*A long walk in the Český kras hills surrounding Karlštejn castle: 20 km to 33 km*

• The outstanding walking terrain in the protected nature area of Český kras is ideal for nice long day trips. The area is bisected by the scenic river Berounka, but the frequent bridges allow multiple circular routes to be created. Use can also be made of the frequent trains that run along the river from Prague to Beroun. Several regional stations allow trips of different lengths to be designed.
• The route on this page circles the hills around the unique castle of Karlštejn, which is undoubtedly the most visited attraction in the rugged limestone hills of Český kras. However, the suggested footpath approach to the castle starting in Zadní Třebaň is not a well known route and offers a stunning view over Karlštejn’s Gothic towers and turrets.
• The proposed route includes visits to other Český kras attractions, including the ancient monastery complex of Svatý Jan, the remarkable quarry system of Velká Amerika (often used as a film location) and Koda limestone cave (used as a shelter by prehistoric man over many millennia). The trail passes through a number of attractive villages, most offering good refreshment options.
• The suggested route can be started at either of the regional train stations in Zadní Třebaň or Srbsko. Both have frequent train connections with Prague main station. Taking the train is a better option than driving, as there are relatively few parking spots on this circuit. The route should be followed anti clockwise from whichever station is chosen as the start-finish point.
• The simple (without diversions) circuit, passes through the villages of Karlštejn, Srbsko, Liteň and Zadní Třebaň and is 20 km long with 540m of height to ascend-descend. Adding diversions to see Velká Amerika, Svatý Jan and Svinaře, extends the trip to around 33 km, with 800m of height difference. The extensions are all recommended.
• The route is mostly on footpaths in fields and forests, which can get muddy after wet weather. The Český kras terrain is quite rugged and although the hills are not big, some of the slopes on the route are relatively steep, requiring care. There are several other good refreshment options on the route (these are marked with map points below – in Srbsko, Svatý Jan and on the road between Karlstejn and Mořina).
• A particularly nice spot to celebrate the end of the trip, if starting in Zadní Třebaň, is the attractive pub U Máni (map point 2) located in the neighbouring village of Hlásná Třebaň.

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 Zadní Třebaň train station, join the YELLOW trail, heading in the direction of Karlštejn
• The viewpoint is reached after 2.4 km and from there the Karlštejn – pod hradem junction is reached in a further 500m
• At the junction, join the RED trail heading towards Beroun
• The entrance to the castle is reached after 400m. from there, continue on the RED trail, passing the Pod Dračí skálou restaurant after a further 500m and the Hájovna U Dubu restaurant after another 600m (both offer good refreshments)
• If not planning on diverting to see the velká Amerika quarries, continue on the RED trail after reaching the Dub Sedmi bratří junction
• If planning on visiting Velká Amerika, join the BLUE trail at the Dub Sedmi bratří junction and walk 1.9 km up the road to reach the village of Mořina
• In Mořina, turn left onto the YELLOW trail and continue for 1.2 km to reach the start of the quarry system
• Stay on the YELLOW trail passing two further quarries. It is possible to continue on the YELLOW trail back to the Dub Sedmi bratří junction and there pick up the RED trail again heading towards Beroun (but note the short cut at map point 8, which leads directly to the RED trail and saves more than a kilometer)
• On rejoining the RED trail continue for 1.2 km to reach the Kubrychtova bouda junction. Here, if planning to visit Svatý Jan, continue on the RED trail for a further 4.3 km to reach the monastery. From the monasterz, take the YELLOW trail heading towards Srbsko, which is reached after 4.6 km
• If not planning on visiting Svatý Jan, at the Kubrychtova bouda junction turn onto the BLUE trail, which leads directly down to Srbsko village
• At Srbsko, cross the Berounka river using the road bridge and join the YELLOW trail heading towards Koda – horní rozc.
• The Koda – horní rozc. junction is reached after 2 km. Here, turn onto the BLUE trail heading in the direction of Liteň. After 500m, Koda cave is a short (marked) diversion to the left down a steep slope
• From the cave, continue on the BLUE trail to reach Liteň after 3.9km
• Join the GREEN trail in Liteň, which leads directly back to Zadní Třebaň after 5 km