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One of the Czechs’ favourite activities on weekends is the nature walks for sure. For three years living in the Czech Republic, I admit that I like to follow this local tradition. Today, I will take you to Český Ráj ( Bohemian Paradise), located 80 km from Prague.

Český Ráj covers three administrative regions with an area of ​​182 km2. It may take at least 10 days to visit the whole area 🙂 The Czech writer Václav Durych was fascinated by the sights and named the region the Czech Paradise.

How to choose a route in Český Ráj?

To answer this question, first you need to select one of the activities, hiking, cycling, rock climbing, geological excursion or water sports. The Ceský Ráj official tourism (link) site has route plans for each option and a list of sights. In addition to mountain and valley views, historical castles and caves can be visited in the area.

2 hour Prahovské Skaly route-if you have limited time

If you can’t allocate one day to the region, but still want to get the feeling of it, you can go directly to Prahovské Skaly and start hiking. You can check and plan your trip with the guide at the tourist information based on how much time you have.

Since I had about two hours, he suggested me the following route. The last stop is Vyhlidka Ceskeho raje, Ceský Ráj observation point.

Here’s the decision point. Of course, I’d like to explore the difficult route and continued walking to the right.

The difficult route has lots of stone stairs. Walking shoes are a must for rainy weather. As the sandstone continues to erode, the ground and stairs are covered with sand. I already start to think if I should eat trdelnik on the way back or not.

During the walk, I took short breaks at the observation points, read the information signs and took beautiful photos. It’s fun to guess what rocks look like. Maybe an animal or an object, it’s up to your imagination.

Rock climbing is possible in Prahovské Skaly in April-October. The rock having the top climbing difficulty was named after the ‘good king’ of the Czechs, St. Wenceslas.

The forest was invaded by black-arched caterpillars about 90 years ago, and this tiny animal dried up the entire forest. Today, we’re looking at the forest which is a result of the afforestation efforts done at that time.

The first members of the Prachov climbing club were mainly students, climbed onto the rocks in the forest. In 1907, they placed the Austro-Hungarian Empire flag on the first rock they climbed. Today a Czech flag is flapping on that rock.

How to get to Český Ráj from Prague?

This time I chose to rent a car. However, the main places in the area like Turnov, Jičín and Sobotka are accessible from Prague’s Černy Most bus terminal. You can find out how to get from point A to point B in Czechia by entering the place names at this link: https://idos.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusymhdvse/spojeni/

However, the bus schedules to the villages can sometimes be very sparse. While planning your trip, I recommend you check return times for public transportation. Otherwise, you may have to walk to another village, as has happened to me before 🙂

Here’s the accommodation options: https://www.cesky-raj.info/en/accommodation-5/ You can stay in tent and caravan camps, country houses, motels or castles.

Video is in my YouTube Channel

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Cost of the trip

Parking lot 90 CZK, entrance fee to the forest 100 CZK, forest map 30 CZK.

I was so happy to see a part of Czech Paradise, albeit briefly, leaving the forest with good feelings.

Stay curious until the next post,

One-Day Wonder

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