Itinerary

• Day 1
  Brno - Pernstejn - Vir (18 km / 11.5 miles, elevation gain 450 m)

  This hiking tour starts in Brno, the capital of Moravia, dominated by a Gothic cathedral. After the morning welcome briefing, you will be transferred to never conquered 13th century Pernstejn Castle, one of best preserved examples of Gothic fortresses in the Czech Republic. And there is more to come. After walking along the forested Svratka River valley you will climb to another imposing, though ruined, Zubstejn Castle and the remnants of Pysolec Castle. Then descend to Vir arriving back at the Svratka River.

  Overnight in Vir.

• Day 2
  Vir - Svojanov (15 km / 9.5 miles, elevation gain 570 m)

  Start the day ascending from Vir over Javoruv Hill and the nearby lookout tower, both offering far views of the pristine forested landscape. Through the village of Nyklovice with nice timber houses come to well-preserved 13th century Svojanov Castle with a restored Renaissance palace. Then get a transfer to Policka, a town surrounded by the best-preserved medieval defensive walls in the country, 1220 m long. A delightful walk along a reconstructed part of the wall allows for superb views of Svojanov Castle. The town’s Neo-Gothic church tower is the birthplace of the world-famous music composer Bohuslav Martinu.

  Overnight in Policka.

• Day 3
  Policka - Kratka - Zdar nad Sazavou (20 km / 13 miles, elevation gain 190 m)

  After a car transfer to the heart of Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, start an easy, though long, walk through the Zdarske Hills Protected Landscape Area. Beginning in Kratka, a tiny village reserve with picturesque timber houses, go through Kadov, an idyllic place with a ‘good-old-times’ pub, and past romantic fishponds at the Tri Studne resort. Before descending to the town of Zdar nad Sazavou visit today’s highlight – the UNESCO protected site of St. John of Nepomuk Church, the masterpiece of Jan Santini Aichel, the creator of unique Baroque-Gothic style.

  Overnight in Zdar nad Sazavou.

• Day 4
  Zdar nad Sazavou - Svobodne Hamry - Hlinsko (10 km / 6 miles, elevation gain 90 m)

  Transferred to Svobodne Hamry, a village known for its medieval inn and historical forge, start an easy walk along the Chrudimka River valley. Continue to Vesely Kopec, where you can visit the local open-air museum presenting the typical folk architecture of the Highlands region. Thanks to its idyllic setting many movies and fairytales have been filmed here. Keep going through a varied landscape, crossing the Chrudimka multiple times on your way to Hlinsko, a town featuring well-preserved ensemble of timber houses called Betlem, which still lives with traditional crafts and costume parades enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage.

  Overnight in Hlinsko.

• Day 5
  Hlinsko – Doubrava River – Chotebor (8 km / 5 miles, elevation gain 200 m)

  Today’s hike is quite short, however it will take your time to explore the dramatic landscape of the Doubrava River canyon. After a transfer to Ore Mountains Protected Landscape Area, you will enter the steep-sided valley carved by the wild river. Be ready for a slow walk enjoying the sound of small, yet rapid waterfalls, climbing to riverside rocks and breathing the fresh air of deep forests. Reaching the town of Chotebor, you can walk around its historic center with a massive Gothic church.

  Overnight in Chotebor.

• Day 6
  Chotebor - Svata Katerina - Kutna Hora (12 km / 7.5 miles, elevation gain 100 m)

  Today you will take the Way of St. James route walking from one Christian sight to another. After a transfer to Svata Katerina (Saint Catherine) join the pilgrimage route at the early-medieval village church. Continue through the vast park of Kacina Chateau, a fine example of Empire architecture, which houses a National Agriculture Museum with exhibitions devoted to farming, herbs, and the history of the local lords. In Sedlec on the outskirts of Kutna Hora, we highly recommend seeing the ossuary and the cathedral reshaped in Baroque-Gothic style by Santini. Together with Gothic St. Barbara’s Church in Kutna Hora they are great examples of the country’s architectonic legacy protected by UNESCO. Then enjoy the magnificent historic center of Kutna Hora, a medieval silver mining town, in the 15th century matching with Prague.

  Overnight in Kutna Hora.

• Day 7
  Kutna Hora - Sazava - Cesky Sternberk (18 km / 11.5 miles, elevation gain 470 m)

  Start your day of walking after a transfer to the town of Sazava, home of one of the oldest monasteries in the Czech lands, founded in 1032. Walking along the Sazava River you will climb to Talmberk castle ruins and return back to the river in Rataje nad Sazavou, a popular riverside campsite. Walking over the forested hills you will come to the Sazava for the third time to see the Gothic jewel, majestic Cesky Sternberk Castle, still owned by the same family which built it in the 13th century. The castle features one of the largest European collections of historic prints illustrating the Thirty Years War of the mid-1600s.

  Overnight in Cesky Sternberk.

• Day 8
  Cesky Sternberk – Porici nad Sazavou – Konopiste - Prague (15 km / 9.5 miles, elevation gain 200 m)

  Begin the day with a car transfer to Porici nad Sazavou, and start walking from the local perfectly-preserved 12th century stone church. Mildly ascending along a romantic stream in a forested valley come to Konopiste, originally an early-Gothic castle reconstructed in the 19th century as the seat of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este whose assasination in Sarajevo in 1914 sparked World War I. Continue to a nearby Chvojen Hill which offers a wonderful view, unique 13th century church, and supposedly prehistoric fortifications. From here you can say goodbye to the Czech countryside, glimpse Konopiste Castle, and descend to its park to get a car transfer to the city of Prague, a treasury of Gothic sights, such as the Old New Synagogue, Old Town Hall, Charles Bridge or St. Vitus Cathedral, reminding us of the fact that Prague was repeatedly the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.