Trips from Máchovo jezero to Jestřebí castle: 10 km to 15 km

Jestřebí is a small village located 5 km northwest of the famous resort lake Máchovo jezero. In medieval times, the area around Jestřebí was marshland, interrupted by one large sandstone rock formation, which towered over the surrounding marshes.
Sometime towards the end of the 14th century, the sandstone formation was used to create a massive rock castle, which saw action during the Hussite Wars. Over subsequent centuries, the majority of the castle collapsed or was pillaged by local villagers to create their homes. Perhaps just a quarter of the old castle is visible today, with access to the main platform through a remarkable neo-gothic tower staircase. The staircase apparently was constructed inside the castle’s former well.
The surrounding village hosts a number of attractive buildings, a couple of which have become popular restaurants. The most notable of these is the stylish 17th century timbered Inn, Hostinec Na Rychtě, which serves good food. It is located directly beside the main road 38 which runs from Mladá Boleslav to Česká Lípa.
There are several options for walking trips to visit Jestřebí. The easiest is simply to catch the bus to Jestřebí or drive there and park near the main road, visit the castle and then take some refreshments in the roadside restaurants. This is little more than a 1 km trip.
A more rewarding trip is to start at Máchovo jezero and take a circular route through the sandstone rock gorges and then return through the sandy forests near the railway line. This allows a visit to the atmospheric Braniborská jeskyně, which is a rather an overhang than a cave, but is believed to have provided shelter during several invasions by foreign armies. The large fireplace is still in regular use.
The circular route, starting in Staré Splavy, is approximately 15 km. This can be shortened by 5 km by catching the train back from the station near Jestřebí. One advantage of the circular route shown in the map below, is that it finishes with a short lakeside section at Máchovo jezero, where there is a small sandy beach and the possibility of a quick dip.
The outbound route through the sandstone rock gorge has one slightly steep section in descent, on the way down to the ‘cave’, but otherwise this is an easy trail. The climb up the well in the castle is also quite a steep ladder. There is approximately 200m of height to ascend-descend on the full circular route.
For more information about Máchovo jezero and other walks in this area, see the separate pages: a short walk around Staré Splavy and a complete circle around Máchovo jezero.

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

From the Staré Splavy train station, take the RED hiking trail in the direction of Jestřebí
Cross the main road and continue on the RED trail to reach the Nad Černou roklí trail junction (3.4 km from the station)
At the junction turn onto the GREEN trail and head in the direction of Braniborská jesk. The cave is located 200m down the trail on the right side (there is a small diversion leading up to the overhang)
Continue on the GREEN trail in the direction of Jestřebí village, which is reached in 3.4 km
At the Jestřebí kostel junction join the RED trail and continue for 400m to reach the castle
Ascend the sandstone rock and then the ladder to reach the rock platform and viewpoint
Return back down on the same route, and take the road on the right after passing the school to visit the 17th century timbered Inn, Hostinec Na Rychtě
Return back to the Jestřebí kostel junction and there turn left onto the GREEN trail heading in the direction of Jestřebí – žst.(train station) which is reached in 1.3 km
At the station, join the BLUE trail and head in the direction of Máchovo jezero – hráz, which is reached in 4.4 km
At the lakeshore, join the YELLOW trail and follow the path beside the lake, past the small beach and then back to the train station, which is reached in 700m