tower, you will be able to enjoy the view of the Ore Mountains, Slavkov Forest or the Karlovy Vary region. This lookout tower is probably called Cibulka because of its onion-shaped dome.

You continue over the Gallows Hill (666 m above sea level) around the stone altar. You will then pass through the villages of Libnov and Krajková, and you will find yourself on a blue-marked cycle path. Along it, you slowly head towards the next stop on this trek – the ruins of Hartenberg Castle. This castle, which later became a chateau, has a very rich history. Its guided tour, during which you will learn all the interesting facts about this beautiful place, lasts 60 minutes and is, including the entrance fee, subject to a fee. We therefore leave the visit to Hartenberg entirely up to you, but we highly recommend it! It is only a short walk from the castle to the finish line. You will now end this circuit at the parking lot from where you started this journey.

Circuit around the Kladské rašeliny

Boarding place

The circuit starts at the free Lázeňská parking lot in the town of Lázně Kynžvart.

Route description

There are two mineral springs right at the beginning of the route. Your steps will lead through the forest along a red-marked path and a cycle path, where there is a shelter and the peak of Králův kámen, which is wooded and does not stand out from the surroundings in any way, so you may not even notice that you have climbed it. At this point, you are already near the peat bogs. On a pleasant path between the trees, you cross the Pramenský stream and the Dlouhá stoka. Not far from Liščí louka, you turn off the red-marked path onto an unmarked, paved road, on the right of which lies Paterák - one of the five parts of the Kladské rašeliny.

Following the green path, you will reach the village of Kladská, where you will walk along the nature trail of the same name, which forms an approximately two-kilometer circuit. It will lead you through the Horní and Dolní Bahňák ponds. The trail continues around the Kladský pond, and on the other side of the path offers the opportunity to see the largest part of the Kladské peat bogs - the Taiga. You will then walk to the Vysoké sedlo around the peak of Lysina. The part of the Kladské peat bogs with the same name is located in the vicinity of this peak. The last three kilometers of the path will lead back to Lázně Kynžvart. You will walk past the ruins of Kynžvart castle, which you will be able to visit. It is located on the Zámecký vrch mountain (824 m above sea level), which rises above the village of Lázně Kynžvart. From the ruins, it is really a short walk back to the parking lot from where you started.