*Along the Czech/Slovak border ridge above Bílá, a classic Beskydy walk: 10 km to 29 km*
- The pathway that runs directly along the Czech/Slovak border in the Beskydy mountains is one of the classic ridge walks in the country, with super views from many places deep into both countries. The ridgeline above the ski village of Bílá is one of the most scenic sections of the pathway and walks of various lengths can be created.
- Several of the walks in this guide feature sections of this particularly scenic trail. The highlight of the ridge is the 14 km section of ridge path between the road border crossings at Bumbálka and Konečná. For a long day, the full ridge walk can be combined with approach ascents and descents from the ski village of Bílá, creating an excellent 29km round trip. Bílá has good bus connections and a large parking area.
- For those preferring shorter options, both border crossings have bus connections with Bíla, and there are a number of alternative exit paths from the ridge leading down to Bílá. So, circular or one way routes of broadly any length between 10 km and 29 km can be devised. Almost all the paths have easy gradients, but the one exception is the BLUE hiking trail between Bílá and the Bobek trail junction on the ridge, which has some awkward narrow and steep sections in the forest, so is best done in ascent (or avoided altogether). The full 29 km loop involves 800m of height to ascend/descend.
- There are a number of refreshment options in Bílá and on the ridge, including Masarykova chata (which has a good terrace view), Chata Kmínek (a nice Slovak restaurant) and a popular bufet-snack bar situated on the ridge just past Bobek in the direction of Konečná. These are marked on the map below.
Directions
- Starting in Bílá, to reach the Bumbálka border crossing on foot (it can be reached by bus), take the GREEN trail in the direction of Údolí Velké Smradlavy, which is reached after 3 km. Here, take the BLUE trail for 2.8 km to reach the junction of Salajka and there take the YELLOW trail for 2.2 km to reach Bumbálka
- At Bumbálka, turn left onto the RED trail in the direction of Masarykova chata and follow this trail along the ridge all the way to Konečná, which is reached after 13.7 km
- At Konečná (if not taking the bus back to Bílá), take the BLUE trail downhill to reach the Údolí Černé junction in 1.7 km and there turn left onto the GREEN trail and follow this for 5.2 km all the way back to Bílá.
