Circuits in the hills above Slapy reservoir, starting at the resort village of Nová Živohošť: 8 km to 17 km

• The Slapy reservoir – the sixth largest in the country – was created in 1955 by damming the river Vlava around 30 km from Prague. It is a popular vacation spot with sandy beaches and many water sports activities and boat trips available along its scenic shores. Walkers in the area have multiple route options; some of the best walks are included in these pages (use the Region filter: Slapy to view the currently published walks).
• Nová Živohošť is one of several Slapy resort areas, mostly oriented towards camping in the summer months. Out of season, the area is very quiet and the views over the reservoir are often at their best in the winter months (although don’t expect to find many places open for refreshments at this time of year!)
• The basic 8 km circuit follows the shore of the reservoir for a section, offering super views towards the Romanesque Church of Saints Fabian and Sebastian (this is the header photo). The route then climbs gently into the low hills to the east of Slapy. It was here that the first significant battle of the Hussite Wars took place in 1419. The site is (strangely) not signposted but is not difficult to find. There is a memorial stone and information board (in Czech only) commemorating the Battle of Živohoště.
• The basic circuit can be extended with visits to two excellent viewpoints – the first being Vyhlídka Vrchovnice, which offers a superb view of the reservoir at a point where the original Vltava river made a horseshoe bend (see the first picture below). The second viewpoint – at Psané skály – overlooks the meandering Mastník river just below it flows into the reservoir. The extensions add 3.4 km and 5 km respectively to the basic circuit.
• Most of the route is on good forest footpaths, none of which are steep. They can be muddy after wet weather There are, however, a couple of small streams to cross using steeping stones. For refreshments, there are restaurant options during the summer months in Nová Živohošť and in Nahoruby village, Hostinec u Svaté Anny (map point 7) may be open for food during the weekends.

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 at Nová Živohošť (which is on a local bus route, but most visit by car as there is a large free parking area at the edge of the resort area)
• Take the GREEN hiking trail northwards towards the reservoir shore and continue for 2 km to reach the Na Pasekách trail junction
• At the junction, if taking the Vrchovnice viewpoint extension, continue on the GREEN trail for 1.7 km to reavh the viewpoint (signposted as 100m off the main trail)
• Return back to the Na Pasekách juncion after visiting the viewpoint
• From Na Pasekách, take the RED trail for 1.4 km to reach the Bakos junction
• At Bakos, take the ZELLOW trail heading towards Nahoruby
• After 400m the trail reaches a public road. The YELLOW trail turns left along the road, but if wanting to visit the Battle of Živohoště memorial, turn right along the road. After 100m turn left onto a lane which leads to the memorial in 200m
• Return back to the YELLOW trail after visiting the memorial and continue for 900m to reach Nahoruby village
• In Nahoruby if wanting to visit the Psané skály viewpoint continue on the YELLOW trail for a further 2.5 km to reach the viewpoint and then return back to Nahoruby village
• Return back to Nová Živohošť from Nahoruby by following the GREEN trail for 2.9 km