*A circular route through the Jizerské beech forests past the Štolpich waterfalls: 16 km*

• On the north side of the Jizerské hory (Jizera mountains) a large area of original prehistoric beech woods has been preserved. In 2021 the Jizerské hory forests were inscribed in the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list, joining primeval beech forests in 12 other Central European countries. This is the first Czech natural monument to be included in the UNESCO list.
• The beech trees grow on the steep sided northern slopes, which are also notable for their granite rock outcrops and ‘seas’ of frost shattered granite boulders. It is very atmospheric and colorful scenery, particularly in autumn time and quite different from the gentler spruce dominated terrain of the southern and central sections of the Jizerské hory. It is brilliant walking country (and often frequented by mushroom hunters).
• A popular easy walk from the saddle Oldřichovské sedlo, situated a few kilometers north of Liberec, follows an old forest road towards Heyjnice. This walk can be done with a stroller, and as the return is along the same path, it can be of any length (up to 16 km). That walk is described here. For a more challenging route in the same terrain (which returns along the forest road), try the excellent circular trail that begins at the saddle, climbs the peak of Poledník (864m) and then descends past the Bílý Štolpich series of waterfalls. This walk is described on the current page.
• The route passes many picturesque granite rock towers (some of which are used by rock climbers) and huge fields (‘seas’) of massive granite boulders created by the action of frost and ice, particularly during the ice ages that occurred over the past two million years. Glaciers reached the northern slopes of the Jizerské hory on several occasions.
• The route of 15.7 km involves 470m of height to ascend/descend. Some stretches on the ascent and descent are quite steep but are not dangerous and the route is well marked. There are (occasional) bus connections to the sedlo, and a large (paid) parking area, which can get very busy at weekends. A better public transport option might be to catch the train from Liberec to Oldřichov v Hájích, which is an easy 1.6 km walk from the saddle. At the saddle is the well known Hausmanka U Kozy pub, famously serving oven roasted pork knee and chicken dishes.

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 Oldřichovské sedlo, take the GREEN hiking trail in the direction of Poledník
• After 3.4 km of climbing, reach the forested summit area of Poledník and then continue down the far side of the peak,remaining on the GREEN trail for a further 1.8 km to reach the junction of Bílá Kuchyně
• At the Bílá Kuchyně junction, turn left onto the BLUE trail in the direction of Ferdinandov
• The trail descends at times quite steeply past the Štolpich waterfalls on the right side
• After 2.6 km the BLUE trail meets a wide forest road, which is also marked as a cycle route. At this point, turn left onto the forest road, leaving the BLUE hiking trail
• Follow the forest road for 7.8 km back to the Oldřichovské sedlo parking area-bus stop