*Circuits in the hills above the Berounka via Nižbor, Chyňava and Hýskov: 15 km – 26 km*

• There are a number of excellent circuits available in the hills on the left (north) bank of the river Berounka between Nižbor and Beroun. These hills form the easternmost section of the attractive forest landscape of the Křivoklátsko PLA. Most walks pass through the village of Chyňava, which has an excellent minizoo that is well worth a stop. Chyňava also has an interesting education trail, which is just 2 km long and deals with the time that it was host to dislocated Italian families during WWI. The Italian/Czech ‘friendship trail’ and a write up on one family is described in a separate page.
• There are a number of possible starting points for these circuits, including the train stations of Nižbor and Hýskov, which have relatively frequent connections to the mainline station at Beroun. Starting at Beroun is also an option, but that makes the circuit quite long. Probably the best starting/finish point for the walk is the historic town of Nižbor, which enables a celebratory meal at the excellent railway pub (a Hejlík recommendation). At weekends, a reservation is definitely necessary.
• Hýskov and is an equally viable start and finish point. In addition to the public transport options, there is a large free parking area next to the weir (which is popular water sports area in high summer as there is a grassy bank). Nižbor and Hýskov are one stop on the train line apart. As there are frequent trains between the two towns, there is the option of catching the train to shorten the walk by 5 km.
• Nižbor is the larger of the two railway towns and is dominated by its Baroque chateau which houses an interesting Celtic museum. The reason for the museum is the nearby Stradonice oppidum, one of the most important Celtic sites in Bohemia. The route shown in the map below does not directly visit either the chateau or the hillfort, so these would be extensions to the main walk. See the following page for the standalone Stradonice/Nižbor walk.
• The route shown in the map below is a nice long day trip circuit, which includes a visit to the Lhotka u Berouna tower, which has an excellent panoramic view from the platform after an airy walk up the spiral staircase. Skipping the tower and heading across the fields directly to Chyňava shortens the walk to 20 km.
• The full 26 km circuit involves around 500m of ascent-descent. There are a couple of steep sections on the outbound route to Chyňava, which would be unpleasant in wet weather if descended, which is why the route is recommended in anticlockwise direction. There are a lot of good refreshment options on this route. In addition to the station pub at Nižbor, there are snack bars on the cycle path by the river near Nižbor, an excellent ice cream stand in Hýskov, a classic village pub in Chyňava and if visiting the zoo, there is usually a snack bar open inside.

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 Nižbor station, cross the road bridge and walk along the cycle path as far as Hýskov (4.5 km)
• At Hýskov, join the YELLOW trail heading towards the U Jahodového vrchu reached after 2.5 km
• At U Jahodového vrchu, if taking the shorter (20 km) version, join the RED trail heading towards Chyňava. If completing the full circuit, continue on the YELLOW trail for a further 2 km to the village of Lhotka u Berouna
• In Lhotka u Berouna join the BLUE trail heading towards Chrustenice. After 700m there is a signpost to the viewpoint to the right (Rozhledna)
• After visiting the viewpoint, return back to the Lhotka – rozhl junction and there join the GREEN trail
• Continue on the GREEN trail for 4.2 km to reach the Pod Chrbinou junction and there turn left onto the YELLOW trail which leads to Chyňava village after 3 km
• In Chyňava join the RED trail heading towards Zbečno and after 1.7 km join the BLUE trail which leads directly back to Nižbor after 5.9 km