A circular tour in the Křivoklátsko forests starting in Broumy, passing over Veliz hill: 18 km (extendable)

• The Křivoklátsko protected landscape area (PLA) is a large, mostly forested, upland area located in Central Bohemia, to the west of Prague. The mixed forests and rocky ridges in the nature zone offer a wide range of delightful walks on a large number of mostly easy trails. The trails are interesting year-round, but possibly the best time for a visit is the autumn, when the trees turn a variety of colors. The broad mix of trees in the managed forests (mostly oak, beech, silver birch, linden, larch, spruce and pine) combine to create a magnificent tapestry.
• The route outlined below spends considerable time on forest trails but also passes over the hill of Veliz. The site is associated with the legendary conflicts between the early medieval Slavic tribes and in particular with the rise of the Přemyslid dynasty. Just below the peak of Veliz is the Church of the Birth of St. John the Baptist, which was originally founded by the Přemyslid rulers of Central Bohemia at the beginning of the 11th century. The site was originally pagan, possibly an important ritual area and occupied by earlier Slavic and Celtic tribes. According to early medieval chroniclers, the Slavic god Veles was worshipped on the hill.
• At the foot of Veliz hill lies the village of Kublov, which was the birthplace of the composer Josef Leopold Zvonař (1824-1865), author of the famous Czech song „Čechy krásné, Čechy mé“. There is a nature trail that circles around Kublov and Veliz hill with information boards connected with the life of Zvonař. The trail starts near his birthhouse, a half-timbered farmhouse from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.
• The route can be started at any point in the circuit, but a good option is the village of Broumy, which has bus connections with Beroun and a few parking spots on the main street next to the coop. Also on the main street is the Matuška brewery shop, a good destination to celebrate the end of the walk with a draft unfiltered beer.
• The total route is just over 18 km long, with 400m of height gained-lost. None of the paths are difficult and are mostly on forest footpaths or roads.
• The walk can be extended if desired by up to 14 km by adding a loop to the southwest of Broumy. This separate walk is described here, but the two can easily be coupled together to create a nice long 30 km + circuit!

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

Directions

• Starting at the Broumy trail junction, join the GREEN trail in the direction of Kublov
• After 2.2 km the family house of Josef Leopold Zvonař is on the left side
• Continue on the GREEN trail for 300m to the Kublov trail junction and there turn left onto the YELLOW trail heading towards Veliz
• The historic Church of Saint John the Baptist on Veliz is reached in 1 km
• Continue over Veliz hill, remaining on the YELLOW trail for 1.8 km to reach the Uhlířka junction. There, turn left onto the RED trail heading towards Karlov
• Continue on the RED trail for 6.1 km until reaching the Leontýnský zámek junction and there turn left onto the BLUE trail heading towards Skryje
• Continue on the BLUE trail for 6.4 km to reach the U Háků junction and there turn left onto the YELLOW trail heading back to Broumy, which is reached after 1 km