*A classic walk in the Pálava hills: from Dolní Věstonice to Mikulov along the ridge – 14 km*
- Pálava is a scenic protected landscape area in Southern Moravia which, despite its relatively small size, is filled with remarkably large number of sites to visit. The area is dominated by a chain of rocky summits that effectively form ridge line that runs from Dolní Věstonice situated beside the large Nové Mlýny reservoir to the town of town of Mikulov, 15 km to the south. Conveniently, a good trail runs from summit to summit making this one of Moravia’s most popular walking areas.
- Dolní Věstonice is a renowned archaeological site, famous for its mammoth hunter settlement dating from nearly 30000 years ago, where one of Europe’s most well-known ice age relics, the Venus of Věstonice was unearthed. It is definitely worth visiting the archeological museum below the wine village of Pavlov and the archaeological site area. This is covered in a separate short walk.
- Starting in the center of Dolní Věstonice, the ridge route climbs through vineyard terraces to reach the impressive ruins of the 13th century Gothic castle of Dívčí hrady, which got its name from a legend about three girls who were apparently petrified and became part of the summit cliffs. From there the trail climbs to Děvín (550m), the highest point in the Pálava hills.
- From Děvín, the trail drops down to the wine village of Klentnice before ascending the next peak to visit the romantic 13th century ruins of Sirotčí hrádek. From there, the trail ascends the distinctive Tabulová hora (459m) – an almost flat limestone ‘table mountain’ which rises up from the fertile plain. The plateau appears to have been occupied from the Neolithic period through to the end of the Bronze Age (around 1000 BC) and was probably fortified at least from the middle of the Bronze Age onwards.
- From Tabulová hora the trail passes through the Turold nature reserve, site of the largest Mesozoic limestone cave in the country. The cave system is open for summer tours. The trail then concludes by dropping down into historic Mikulov.
- Mikulov is an old town, dating from the beginning of the 12th century, situated at the center of an important southern Moravian wine area. The town center is one of the most picturesque in the country, dominated by the massive Baroque chateau constructed by the Dietrichstein noble family on the site of the Gothic 13th century castle. The chateau today houses an interesting town museum.
- The town is overlooked by Svatý kopeček (Holy Hill), which can be ascended if wanting to extend the walk by 2 km (or tackled on a separate trip).
- The total ridge walk (without any extensions) is just over 14 km long (assuming a finish at Mikulov train station), with 590m of height to ascend and 550m of descent. The path is good, but some of the ascents and descents are quite steep.There are limited refreshment options on the route, but several good cafés and restaurants in Mikulov. Try the atmospheric retro-styled (Ne)vinná kavárna on the corner of the main street-square. It also has a pleasant terrace area. There is also a good ice cream parlor further along this main street.
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
- Start the walk in the center of Dolní Věstonice, which can be reached by bus from Breclav or Mikulov (there is also a parking area in the center)
- The entire route follows the RED hiking trail into the center of Mikulov, and is well marked. Take the short diversions to visit the castle ruins and Turold cave as desired
- In Mikulov, visit the chateau and main street for refreshments and if travelling back to Dolní Věstonice, catch the bus from near the post office
