Walks in the Prague parks (III) – Ďáblický háj and Čimický háj – two 4km trips

• Ďáblický háj and Čimický háj are two small protected nature areas, located in north Prague, close to the district of Kobylisy. Both of these attractive forested parks are popular with local residents (but rarely tourists) and the mostly flat and even paths are frequented by cyclists, runners, families and dog walkers.
• The forests have an interesting recent history – since the 13th century they have been partly owned by the Bohemian Knight’s Order of Crusaders with a red star. Most visitors, however, will probably be unaware how important these areas are from a much older geological and archaeological perspective.
• Around 100million years ago, in the Cretaceous geological period, the lowland area stretching from Prague to the Krkonoše mountains to the north started to fill with water, firstly freshwater, and then as the global sea level started to rise, due to geological events in the far off oceanic trenches, the Bohemian basin gradually filled with seawater.
• Within a couple of million years, the raised area to the north of Prague (which has the Ládví hill at its highest point) became an island lashed by waves from the shallow tropical sea. The waves were so strong that they fragmented the ancient bedrock on the island’s slopes, creating pockets of shattered rock which were smoothed and further broken down over the subsequent millennia.
• The seas finally retreated from the Bohemian basin around 80 million years ago. Ládví hill was left undisturbed until wandering hominid hunters discovered the site, sometime before the last glacial period began, some115000 years ago.
• The pockets of smooth quartzite rock were clearly valuable, and the hill became an important paleolithic production site, not only for its sources of quality raw materials used to create tools and weapons, but also for its strategic position overlooking the hunting grounds of the lowland plain to the north and the Vltava river valley to the south.
• Modern humans also exploited the unique qualities of the exposed rock, quarrying material for building purposes. The old quarries are still visible to visitors to Ďáblický háj, as they stroll, jog or cycle through the mixed woodland site.
• The (mostly oak) forested areas of Ďáblický háj and its smaller neighbour, Čimický háj, have many unmarked footpaths to explore, but there are also marked trails, and the proposed route follows these to visit the Ládví ‘peak’ (359m) and the working observatory (open for private visits) at the edge of Ďáblický háj, with its fine viewpoint to the north.
• Access to both areas is best accomplished by public transport, the most convenient starting point being the tram terminal at Vozovna Kobylisy, close to the entrance for both areas. The nearest metro station is Ládví, 1.2km from the entrance to Ďáblický háj.
• From Vozovna Kobylisy, the suggested circular route in Ďáblický háj is 4.2 km long, with a return to the tram stop. Heading in the opposite direction leads to Čimický háj, and the walk there, along the green marked hiking trail and back to the tram stop, is 3.5 km long.
• Both trails are relatively flat with only 70m of height gained/lost in total. The paths are suitable for walkers with baby-strollers/buggies, except for the rocky viewpoint near the observatory.
• There are no refreshment options in the forest areas themselves, but there are various possibilities in the nearby Kobylisy.

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

• For Ďáblický háj, from the Vozovna Kobylisy tram station follow the GREEN hiking trail for 1.1km to reach the high point of Ládví
• 100m further along the GREEN trail is the protected nature area of Ládví, with its ponds in the old quarries
• Continue on the GREEN trail for a further 600m, and just as the the main trail bends to the right, turn off the GREEN hiking path onto the wide branch to the left, which leads after 200m to join up with the YELLOW hiking trail
• Turn right onto the YELLOW trail to reach the observatory and viewpoint after 250m
• From the observatory return back along the YELLOW trail, and follw this for 2 km all the way back to the tram stop
• For Čimický háj, from the Vozovna Kobylisy tram station, take the GREEN trail in the direction of Troja zoo, crossing the main road and passing the Penny Market, before entering the forest area (400m from the tram stop)
• The GREEN trail runs through the middle of the Čimický háj for 1.3km. Follow the path to the end until it reaches the Čimická street, and then return on the same path to the tram stop (there are various unmarked footpaths to create a circular trip in this forest, if preferred)