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A 23 km tour of the Křivoklátsko forests from Nižbor on the Berounka river

  • A long walk through the beautiful mixed forests of the Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area, starting at the historical village of Nižbor on the Berounka river. The Křivoklátsko forests are exceptional for the variety of trees on display: up to 20 different species of tree can be found in the forests. There are also some super viewpoints, including a famous view back along the Berounka – pictured in the header image.
  • Nižbor itself is an attractive village, with an historical glassworks (which offers guided tours), an unusual artdeco villa with an observatory built in 1910 and a baroque chateau which now houses an interesting Celtic museum (the proposed route finishes by passing the museum)
  • The proposed walk can be be extended by 4km a circular tour of the hillfort above the village of Stradonice. This was one of the largest oppida (fortified villages) in the country, built by Celtic settlers (possibly the Boii tribe, which gave their name to the country). Stradonice is famous for the wealth of finds on the site , including large numbers of ancient coins, some of which were minted at the site. The tour of the Stradonice hillfort can also be undertaken as a standalone circular walk from Nižbor.
  • The paths are good, mostly on wide forest tracks. The terrain is, however, quite hilly – although never very steep (apart from the descent through the forest from the hillfort, if this extension is taken, which can be slippery and is fairly steep). A total of 520m of height is gained/lost over the total route of 23.6 km (excluding the hillfort extension).
  • Various refreshment options are available in Nižbor and at Nový Jáchymov (after 5km), but there are no other options in the forest areas, so sufficient water should be carried on this long route. After the walk, consider a visit to the the famous railway pub in Nižbor, on the opposite side of the river, next to the train station.

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

  • Start the walk in centre of the town of Nižbor, where there is a free parking area. Nižbor also has a train station, which can be reached at weekends directly from Prague using the Rakovnický rychlík (or changing at Beroun during weekdays)
  • If undertaking the extended tour, including Stradonice hillfort, take the RED marked trail towards Stradonice village, initially walking along the main road [Note: if avoiding the hillfort section of the walk, start the walk on the GREEN trail in the direction of Nový Jáchymov]
  • After 1.6km reach the village of Stradonice and at the church turn right on the path marked to the oppidum. This leads up through what was originally the fort’s main gate
  • At various points inside the large fort area there are information signs (in Czech) explaining various features of the archaeological site
  • After visiting the highest viewpoint – descend on the marked path heading south west. This leads steeply down through the forest to join the YELLOW hiking trail at the Pod hradištěm signpost, close to the town football pitch
  • At Pod hradištěm turn right onto the YELLOW trail and continue for 600m until reaching the large cross on left side of the trail. At the cross turn sharply to the left joining the GREEN marked trail
  • If skipping the hillfort section, take the GREEN trail from the Nižbor – u lípy trail junction just below the chateau, in the direction of Nový Jáchymov
  • Follow the GREEN trail for 5 km on forest trails and minor roads, leading eventually to the village of Nový Jáchymov (refreshments should be available here)
  • Walk through the village, and 100m after the obecní úřad turn right on a narrow road, still following the GREEN trail marks
  • The trail passes the small Monstranský rybník and then up into the forest area again. After 4km in the forest reach Leontýnský zámek (residential domov)
  • After a short section on the road continue for 1.3km on the GREEN trail on a forest track to reach the signpost of Dlouhý hřeben
  • At Dlouhý hřeben turn right onto the RED trail (this is the Svatojakubská cesta). Continue on this trail through varied and attractive mixed terrain for 8.9km to finally reach the signpost of Čerchov
  • At Čerchov, take the short (140m) diversion to the famous viewpoint above the Berounka river [Note: the path down to the viewpoint is quite steep]
  • From the viewpoint return back to the RED trail and continue for a further 2.3km to reach the Nižbor chateau (which houses an interesting Celtic museum, which is worth visiting)
  • From the chateau, descend on the RED marked trail down to the center of Nižbor
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