*The pre-WWII Běloves fortifications educational trail, in the hills above Náchod: 10 km (extendable)*

• The Běloves fortifications are located in the foothills of the Orlické hory (Eagle mountains) above Náchod. They are part of the system of fortresses planned to be constructed to protect the Czech border against invasion by Nazi Germany. The Běloves bunkers are at the northern edge of the larger Dobrošov artillery system. These can be combined together in a unique tour of these startling pre WWII fortifications – all constructed in the very attractive countryside of the borderlands!
• The fortresses were begun in 1935 and by September 1938 (when Czechoslovakia was forced under the terms of the Munich agreement to cede its borderlands to Germany), five of those fortresses had been partly completed. Dobrošov was one of those five, and the only one which actually fell outside the Sudetenland territory that was annexed by Nazi Germany. For broader information on the history of the Czech border fortifications, take a look at the following short article.
• The fortress complexes were state-of-the-art with several heavy blockhouses performing different functions, linked together by an underground tunnel system. Dobrošov is one of the best preserved of the fortress system and is a national cultural monument. Guided tours of the partly finished blockhouses run from April to October and there is an excellent visitor center.
• There are two education trails in these hills above Náchod that visit different parts of the fortification system. The longer route (at just over 9 km, with 260m of height to ascend/descend) begins just outside Náchod in the village of Běloves and is shown in the map below. This route circles around a number of the independent blockhouses, including the fully reconstructed Březinka blockhouse, which is a standalone museum. The longer route also visits the main Dobrošov fortress, the Jiráskova chata and viewing tower. This is a great all round trip, even for those not super excited by old military fortifications!
• The shorter route (a little over 6 km), centered on the Dobrošov complex, involves less climbing (160m) than the Běloves route, but requires either driving up to one of the car parks near the fortress or catching a bus from Náchod. Both trails have multi language information boards.
• The two marked information trails (the Dobrošov and the Běloves routes) overlap to some extent at the top of the hill and route finding becomes a little complex. The easiest solution is just to follow all the green nature trail markers once near the top of the hill – essentially combining the two trails. Here is a link to a suggested route for the extended version – 12 km long with nearly 400m of height to ascend-descend.
• None of the paths are difficult or particularly steep, whichever option is chosen. For the Běloves route (starting and finishing in the valley), there is an option to visit the popular restaurant Bonato, located at the bottom of the hill (map point 8). This is also a Hejlík recommended restaurant.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Starting at the Náchod-Běloves train station, join the YELLOW hiking trail and stay on this path for 1.2 km until the GREEN trail branches right at the Běloves – býv. lom junction
• From Běloves – býv. lom junction, continue uphill following the Běloves education trail markers – green/white diagonal stripe markers
• The route finding on the hill and for the return journey is quite complex due to the large number of interlinked trails. There are reasonable trail signposts throughout the area, but it is better to follow the desired route using a good map / or the mapy.com phone application