A short walk (4 km) around the Kulivá Hora nature reserve from Třebotov

• If passing through the historic Český kras village of Třebotov, which is a short drive from Radotín and the D0 Prague ring road (or even better, staying in Třebotov at the attractive boutique hotel Tvrz Třebotov) then a nice short walk in the deciduous forest area south of the village leads to the Kulivá Hora nature reserve.
• This nature reserve is internationally important for its 400 million year old sedimentary layers of exposed limestone and shale rock. The area became famous in the 19th century for marine fossil discoveries and today the rocks are home to a variety of rare heat loving plants and mushrooms, as well a large number of butterfly species. There is a good viewpoint at the edge of the reserve which is worth heading to.
• If not staying at the Tvrz (which is a converted 17th century Abbot’s residence built on the site of a medieval fortress) there are usually parking spots along the side streets near the church. There are also buses from Zličin and Radotín to Třebotov.
• There are various unmarked trails in the forest. The viewpoint is only 1.2km from the church/Tvrz, on the most direct path, but a more interesting route initially follows the marked hiking trail through the village and then circles back to the Kulivá Hora viewpoint along a good forest trail, passing just below the hilltop.The total length of the recommended route is 4.1 km with 70m of height gained/lost. There are no refreshment options directly on the path.

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

• If driving to Třebotov, there are usually some parking spaces next to the church or in the nearby side streets. Start the walk at the hiking signpost next to the Tvrz (fortress) and follow the GREEN trail in the direction of Kulivá hora past the village pond
• The trail signpost of Kulivá hora is reached after 1.2km. Here, turn sharply to the right onto the unmarked but wide forest track that runs straight and flat in a south westerly direction
• After 900m, just before reaching the first houses, turn off the wide track onto a narrower footpath that heads due south
• This path skirts the northern flank of a low forested hill – marker 4 on the expanded map. (The hilltop – presumably Kulivá hill – has some building remains at the very top – the walls of a sunken room, which appears to have been a store room, are not old but the broader hilltop site itself looks like there was a much older construction here at some point – it does not yet appear to have been investigated as a possible archeological site)
• Continue straight on for a further 400m to reach the viewpoint over the rock area and valley below – there is a second (better) viewpoint 100m from the first, reached on a descending footpath
• Return along the same path for 350m and take the first footpath to the left. This descends the hill and after 200m reaches the residential area. A village road then leads directly back to the pond in the centre of Třebotov after 600m