*A tour of the Horní Střela granite rock formations, with a start in Žihle: 8 km to 18 km*

• The Horní Střela nature park is an attractive forested area (mostly spruce and pine, with occasional beech and birch trees) situated approximately 70 km due west of Prague. The protected nature area is split by the deep canyon of the meandering Střela river. The northern area of the park is littered with huge granite rock formations, created by magma intrusions and then extensive weathering of the surrounding softer rock.
• The rocks are extremely picturesque and a walk around the most prominent formations is highly recommended. The closest access point with good public transport options is the village of Žihle, which has train connections with Plzeň. An alternative starting point is village of Tis u Blatna, which is slightly closer to Prague if driving. The the walking route from Tis is slightly shorter – around 15 km – if wanting to visit all the main rock areas).
• The five main rock formations that are worth visiting are (in order of the visit, assuming a start in Žihle): Dědek (a single massive boulder), Bába (an even bigger boulder), Hřib (a mushroom-shaped formation), Lidčina rock (a boulder field which has a sad story attached to it) and finally, the Viklan rock ‘town’ (the most impressive collection in the forest).
• The full route shown in the map below also includes a loop around the Sklárna educational trail, which is devoted to the nature and history of glass-making near Tis u Blatna. This can be skipped if preferring a shorter walk. The trails around the rock areas are not difficult and there are no steep sections. The route can be attempted in all seasons.
• The full route shown below involves 300m of height to ascend-descend. There are multiple (unmarked) tracks through the forest, which can be used for short cuts if desired (and using the mapy.cz phone application to follow the route).
• There are no refreshment options while on the route, but there are a couple of pubs-restaurants in Žihle or Tis u Blatna at the beginning-end of the trip.

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

• From the train station at Žihle, join the YELLOW trail heading towards Dědek rock, which is reached after 1.8 km
• From Dědek rock continue on the YELLOW trail for 400m to reach the Bába rock
• From Bába, stay on the YELLOW trail for a further 100m. At this point, the trail bends sharply left. Leave the YELLOW trail and continue straight on following the unmarked footpath heading downhill for 50m to reach a broad forest track (which is a marked cycle path)
• Turn left onto the track. After 900m pass a tourist shelter and after a further 100m reach an asphalt forest road. The Hřib rock formation can be found 100m to the left along the road
• After visiting Hřib, return back to the junction and continue on the asphalt road for 1.3 km to reach the Sklána residential complex (used as a nature summer school)
• At the edge of the complex (map point 7), turn sharply right onto the educational trail (green-white diagonal striped markers)
• The educational trail leads after 1.5 km to Lidčina skála (the rocks are found 70m uphill to the right up a small track)
• From Lidčina skála remain on the educational trail. This trail (which joins the RED hiking trail for a section) makes a 5 km loop before returning back to the Sklárna complex
• On reach the edge of the complex again (map point 7), turn right onto the RED trail which leads after 700m to the Uhlířská louka junction
• At the junction, turn left onto the YELLOW trail which leads after 1.4 km to the Viklan rock complex
• From Viklan, stay on the YELLOW trail for 300m until reach the asphalt forest road. Turn right onto the road
• Continue on the road for 1 km (leaving the YELLOW trail after 200m)
• After 1 km, the forest road reaches the main public road. Cross the road and join the BLUE hiking trail, which returns back to Žihle train station after 2.8 km