Circular routes in the hills around Ondřejov and along the Sázava river: 18 km to 24 km

• The Ondřejov observatory complex, situated at a height of 500m altitude above the town of the same name, is located in attractive hilly countryside, close to the D1 highway, some 30 km southeast of Prague. It is a landscape made famous by the Czech illustrator and author Josef Lada, who lived in the nearby Hrusice village.
• The observatory is worth a visit and the grounds offer excellent views over the Central Bohemian countryside. The first telescope was built on the site in 1898 by amateur astronomer and entrepreneur J.J. Frič. Today, Ondřejov is the Czech Republic’s main astronomy center. It hosts the country’s largest optical telescope, a number of radio telescopes, and the fascinating grounds are fully open to the public.
• A visit to the observatory can easily be combined with a walk to Hrusice village. Alternatively, consider combining a longer trip in the hills around Ondřejov with a segment along the attractive Sázava river. There are various circular routes possible. The one shown in the map below is 18 km long and first heads into the hills and mixed forests north of Ondřejov before circling back southwards to reach the Sázava river near the town of Chocerady.
• An extended version (24 km long) heads further northwards and then loops back through the historic village of Stříbrná Skalice. Directions for both routes are given below.
• One of the attractions of walks along the Sázava are the frequent open-air pubs and snack bars that line the route. One of the most popular is the Stánek u Padyho (map point 7) which offers good home cooked food directly by the river (and a couple of friendly goats!). Both routes pass this snack bar before the final climb back to Ondřejov town.
• The 18 km route has 320m of height to ascend/descend, mostly on farm and forest tracks, with some sections on asphalt roads. None of the paths are particularly steep. The 24 km route has 500m of height difference and one quite steep section heading down to the river from Stříbrná Skalice. For refreshments, in addition to the (recommended) snack bar, there are a couple of options in Ondřejov town and Stříbrná Skalice.

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 Ondřejov (there are bus connections with the Háje Prague metro station and a couple of free parking areas off the main street and close to the observatory)
• Join the YELLOW trail heading towards the Ondřejov – hvězdárna junction, which is reached after 900m
• At the junction, turn left onto the RED trail which leads to the observatory entrance after 300m
• Return back to the Ondřejov – hvězdárna junction after visiting the observatory and continue on the RED trail in the direction of Černé Voděrady
• After 1.6 km reach the Pod Skalkou junction. Here, if taking the 18 km circuit, turn right onto the BLUE trail heading towards Chlum junction
• If taking the 24 km route at the Pod Skalkou junction continue on the RED trail for 1.2 km as far as the Nad Havírnou junction and there turn right onto the GREEN trail heading towards Oplany. After 5.6 km reach the Bahnivá rokle junction and there turn right onto the YELLOW trail heading towards Stříbrná Skalice. After 4.5 km reach the riverside and turn right to join the RED trail which passes through Chocerady and rejoins the 18 km route at this point
• (Returning back to the 18 km circuit) take the BLUE trail to the Chlum junction and there join the GREEN trail heading towards Chocerady
• After 4 km reach the river at the Cikánské údolí junction. Here turn right onto the RED trail heading towards Chocerady
• After 4 km reach the Poddubí junction (where the Stánek u Padyho snack bar is located)
• At the junction, turn right onto the YELLOW trail heading back to Ondřejov main square, which is reached after 4.4 km