An 11 km tour around the volcanic peaks of Milá and Bečov’s Sandy hill

• The České středohoří landscape is filled with remnants of Bohemia’s violent volcanic past. Some 20 to 30 million years ago, as a consequence of the dramatic tectonic movements that led to the formation of the alps, hot magma burst through faults and cracks in the chalk and sandstone bedrock across areas of Northern Bohemia . Subsequent erosion of the softer surrounding rock left exposed the hardened magma in countless dome-like hills and small mountains.
• Many of those volcanic peaks are today covered in dense forest and offer only infrequent viewpoints. However, in the southern section of the nature zone, just to the north of the historic town of Louny, several peaks are almost without tree cover. Instead they have steppe-like grassy slopes, that are filled with rare plant specimens. In summer, the slopes are majestically full of colorful flowers, reminiscent of an alpine meadow in June.
• Two of the most prominent and famous of these ‘steppe’ hills are Raná (457m ) and Oblík (509m). Both are used regularly by paragliders and are probably the most well known locations for these sports in Bohemia. The hike to these two peaks is covered separately.
• Just a few kilometers to the north of Raná, the next most prominent peak is Milá (510m), which is somewhat more wooded these first two peaks, but the views from the flower covered clearing at the top of Milá are perhaps even more spectacular. An ascent of Milá may be coupled with the Raná-Oblík hike, to create a long – 25 km – tour, or just with an ascent of Raná to give a 19km tour. See the directions below for this option.
• For those not wanting a long trip, then the quickest way to climb Milá is from the village of Bělušice, which is on a bus route from the towns of Louny and Most. For those driving, there is a free parking area directly in front of the prison. It is only a 2km hike to the summit of Milá from the car park. This involves 180m of climbing – note that the top section is quite steep and would be a challenge in wet weather, and is dangerous if icy.
• An interesting variant – which is the walk described below – is to climb Milá from Bělušice, and then traverse the hill to the south side and then circle back to Bělušice along the country lanes. This creates an 11 km tour, with 280m of height gained -lost. The lanes offer a variety of different views over the attractive countryside and are lined with a large number of fruit trees – apples, pears and several varieties of plums – so if doing this trip in late summer there are free refreshment opportunities along the route! Apart from the quite challenging climb to the summit, the paths are all easy. There are no recommended restaurants or pubs directly on the route.
• On the south side of Milá, the route passes alongside of the volcanic hill, Písečný vrch (Sandy hill). At first site this hill looks unremarkable, but in fact this is site of the oldest known prehistoric stone quarry in Europe. Stone from this hillside has been worked by our ancestors for at least 300,000 years. Known as the Bečov site (named after the nearest village) this is the most intriguing Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) site in Bohemia. It was likely first used by Neanderthals, but was still an important source of raw materials for tools into the Bronze Age.
• The reason why Písečný vrch became such an important source of high quality stone is due to an explosive volcanic event that occurred at this site several million years ago. Huge blocks of quartz rock were ejected from a deep funnel shaped cavity. Some were scattered over the surrounding countryside. Others feel back into the crater. Both sources became important for prehistoric man, as well as more recent industrial regimes. The hillside was extensively quarried out in the mid 20th century, and the larger rocks lying in in the countryside processed by the communist era semi conductor industry. Prior to these activities, this must have been a majestic landscape, with large boulders of white crystalline rock scattered on the hillsides.

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 the village of Bělušice. If driving, there are several marked parking spots directly in front of the large fenced series of buildings on the outskirts of the village, which is actually a prison.
• Join the BLUE hiking trail and head south in the direction of Louny
• After 1.4 km, reach the trail junction of Pod Milou. To climb the peak (note this is a steep walk but the views from the top are excellent) take the blue/white striped diversion marked trail to the right
• The summit is reached after 500m of climbing. Return back to the Pod Milou junction
• Continue from the Pod Milou junction on the BLUE trail for 2km, through the village, to reach the junction marked Milá.
• At the Milá junction it is possible to take a diversion to climb the Raná peak. This adds 8.4 km to the journey. If wanting this option, turn left at Milá and follow the BLUE trail towards Louny. The trail directly passes over the Raná hill. Return back to Milá after this excursion
• From the Milá junction take the country lane northwards (in the opposite direction to the BLUE marked trail)
• This is a quiet lane, lined with fruit tress and follows the north side of Písečný vrch (there are visible signs – outlines of rampart ditches – that suggest the hill top was once fortified, possible in the Bronze Age). Beside the road there are also some smaller quartz boulders (see the discussion above for their interesting origin)
• Continue on the lane for 3.3 km to reach the village of Bečov. Here turn right and rejoin the BLUE trail which continues along the road (also lined with fruit trees) for 3.4 km to return back to the village of Bělušice