Bohemian Paradise (Český Ráj), Czechia

Hello everyone. We decided to visit the Czech Paradise with friends. As you can tell from the name, this place is located in the Czech Republic. We had an active vacation for three days. The apartments we stayed in were in an old building but had been partially restored. The rooms had beds and wardrobes. The bathroom had very low doors and I almost hit my head. The kitchen was well-equipped. The floor creaked in a very authentic way. It was a satisfactory apartment. The name of the apartment was Český ráj. We paid 140 Euros for two nights for four people.

Our accommodation was in a small town called Turnov, which looked a bit old, but I think it’s just an old building that’s been restored and is now rented out. Our goal was to stay in the town because it has infrastructure and from there you can reach most of Czech Paradise.

On our first day, we decided not to waste time and went for a walk. Most of the route went through the city. We passed through Turnov, walked between garages and reached the edge of a stream. It was a small lake. we planned to explore it in more detail on the third day. On the first day, we went to the northern part of Czech Paradise, which is north of Turnov. My friend jokingly asked "Where are the gates of Czech Paradise?" and we were really surprised when we turned the corner and saw this iron arch. There is a railway on top of the arch. We passed under the arch and immediately reached a castle. The castle is called Hrubý Rohozec, but there was a problem: the castle is located at the top of a hill and we decided not to climb up. To save time, we continued on our way. We saw a pipe coming out of the castle, covered in stones and it wasn’t clear where it led. It was probably a rainwater collection system.

According to the information board, Hrubý Rohozec Castle was built in the second half of the 11th century and initially looked different. By 1534, it had taken a form similar to what we see today. The castle has been protected as a national cultural monument since 2002. There is also a small English park nearby. Today, the castle is open to visitors and offers guided tours to see how old noble families lived.

The information boards at the castle talked about the flora and fauna here, including insects and birds. Behind the castle walls, there are three small ponds, which are artificial because they have very regular shapes. We walked along a wide meadow. We were on the red route and still had a long way to go. There is a campsite in this village and right next to it, there is a museum called Czech Paradise House.

We entered a forest path and heard a very strange bird sound. We hoped it wasn’t a bad omen. We crossed the forest and reached the main road. To our disbelief, there was a bus stop here. We left the road and arrived at a place with mailboxes. The most interesting thing was that there were no houses here and the houses were far away. If a package arrives here, you have to walk quite a bit to reach the mailbox. It started to rain, but the sun was still shining. We had neither a raincoat nor anything else. We had left everything in the room. We walked a bit further and arrived at a viewing platform. Calling it a "viewing platform" is a bit of an exaggeration because there were only a few castle ruins and rocky areas that looked like a nature reserve.

After the platform we returned to Turnov. We reached our destination Mala Skala village and the castle, but it was getting dark, so there was no point in walking further. We initially came here just to rest, but we preferred to walk. On the way back, we took the train. We were actually going to walk for three hours, but the forest was dark, so taking the train turned out to be a good idea. We bought tickets from a machine and returned comfortably, thus avoiding the three-hour walk. We had dinner and then relaxed.

The next day we visited the central part of Czech Paradise, the largest nature reserve in the area. We arrived at the village of Vysoké Veselí, where we were there to see the Valecov Castle. Since it was very difficult to reach this place by public transport, we took a taxi. The village was about 15 km away. We started our walk toward the castle. The entrance fee to the castle was 50 crowns, but we didn’t have any crowns with us and couldn’t pay by card. In the end, after some difficulty, we paid in euros, which cost 7 euros for three people. This area has ruins and an audio guide starts immediately, explaining the history of the castle. It looks quite ancient, with some old stairs still remaining. There is a small table on the lower viewing terrace, as if set up for a romantic meeting. The castle is entirely carved from rock, with some interesting wooden details added in certain places.

My first thought was that the place wasn’t very efficient in terms of heat conductivity because it was made of wooden material. They had placed a small figurine where everyone throws coins and makes a wish. This medieval castle is located on the edge of Czech Paradise. It was carved from a single piece of rock in the 14th century and completed with wooden structures. The wooden parts were burned in subsequent fires, but years later, the castle was rebuilt from stone. It is situated about 320 meters above sea level and has been preserved as a cultural monument since 1967. Many people choose this place as the starting or ending point of their hikes. It is an important spot in Czech Paradise.

After passing the castle, we encountered some fairy tale like, holey rocks that looked like Swiss cheese. We climbed up and found a small cabin there. Interestingly, there were some benches and tables around where you could sit and rest before continuing your journey. We started the green route to Kost Castle, which required us to walk about 9.5 km. You really feel like you are walking in a forest within this nature reserve. The landscape was slowly changing as we passed through a small village. The route was much more enjoyable. We passed through an area with private properties, likely an area enclosed by fences for animals. There was something like a watchtower inside.

We then headed toward another settlement, a village. Since it was a nature reserve, I thought there should be less infrastructure here. When we were in Slovak Paradise, there was almost no settlement there. Camping was prohibited, stopping was prohibited, so that area was more strictly protected. The situation here seemed a bit different.

We planned to switch from the green route to the red route and reach Trosky Castle. This would be our third castle. We then thought about moving on to Hruba Skala, where there was also a castle, making it the fourth castle. After that, we would return by train. We needed to walk a total of 25 km. The weather warmed up a bit and we passed through a village that was well-maintained, with some large rocks typical of the region in some courtyards. There was also a water body called Komarovsky Pond in the village, but we passed by it to save time. We could observe how the landscape changed again. We reached a pine forest where the trees had been cut in a square shape, but one tree was left in the middle. Luckily, they had planted young saplings. We didn’t fully understand whether they were rejuvenating the forest or preparing for more cutting. We then left the road, where some vehicles were parked and saw cyclists passing by with paper maps, probably doing some land orientation. Fortunately, we only walked a short distance on an asphalt road and returned to the red route. On the red route, it was possible to see the root systems of trees inside a mini Czech Grand Canyon. We walked through this swampy area and then reached Kost Castle. When we entered the castle, we encountered a courtyard where we could buy tickets. Entry was charged and you could only enter in groups at certain times. Since we were short on time, we didn’t want to wait to enter the castle as a group. Instead, we ate and, feeling full, continued on our way. We left the castle and walked past a pond, crossing a swampy area. Interestingly, there were people passing by on bikes here, but we weren’t sure if it was a bike route. A rock had fallen along the way, partially blocking the road and it was clear that a piece of rock had come off.

After walking about 18 km, we saw a sign indicating we had entered the Liberec region. So, we had moved from one region to another. I started to feel like a Hobbit carrying a ring. On the road, we encountered a group of people who looked like a motorcycle gang, but they were actually traveling with semi-motorized vehicles. We also came across a small snake or water snake, but it was so small that it was nothing to worry about.

We encountered piles of cut trees, which was probably the most challenging part of the trail. We almost had to slide to move forward. We were approaching our goal, Hruba Skala Castle. We decided not to go to Trosky Castle because it was getting dark and we didn’t want to arrive in the dark. If we had left earlier, there would have been enough daylight to visit all four castles. So, I’m sure you can manage to see them all.

As we crossed the bridge, we were greeted by statues of Saint Florian and Saint Lawrence. Hruba Skala Castle is first mentioned in 1353. The castle was built on rock peaks for defensive purposes. Today, the castle features a hotel, a terrace restaurant and stunning views. Part of the castle is preserved as a museum and open to tourists. There is also an opportunity to climb the clock tower, which we, of course, took. You can hear the clock mechanism. At first while climbing up, I thought someone was coming down, but it was actually part of the mechanism.

Trosky Castle appeared in the distance. We didn’t go there that day, which turned out to be the right decision as the sun was setting. The view from here was truly magnificent. After an intense day of hiking, we had to hurry to catch the train. If we missed it, we would have to wait two hours for the next one or walk 8 km home, which we really didn’t want to do. Fortunately, we reached Hruba Skala so quickly that we arrived at the train 7 minutes early. When we left the castle, there were only 3 minutes left until the train time, but we made it. We ate something and headed home.

Looking back on our second day, we walked 32 km and didn’t reach Trosky Castle. But it was still enough. By the time we got home, we were very tired. Our legs were aching. We completed the main part of Czech Paradise and planned to visit the places we hadn’t gone to on the third day.

On the morning of the third day, we left the hotel and arranged with the hotel owner to leave our belongings in the car. The car stayed in the hotel’s parking lot to avoid leaving it in a central area. We went for a walk in the town of Turnov. This is part of Czech Paradise and the main square of the town. The most beautiful building in the town is a bank. There is also the František Church here. Since the square is paved with stones, it is quite noisy while walking. We discovered something interesting here: by selecting a number on a map, you can learn about the history of the chosen place. Information is provided in Czech, English, Polish and German. We were surprised that something like this was free in this town.

Then we went to Trosky Castle. The entrance fee is 140 Czech crowns and you can pay by credit card. We had seen the castle from afar for the first two days and that day we finally arrived. The castle is first mentioned in 1396. It was built on two rocky outcrops in a flat area. Although it is now in ruins, its silhouette has become a symbol of Czech Paradise.

The challenge of Czech Paradise is that it covers a very large area and is divided into three main parts: north, central and east. We were in the north on the first day, the center on the second day and planned to go east on the third day. Finally, we visited the popular Prachov Skaly. Parking costs 100 Czech crowns per day and you can park your vehicle here. Entrance is also 100 Czech crowns and then you can start a walk with a magnificent view. You can climb to various viewpoints and enjoy the surrounding beauty.

At the end of the path, we reached another viewpoint through a narrow corridor-like passage. There was a beautiful view here, but the rocks were of different shapes and heights, so you had to be careful. On the way back, there was even a path that families with children could easily walk. We reached another viewpoint called Krikovské Výhledy, offering a lake view. This place is definitely worth seeing. At the final viewpoint, we felt like we were walking in a corridor between rocks. Everywhere was filled with stones and we felt tiny among the enormous rocks around us.

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