An easy circular walk from the top of the Čertova hora cableway, above Harrachov: 5 km
- Harrachov is a popular ski (and walking) resort in the in the Krkonoše mountains, which has expanded rapidly in recent years. There are direct bus connections to Harrachov from Prague and extensive paid parking areas. The town (which has a glassmaking history, dating back to the 17th century) is today particularly known for its massive ski jumps, which were first built in 1920.
- A trip up the cable way (a four seater chair lift) to the top of Čertova hora still seems to be an obligatory excursion when visiting Harrachov, even outside the ski season. Certainly the views over the Harrachov valley and the ski jump slopes are impressive, although there are definitely more beautiful trips in the immediate area – see the walks involving the Mumlava waterfalls.
- Once at the top, consider taking a walk through the spruce forest (which has many blueberry bushes) in the summit area. A short distance from the summit is the massive Janova rock outcrop, which apparently once offered super views, but unfortunately the spruce tress have now grown too tall, so there is little point in scrambling up the otherwise attractive rocks.
- The trail leads down to the Studenov ski area above Rokytnice nad Jizerou, before circling back around Čertova hora using a cycle path. The final section climbs the top section of the ski slope (not a particularly steep slope) where there is a summer viewing platform.
- The total route is 5.6 km long with 140m of height to ascend-descend. The route is mostly on wide forest tracks, apart from the final climb up the ski slope , with is on a grassy meadow. For refreshment, there are snack bars at the top of Čertova hora and at Studenov junction.
Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’ to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.
Directions
- Buy return tickets and then take the cableway (chairlift) from Harrachov village to the top of Čertova hora
- Take the BLUE trail in the direction of Studenov
- After 1.3 km there is a diversion sign to the Janova rock (a 150m diversion)
- Continue on the BLUE trail for 900m to reach the Studenov junction
- To return back from Studenov, follow the cycle trail (blue-yellow stripe markings) to the Pod Čertovou horou junction which is reached in 2.8 km
- At the junction, turn right rejoining the BLUE trail and walk up the ski slope to return back to the summit and the cableway station, which is reached in 400m
- Take the chair lift backdown the mountain
