*Highlights of central Šumava – a full day circuit through Kvilda, Modrava and Rokyta: 28 km*

• This walk visits many of the best sites to the north of Kvilda and Modrava, including a section of the Vchynice-Tetov Canal, together with some of Šumava’s prettiest mountain streams and peat bogs – there are also some excellent refreshment stops along the way! The circular walk can be started at any of the Šumava villages on the route, but the route map below assumes a start at Kvilda.
• Kvilda is the highest situated village in the country at 1065m and is also known as one of the coldest places, with temperatures dropping in winter as low as -40C. The village is a popular destination both for winter sports and summer hiking, with probably the most well-known destination being the source of the river Vltava on the slopes of Černa hora (1316m). The first historical records of Kvilda date from the 16th century, when woodcutters permanently settled in the area, but it is likely that gold prospectors were the first settlors, at least several centuries earlier.
• The suggested route heads anticlockwise towards Horská Kvilda (but it can equally well be done clockwise). The first stop is the well-known upland peatbog area called Jezerní slať. There is a short (300m) nature trail describing the formation of the bog (only in Czech) and various signposts along the planking walkway, describing the plants.
• The route continues northwards to reach Horská Kvilda. Consider stopping for some refreshments at the popular Hotel Rankl. From there the route follows the pretty Hamerský stream. The 9 km stream initially meanders gently across the high plateau near Horská Kvilda and then becomes a more energetic mountain stream on its approach to meet the Vydra river. The stream was panned for gold in the Middle Ages (and possibly by the Celts in the first millennium BC). The characteristic small mounds and shallow pools created by hundreds of years of sifting the alluvial stream deposits are visible in the meadows around Horská Kvilda.
• After crossing the Vydra river at the Antýgl bridge, the route follows a section of the remarkable Vchynicko-Tetovo Navigation channel. The watercourse was built at the end of the 18th century by Prince Schwarzenberg to circumvent an unnavigable section of the Vydra river. The canal was used principally to transport timber, which used for heating throughout the country in the first half of the 19th century. After the channel’s construction, the prince was granted a 30-year license to transport timber to Prague.
• The route then heads south towards Modrava, first passing one of Šumava’s famous peat bog lakes, Tříjezerní slať. The upland peat bogs are home to a large number or rare and protected plant species. There is a short nature trail (250m) on a wooden walkway that leads to the small lakes. From there, the route follows the scenic Roklanský stream towards Modrava along a lovely broad and sunny valley lined with spruce. This once was once a summer hunting and fishing territory for the last of the Neolithic hunter-gatherers, some 10,000 years ago. In Modrava, consider stopping for some refreshments on the terrace at the very popular Lyer brewery restraurant.
• The final section of the route heads eastwards from Modrava towards the village of Filipova Hut’ on a nature trail beside the scenic water cascades on the Filipohuťský stream. On returning to Kvilda, there are various refreshment options, including some new cafés and traditional inns (eg the popular Šumava Inn). However, an alternative choice is the microbrewery and bakery Pekárna Kvilda, which produces excellent beer and serves classic Czech pub food.
• The total route of 28 km has just under 500m of height to ascend-descend, mostly on good forest tracks or footpaths. The footpath beside the Filipohuťský stream can sometimes be quite wet and slippery, but generally this is an easy (if long) route. It is one of the nicest circuits in Šumava.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• Start the walk in the center of Kvilda and join the BLUE trail heading towards the U Tremlů junction, which is reached after 1.3 km. From there, continue northwards on the cycle path for a further 1.3 km to reach the start of the peatbog trail, which is 300m long, partly on wooden planking
• After visiting the Jezerní slať peat bog, continue northwards towards Horská Kvilda. There is an unmarked but clear footpath across the meadows (in winter this is a cross-country ski track) which joins the main road near the U Daniela trail junction
• Once at the road, follow the BLUE hiking trail into Horská Kvilda as far as the hotel Rankl
• From the Rankl, stay on the BLUE trail for a further 4 km to reach Antýgl bridge
• Cross the bridge, joining the RED trail for a 1.1 km section to reach the Rokyta junction
• At the junction, join the GREEN trail and continue for 2.9 km as far as the Hakešická cesta junction
• At the junction, join the BLUE trail heading towards Pod Oblíkem junction which is reached in 1.8 km
• At Pod Oblíkem, join the YELLOW trail heading towards the Tříjezerní slať peat bog. The entrance to the nature trail is reached after 400m
• After completing the nature trail head downhill on the mountain road to reach the Rybárna junction in 800m
• At Rybárna, join the RED trail heading towards Modrava. The brewery restaurant Lyer is reach in 2.2 km
• Continue on the RED trail for 200m to reach the centre of the village and there join the GREEN trail heading towards Filipova Hut’
• After 500m on the GREEN trail, which follows the main road, take the turn to the right for the Modrava-Filipova Huť nature trail (green/white diagonal stripes)
• Follow the nature trail for 1.5 km until it reaches the main road again and rejoins the GREEN hiking trail, near the u Dáši snack bar (map point 15)
• Continue on the GREEN trail along the road through Filipova Huť for 1.8 km to reach the Pod Březovou horou junction
• At the junction, join the YELLOW trail heading back towards Kvilda, which is reached in 4.3 km