Starting the Santiago de Camino…from Zbraslav to Karlštejn; a 25 km hike

• The route from Prague to Karlštejn has become something of a pilgrimage, certainly for cyclists enjoying the flat paths along the Berounka river. Walkers, however, have more choice of path to Karlštejn, including the attractive trail that runs for many km along the ridge that looks down upon river. This trail also happens to form part of the Bohemian branch of the famous Santiago de Camino long distance route (the Svatojakubská cesta) , so hikers on this path might indeed be starting a personal pilgrimage…
• Strictly, the pilgrimage trail starts in Zbraslav (at the Church of Saint James the Greater), so the route description below assumes a start at Zbraslav train station. An alternative starting point is Radotín train station (which reduces the walk by 4 km) . Radotín also has a large Park & Ride car park, enabling drivers to undertake the hike and then catch to train back from Karlštejn to Radotín (which is on the same train line, unlike Zbraslav).
• If starting from Zbraslav station, the total walk length to Karlštejn station on the proposed route is 25.3 km, with 570m of height gained and lost, so manageable in a day with an early start. The suggested route diverts slightly from the standard Svatojakubská cesta (which is marked as a RED hiking trail), diverting to Třebotov and around Vonoklasy, to offer some more varied paths in this section and avoiding a section along the road. This adds just 1 km to the ‘standard’ route.
• The route starts with a visit to the grounds of the impressive Zbraslav Monastery (founded in the 13th century by King Václav II), crosses the Berounka river on the footbridge at Radotín, and then follows a long section of path along the ridge above the river towards Černošice.
• The proposed route then leaves the ridge and drops down to the historic village of Třebotov (where the settlement dates at least from the 10th century), passing the attractively restored fortress (tvrz Třebotov – now a venue location) and then the photogenic mill pond Pekárek, before return to the ridge above Vonoklasy village.
• The final section of the route passes blow the ramparts of the 14th century fortress of Karlík, before climbing a final time to pass through the medieval village of Mořinka, with its fine examples of folk architecture. There is also an option to divert to see the unique modern menhir (and concrete arm chair) constructed on the hill above Mořinka. From Mořinka, the path descends to Karlštejn with its world famous Gothic architecture.
• In addition to being the first section of the Svatojakubská cesta pilgrimage trail, part of the route is on the E10 European long distance footpath, which runs from the north German coastline to Nice, in France.
• The paths on the proposed route are generally easy, mostly forest tracks, with some short ascents and descents. There are, however, no reliably open refreshment stops between Radotín and Karlštejn on the proposed route (although the small pub in Mořinka might be open), so take enough liquids for this 20km segment. Consider a stop in Radotín, where the Kavárna Pelíšek serves good coffee and cakes.

Note: click ‘Show on map’ above to go to a full screen version directly on the mapy.cz site. This can be used for online navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file

Directions

• From Zbraslav railway station, follow the RED trail, crossing the Vltava river on the road bridge to reach the centre of Zbraslav town in 1.1km
• From the main square, take the short detour to walk through the gardens surround the monastery (where the church of Saint James the Greater is also located)
• Return back to the main square and follow the RED trail in the direction of Radotín
• The route climbs up above Zbraslav, past the golf course, and crosses the Berounka river on the footbridge to reach Radotín after 4km
• Stay on the RED trail, passing through the town, and then the path climbs quite steeply onto the ridge, and then follows the ridge for a relatively flat 3.5km, before reaching the signpost of Sulava
• At Sulava join the GREEN trail and follow this in the direction of Třebotov, which is reached after 1.9km
• Pass Třebotov fortress, continuing on the GREEN trail, descending to the Pekárek mill pond, and then re-ascending through the forest to reach the junction with the YELLOW trail at the U Louže signpost
• At U Louže turn right onto the YELLOW trail in the direction of Pod Velkou skálou
• Stay on the YELLOW trail for 1.5km until reaching the junction with the RED trail at the Na Kunšově sign. Here turn right onto the RED trail in the direction of Karlštjen
• The (RED) trail descends steeply past the Karlík fortress ruin (hidden by trees), to meet the road. There is a short section along the road before the trail climbs again to reach the village of Mořinka (2.5km from Karlík)
• From Mořinka, the trail is initially on the road and then crosses open fields before descending through the forest to Karlštejn village
• At the junction below the castle (Karlštejn – pod hradem signpost) take the YELLOW trail through the village (many refreshment options) to reach the station after 1.5km