*The Drbákov – Albertovy skály nature trail above the Vltava valley: 7 km to 12 km*

• The Drbákov – Albertovy skály is a protected nature reserve located on a rocky escarpment above the meandering Vltava river valley, now filled with the Slapy reservoir. It is considered one of the most scenic spots in the whole Slapy area and is equipped with an adventurous nature trail that traverses the rock formations.
• The circular trail is just over 6 km long and much of it is on narrow and steep paths, in places equipped with chains. This is one of the more challenging trails in Central Bohemia and requires confidence on slightly exposed slopes. It should only be attempted in dry conditions. The rewards for attempting the route are multiple excellent viewpoints over the reservoir. The trail has several information boards describing the nature (in Czech only).
• The trail can be accessed most quickly from a small car park a short drive from the village of Nalžovice, but there are no public transport connections to this spot. The circular route from the car park is approximately 7 km long.
• An alternative option is to begin the walk in the neighboring village of Křepenice, which has a bus connection to the nearby town of Sedlčany. There is also a parking area in the center of the village. Křepenice has a fine small Renaissance fortress, which was built by the famous 16th century pond builder, Jakub Krčín of Jelčany, who created many of the large ponds in South Bohemia for the Rožmberk (Rosenberg) noble family.
• The route, starting and finishing in Křepenice is 11.5 km long with nearly 500m of height to ascend-descend, most of which is on the 6 km nature trail. In the center of Křepenice is a very nice local bakery which also has a small café area. This is a recommended refreshment stop before or after the walk.

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

• Starting in Křepenice village, take a moment to view the outside of the Renaissance fortress, situated behind the village pond (it is signposted to the Tvrz from the village center)
• Then join the BLUE trail in the direction of Hrazany. The nature trail is reached after 2.5 km at the junction Drbákov – Albertovy skály
• At the junction, leave the BLUE trail and head downhill, following the green-white diagonal stripe nature trail markers
• The lower section of the trail undulates with many up and down sections, occasionally protected by chains, visiting several viewpoints
• After 2.8km the nature trail joins the YELLOW hiking trail at a junction. Here turn right uphill (following both the YELLOW and nature trail markings)
• This higher section of the trail also visits two fine viewpoints before descending quite steeply back to the Drbákov – Albertovy skály junction
• Here turn back onto the BLUE trail to return on the outbound route back to Křepenice village