*Climb the legendary Říp mountain from Roudnice nad Labem – an 11 km to 14 km trip*

• Říp (461m) is not just one of several prominent wooded hills, located in the northern part of Central Bohemia, which have a volcanic origin. It is also a national symbol. Legend has it that the forefather of the nation, the Slavic duke Čech, stood on the hill and pronounced that this was the promised land for his wandering tribe. The climb to the summit of Říp is a tradition that most Czechs will undertake at least once in their lifetime.
• Once at the top, after a relatively steep (but quite short) climb of around 200m, there are several excellent viewpoints over the surrounding Bohemian countryside, but they require a bit of effort to locate. At the summit the frequently photographed Rotunda of sv. Jiři stands proudly. This famous Romanesque chapel originally dates from the 11th century. To recover from the climb, the Chata Říp serves (excellent) refreshments just a few meters from the chapel entrance.
• For many, the ascent of Říp is undertaken by driving to the car park below the hill, taking the main 1.5 km trail to the summit and descending via the same path. That is certainly a worthwhile trip, but an even more rewarding route is to approach Říp from the medieval town of Roudnice, situated on the banks of the river Labe (the Elbe in Germany). Roudnice nad Labem is dominated by the Baroque chateau owned for most of its history by the Lobkowicz family. The chateau is open for tours and also has an historic winery, where the Lobkowicz wines may be tasted.
• Roudnice can be reached by train from Prague’s main station in less than an hour. For drivers there are (paid) parking spots directly on the main square near the chateau. The (BLUE) trail to Říp is easily located on the main square and it is a 4.4 km walk in pleasant countryside to reach the main parking area below Říp. Stop at the Kratochvíl Tower, just on the outskirts of Roudince, for an excellent view over the town.
• From the Říp parking the trail continues along the famous linden tree alley to reach the foot of the hill. There are basically two ways up the hill – the normal route which is partly paved but still quite steep and some sections would be a struggle with a stroller, and ‘back’ route which is more rugged and even steeper in places. The route shown on the map below ascends on the ‘back’ route and descends on the ‘normal’ route. The path that circles the foot of the hill is also worth taking – and is manageable with a stroller.
• For the return journey, if preferring to avoid the full 6 km walk back to Roudnice on the outbound path, then the village of Ctiněves, 2.5 km from Říp, has buses back to Roudnice. Ctiněves also has an interesting village pub, Hostinec U Praotce Čecha.
• There are various good refreshment options in Roudnice. For a nice café, try Dortletka on Husovo náměstí (map point 3) or for more substantial meals, Caffé Říp in the restored cultural house has a nice terrace (map point 2). Excellent cakes and ice creams are served at the CUKROŠ café on the main square (map point 4) and during the summer season the outdoor Street Food bistro is a popular option – located beside the chateau walls (map point 5) (a Lukáš Hejlík recommendation).

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 in Roudnice main square and take the BLUE trail in the direction of Kratochvílova rozhledna and Říp
• After 600m reach the viewing tower – it is worth the effort to climb the steps to the top!
• From the viewing tower continue on the BLUE trail to reach the Říp parking area in the village of Rovné
• From the parking area walk along the linden tree avenue to reach the foot of the hill in 800m
• At the foot of the hill turn right onto the path that circles the bottom of the hill and follow this for 1.2 km to reach the Pod Řípem trail signpost on the south side of the hill
• At the Pod Řípem sign take the BLUE-RED-YELLOW marked trail steeply up the south side of Říp. Two thirds of the way up there is a viewpoint towards Prague
• At the summit (reached after 650m, with a total of 130m ascent) arrive the Rotunda – refreshments should be available at the Chata
• To reach the viewpoints over to the north follow the trail which starts at the far side the Rotunda, for 400m. Return back to the Rotunda
• For the descent, take the BLUE trail in the direction of Rovné. This is the ‘normal’ route up/down the hill. At the halfway point there is the third (eastern) viewpoint
• At the bottom the hill, if walking back to Roudnice, stay on the BLUE trail and follow the same path as taken on the outbound route (5.5km back to Roudnice town square)
• If aiming to catch a bus in Ctiněves, turn right onto the path that leads clockwise around the bottom of the hill. After 900m turn left onto the RED trail which leads directly to Ctiněves village – reached after 1.2 km