Covid fundamentally changed how we started thinking about the landscape of our home patch. The saying that every cloud has a silver lining is exactly what set our appetite for discovering the beauty of Czechia in motion. This article gives you several tips for the most beautiful hiking routes in Czechia, where you can head for a trip, even a multi-day one. You can be sure you won’t regret it.
The Czech Republic is a walker’s paradise. There are no high mountains like the Alps, no glaciers like Iceland, but we do have a network of 40,000 km of marked trails that has no equal anywhere in the world. And what’s more – every corner of the country offers a completely different experience. From mountain ridge walks to sandstone labyrinths and vineyards with a view of the setting sun. And it’ll sound odd, but thanks to covid we had the chance to get to know all of it!
The climb up Praděd
Visiting the summit of the Jeseníky is a great way to start with mountain walking. The trip will take you a whole day. Several routes lead up Praděd; the one along the tarmac road from Ovčárna is probably known to everyone and won’t offer any gripping adventure. By contrast, the route from Červenohorské sedlo up the second-highest mountain in the Czech Republic delivers the right kind of thrill. This route, 20 km in total (there and back, since there’s no way off Praděd other than on foot), offers gorgeous views over the wider area, including a look at the Dlouhé Stráně reservoir.
The interpretive trail around Hrozenkov
Kateřina Tučková is among the most popular contemporary Czech writers. It’s no wonder, then, that her novel The Žítková Goddesses brought many readers to this region wanting to experience its mysterious atmosphere, which makes this walk one of the most beautiful hiking routes in Czechia. The 18 km interpretive trail reveals the area’s unique nature, history, culture and folk traditions. The trail starts in Starý Hrozenkov and runs via Bedové, Kopanice, Vyškovec and Vápenice. You can set off at any time of year, though the best window is from the end of April to June.
The Adršpach and Teplice rocks
I look back on this trip very fondly. It was one of those first trips as a couple in love, when you don’t mind sleeping under the stars, have no limits and feel like a child again for a while. That’s exactly how things started with Zdeňa. A trip that began in the Broumov salient at the Česká Metuje railway stop and ended in Špindlerův Mlýn. 120 hard-earned kilometres on foot and a few relieving kilometres by train. But it all started in the Teplice and Adršpach rocks…
There’s also a smaller circuit between the Adršpach and the Teplice rocks, though. If you have a free weekend and fancy rocky mazes and formations, this will grab you. If you’re asking whether this area belongs among the most beautiful hiking routes in Czechia, then absolutely yes!
The Golden Trail from Prachatice to Passau
If you want to immerse yourself in history, choose the route from Prachatice to Passau for your multi-day trip. This is the so-called Golden Trail, which takes you through the most significant places of the Bohemian Forest, where a trading route once ran for merchants selling a very important commodity – salt. A route of 119 km in total awaits; you’ll start in Prachatice and head south towards the German border to České Žleby. Along the way you’ll pass Hus castle, Volary and Soumarský most. From České Žleby you continue into Germany, where your destination is Passau.
The Jiří Guth-Jarkovský trail
This less well-known route follows the red trail from Kostelec nad Orlicí to Ústí nad Orlicí. The total length is 58 km. It’s named after the co-founder of the International Olympic Committee, a writer, traveller and teacher who worked in Kostelec nad Orlicí, the starting point of the walk. This route will mainly appeal to lovers of views and physical effort, who’ll get their money’s worth from the frequent climbs and descents. Along the way you’ll see, among other things, the best this region has to offer: the Lípová stráň woodland park, the wooden lookout tower in Vrbice, the valley of the Divoká Orlice and much more.
The ridge route through Bohemian Switzerland
If a proper physical challenge appeals to you, we have the ideal tip for a long-distance walk over the gorgeous summits of the Lusatian Mountains and Bohemian Switzerland. The route is divided into five stages – along the left and right banks of the Elbe, around Hřensko, the Jetřichovice area, rear Bohemian Switzerland and finally the Krásná Lípa area. In total the route measures 100 km. If you take on all five parts of the ridge route, you’ll start in Tisá by the church and reach your destination at Jedlová station. Along the way you’ll experience demanding stages with beautiful views at the end, but also calm walks with the chance to look around the local monuments.
A great tragedy was the fire in Bohemian Switzerland, which broke out shortly after our visit in summer 2022. It significantly affected both flora and fauna, so you may get the impression that it isn’t worth it. Wrong. Bohemian Switzerland is magical even so.
If you’re heading to Bohemian Switzerland, we’d recommend booking a night in the picturesque village of Růžová, where a young family runs the Trapani tent glamping and also rent out a room in a hand-restored little house.
The route of the Master Jan Hus partisan brigade
The Vysočina region has always been a sought-after destination for lovers of cycling and walking. Today we’ll introduce a route whose historical roots reach back to the Second World War, when a parachute unit named in honour of Master Jan Hus operated in the area. This, one of the most beautiful hiking routes in Czechia, starts in the small town of Krucemburk and continues south through the stunning forests of the Žďárské vrchy, upstream along the Svratka to its source, Brožova skála and the Sykovec and Medlov ponds, until you reach your destination in Nové Město na Moravě.
Crossing Šumava
We open the map of the world; a week’s holiday isn’t very long to head beyond the borders of our home patch. Karel, originally from Vimperk – the sharper among you won’t have missed the town of Vimperk’s demagogic campaign, as I like to say with a smile, that it’s the notional gateway to Šumava – suggested we could cross Šumava. And more than that… we’d do the Šumava crossing in 3 days, which you can read more about. This definitely belongs among the most beautiful hiking routes in Czechia.
The Krkonoše ridge walk – a classic among Czechia’s most beautiful hiking routes
Last summer we decided to explore the Polish side of the Krkonoše and it was a genuinely impressive experience, because – would you believe it – the Krkonoše are just as beautiful as from our side. What was a big difference: the people. Right up until the final climb up Sněžka we met hardly anyone. Everything changed at the Silesian hut, where several paths meet at once, and there it was an absolute human pile-up.
