Highlights of the northern Český ráj – a 32 km tour
- This extraordinary circuit visits all the key locations in the northern Český ráj, and may be completed by fit walkers in a long day
- The walk starts in the centre of the town of Turnov and traverses four separate sandstone rock areas; the Klokočské skály (with their impressive cliff views) , Besedické (with their intricate maze-like paths) , the spiky Vranov ridge and finally the tranquil Drábovna rocks
- The route also visits the romantic medieval rock castle ruins of Rotštejn, Zbiroh, Vranov and Frýdštejn, the town of Malá Skála, the volcanic hill of Sokol and includes various photogenic sections along river Jizera
- Total walk length is 31.9 km with 1000m of height/gained lost
- The paths are on good trails and some minor roads. There are, however, several steep step sections in the rock formations
- The route switches frequently between different coloured hiking trails and even uses cycle trails on a couple of occasions, so good route finding skills are necessary for this trip.
- Refreshments should be available at various points along the way, notably after passing Rotštejn, in Malá Skála, close to Frýdstejn and at Dolánky, shortly before returning to Turnov
“The northern section of Český ráj is perhaps less famous and less visited than the central section around Hrubá Skála and Prachov rocks. That makes it even more attractive to me, and if I had to choose one very long day’s walk in the region it would probably be this one. Each of the rock areas and castles offer a different perspective and always the opportunity for great photos”
Directions
- Start and finish in the centre of Turnov. If traveling by car, then the large free car park ‘Centrální’ which is next to the river and the bus terminal is a convenient option
- From the car park, take the YELLOW trail in the direction of the town centre, passing through the main square and continuing on the YELLOW trail in the direction of Postojna
- After a section in the forest near Turnov, then on quiet roads through the village of Běla, the trail enters the sandstone area, approximately 4 km from the town square
- Continue on the YELLOW trail to reach the Postojna sandstone cave complex
- From the caves, continue on the YELLOW trail past the restaurant Na Klokočských skalách (refreshment point) and to the Klokočské skály cliff edge. Continue to the right along the YELLOW trail (direction Rotštejn)
- After a very attractive 1 km section of path through the rocks (steep step sections), reach the rock castle ruin of Rotštejn
- From the castle continue down on the YELLOW trail down to the road, but there leave the yellow trail and turn to the left joining the blue marked cycle trail.
- Follow the blue cycle path along the road for 800m into the village of Klokočí. Stay on the blue cycle path, past the Klokočí signpost post, turning to the left 100m after this signpost
- After 1.7 km on this road, reach the Betlémský mlýn signpost, and join the YELLOW hiking trail again
- Follow the YELLOW trail in the direction of Michovka for 1.6 km to reach the 1st World War memorial. At the war memorial turn left to follow the red cycle trail
- Follow the red cycle trail for 1.1 km along the road until meeting the GREEN hiking trail. Turn off the road to the right, up the hill, following the GREEN trail marks
- After 200m reach the rock castle ruins of Zbiroh. From Zbiroh, continue on the GREEN trail down the hill to the signpost of U tůňky
- At U tůňky take the BLUE trail (direction Kalich) for 800m through the intricate and unusual Besedické rock formations, finally joining up with the RED trail 100m after leaving the last of the rock sections
- Turn left along the RED trail and follow this for 200m until meeting the YELLOW trail at the Kalich – Na Rovně signpost
- Take the YELLOW trail and stay on this trail through the second section of rocks for 700m. Leave the rock sections and reach the signpost of Pánovo pole.
- At Pánovo pole stay on the YELLOW trail to visit the taking the lookout point on the volcanic hill of Sokol (views over the Suché skály)
- After visiting Sokol, return back along the YELLOW trail to the signpost of Pánovo pole road. There join the RED trail and follow this down for 1.2 km to the town of Malá skála.
- At the signpost Malá Skála – kap, in the town centre, there is an option to visit the famous pub/restaurant of Boučkův statek which is 100m along the road to the left (follow the BLUE trail).
- From Boučkův statek, return back to the Malá Skála – kap signpost and take the RED trail. Follow this alongside the river for 500m, and cross the river on the footbridge to reach the Malá skála parking area.
- From the car park take the RED trail (behind the Pizzeria) steeply up to the castle of Vranov , diverting briefly to the left to visit the impressively airy lookout point vyhlídka Zahrádka and then on to the castle itself
- From Vranov continue on the RED trail up the sandstone ridge. After 1.7km reach the medieval castle of Frýdštejn
- From Frýdštejn continue on the RED trail, initially on the road and then turning into the forest, following signs for Drábovna
- 300m after leaving the road there is small detour to the Pantheon viewpoint, at the beginning of the rock city
- After 800m reach the signpost of Nad Malou Skálou. Continue on the RED trail through the rock formations, crossing the main road and continuing on the RED trail towards Dolánky ( which is reached approximately 4.2 km from Nad Malou Skálou)
- At Dolánky, pass the Dlaskův statek open air folk muzeum and after 300m turn onto the BLUE trail and cross the Jizera river via a footbridge.
- Continue on the BLUE trail for 200m and just before the footbridge over the canal turn right onto the asphalt path marked as the red cycle trail. Follow this trail along the attractive canal for 1.7 km back to the Centrální car park.