A 9 km route around Praha (862m), the second highest peak in the Brdy highlands

  • Brdy is an almost completely uninhabited natural wilderness located just 40km southwest of Prague. The 500 million year old sedimentary rocks of the highland areas lack the minerals needed to make agriculture viable, and there was little historical settlement in the area. The tourist trails are newly created and explore the peaks , mysterious dense forests and marshland of this unique nature zone. Mixed forests line the valleys, while spruce and larch coniferous forests today occupy the highland areas.
  • Praha (862m) , is the second highest peak in the Brdy highlands, but unlike the slightly higher Tok, there are two viewpoints near the summit offering extensive views to the south and west. The more open views are partly due to extensive forestry operations at this end of the Brdy range, which can leave the landscape looking bleak at times. Probably the best seasons for a visit are autumn, when the larch trees turn golden, and winter when the wide tracks often have hard-packed snow, and winter hikers share the trails with cross country skiers.
  • The route described below starts in the village of Nepomuk, located a few kilometers southwest of Přibram. There are parking areas at the end of the village, near where the BLUE hiking trail heads into the forest. Nepumuk is on a bus line from Rožmitál pod Třemšínem. The advantage of this starting point is that Nepumok is nearly at 700m altitude, so there is relatively little ascent needed to get onto the high Brdy plateau.
  • Praha peak and the two marked viewpoints can be reached in just over 3 km from Nepomuk, but the suggested route circles around the peak to get a full perspective of the high plateau area. The total route is 9.3 km on wide tracks that are not steep, with 250m of height to ascend-descend. For refreshments there is a small pub near the parking areas called the Cykloklub Brdy Nepál.

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 Nepomuk village and take the BLUE hiking trail towards the hills to reach the U sv. Jana trail junction after 1.2 km. Here, turn onto the YELLOW trail in the direction of Praha peak
  • After 1.3km, the trail turns right and there is a short diversion to the Čák viewpoint. Continue on the YELLOW trail towards the transmitter tower, passing the Praha trail junction and continuing past the transmitter to reach the second viewpoint, close to an abandoned stone building (which was built by the Germans in WWII as a radio station for guiding fighter planes)
  • Return back to the Praha trail junction and turn right onto the YELLOW trail in the direction of Pod Hubertkou
  • Continue on the YELLOW trail for 1.5 km to reach the cycle trail junction Na Rovinách. Here turn right, off the YELLOW trail and onto the cycle path
  • Follow the cycle route for 1.4 km until just before it takes a sharp U turn to the left. Here, continue straight on following the forest track which rises in a straight line back to the ridgeline
  • This path leads directly back to the U sv. Jana trail junction, which is reached in 1.6 km. From there descend back down the hill on the BLUE trail to reach Nepomuk in 1.2 km
View from the top of Praha (862m), Brdy
View from the top of Praha (862m), Brdy
The Čák viewpoint near Praha peak, Brdy
The Čák viewpoint near Praha peak, Brdy