*A circular tour along the Lužnice from Tábor, with a visit to the Klokoty pilgrimage site: 11 km*

A circular tour along the Lužnice from Tábor, with a visit to the Klokoty pilgrimage site: 11 km

This trip is an extension to the basic Tábor walk, which is outlined here. Like the basic walk, this trip assumes a start at the Tábor bus-train station, passes around the town, and then follows the Lužnice river. This is an attractive section of an important river that flows more than 200 km from the Austrian border to meet the Vltava near České Budějovice. The river below Tábor is popular with canoeists, due to its rocky rapids sections.
Along the river are a number of historical mills and the first section of path also follows a nature trail in the Pintovka forest path. There are also a number of impressive carved wooden statues lining the route.
After crossing the river at Harrachovka, 4 km downstream from Tábor, the route climbs through the forest to reach the village of Klokoty, where the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is located. This has been a Marian pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages, but the current church and monastery buildings are of 18th century Baroque design.
The route then enters the old town to explore the medieval streets and picturesque main square, before retirning to the bus-train station. The total route is approximately 11 km long, with just over 200m of height to ascend-descend. Most of the climbing is on the forest footpath up to Klokoty. The trails are not difficult, but the section to Klokoty is not suitable for strollers.
There are many good refreshment options in Tábor, with fine cafés and restaurants. The Moccacafé, just off Pražská street, serves excellent Italian ice cream – on sunny weekends there is often a long queue outside. There are also good options along the river, including the forest restaurant Harrachovka, which is located 350m off the main trail after crossing the river.

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

Directions

From the bus-train station take the RED hiking trail in the direction of , walking through the Hus park, to reach the Tabor – Na Parkánech trail junction after 1.3 km
Here, turn left to follow the GREEN hiking trail as it descends to the river
Cross the river and continue to follow the GREEN trail beside the river for 400m to reach the Čelkovice – spa trail junction
At the junction, leave the GREEN trail and instead follow the footpath that continues directly beside the river
After 350m this path joins the RED hiking trail and continues beside the Lužnice river
Continue on the RED trail, which is part of the Pintovka lesopark, for 2.8 km to reach the junction of U Harrachovky, where there is a footbridge across the river
Cross the river on the footbridge and climb quite steeply through the forest on the GREEN hiking trail
Note – if wanting to visit the forest restaurant Harrachovka, this is 350m along the road to the right immediately after crossing the footbridge
The GREEN trail leads to the pilgrimage church in Klokoty after 2 km
From the church, continue on the GREEN trail below the castle walls to reach Bechyňská gate. Here enter the old town
Explore the old town at leisure and then leave viia Pražská street heading back towards the station area
On reaching the main road, close to the Tábor – Křižíkovo nám junction turn left to follow the main street for 100m to reach the edge of the Jordán reservoir
Turn onto the footpath that runs beside the reservoir passing through the botanical gardens and follow this for 700m until meeting the RED hiking trail
Follow the RED trail for 400m back to the station area