A circular walk from Konstantinovy Lázně to Krasíkov/Švamberk castle : 18 km

• Konstantinovy Lázně is a small but pretty spa, located around 40 km northwest of Plzeň in attractive hilly countryside. The spa took its name from Prince Konstantin Josef of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, who acquired the village in the 19th century. The spa specializes in disorders of the cardiovascular system based on mineral springs containing the highest concentration of carbon dioxide of all the springs in the country.
• There are a number of good walks in the area if visiting for the day or staying in the spa. One of the longer walks is a circular tour in the countryside to visit the romantic the romantic ruins of Švamberk castle on Krasíkov hill. The Gothic ruin dates from the 13th century and has viewing platform offering a good view of the surrounding hills.
• On the way to Krasíkov, the trail passes over the hill Ovčí vrch, with its prominent chapel and memorial stone, commemorating lives lost during a peasants’ uprising in 1680.
• The whole route is 18 km long, with 330m of height to ascend/descend. None of the paths are difficult, but the return trails follow a couple of streams and can be muddy after wet weather. There are various refreshment options in the spa area, including a cafe in the main spa hotel in the center of the park.

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 at the Konstantinovy Lázně train station (which has connections with Plzeň main line train station) join the YELLOW trail in the direction of Bezdružice
• After 1 km, at the Staré Lázně junction, turn left onto the GREEN trail heading towards Ovčí vrch
• The trail leads directly to the summit of Ovčí vrch after 5 km (tske a moment to visit the chapel and memorial stone – a 150 m diversion from the main path)
• Continue on the GREEN trail for a further 1.4 km to reach the Pod Krasíkovem junction, just below the summit of Krasíkov
• At the junction take the 600m diversion to reach the Švamberk castle ruins and then return back to the Pod Krasíkovem junction
• At the junction, join the YELLOW trail heading in the direction of Balcarův Mlýn, which is reached after 2.4 km
• At the Balcarův Mlýn junction, join the RED trail in the direction of Na Hadovce
• Continue on the RED trail for 3.6 km until reaching the junction U Studánky lásky
• At the U Studánky lásky junction, cross the join the final part of the nature trail Ke Studánce lásky (marked with green/white diagonal stripes) heading back to Konstantinovy Lázně
• The main spa area is reached after 3 km. It is 500m from there back to the train station, following the YELLOW trail