Walks to the viewing tower on Kotel hill near Rokycany: 4 km to 12 km
- In 1895 a wooden lookout tower was constructed on the prominent hill of Kotel (575m), a short walk from the town of Rokycany in the Plzeň Region. The tower only lasted fourteen years and had to be torn down. A hundred years later a new (and hopefully more sturdy) tower has been constructed on the hill top offering expansive 360 degree views of the surrounding countryside, including the Brdy hills and in the distance Šumava.
- The new tower (built in 2014) is 28m tall taking the total elevation above 600m. There are two viewing platforms – on even a slightly windy day the top viewing platform sways gently in the wind…so a good head for heights is recommended if deciding to climb the tower.
- The paths to the summit are not steep and should be manageable in all seasons. The closest parking is on the side road from Rokycany to the village of Veselá. The direct route to the summit from the car park following the marked hiking trail, and back on the same route, is just under 4 km long. A more varied circular route, also starting and finishing in the parking area (which is shown in the map below) is 7 km long and involves 175m of height to ascend-descend.
- If traveling by public transport, then the circular route from Rokycany train station to the tower and returning along the Klabeva river after passing through the village of Kamenný Újezd, is 12 km long. There are no refreshment options on the shorter routes. If finishing in Rokycany there are multiple options, including the well regarded gastropub Železná.
Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.cz’ to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.
Directions (for the 7 km route)
- Start at the parking area 4 km south of Rokycany, on the road to the village of Veselá
- Take the BLUE hiking trail heading westwards gently uphill to reach the Kotel – rozhledna trail junction after 1.5 km
- At the junction take the marked 300m route to the summit and the viewing tower. Then return back to the junction
- Continue on the BLUE trail descending the hill in the direction of Holoubkov
- After 1.6 km reach the trail junction of Pod Kotlem. Here, turn right onto the YELLOW trail in the direction of Pod Kotlíkem
- After 1.7 km reach the Pod Kotlíkem trail junction and here turn right back onto the BLUE trail in the direction of Kotel
- After 1.7 km return back to the parking area
