*Climbing Sněžka from Pec pod Sněžkou, a few different options: 3 km to 14 km*

• The summit of the Czech Republic’s highest mountain, Sněžka, is actually (by a few meters) located in Poland. However, the Czech part of the mountain is still nearly 50m higher than the next biggest Czech peak, so Sněžka remains an iconic peak to climb for all Czechs (and lots of other nationalities – including thousands of Poles). This is despite the summit being one of the windiest and coldest places in the country (Sněžka holds the national windspeed record at 223 km/h, measured in 2020).
• Sněžka can be climbed on trails from all four quadrants of compass. Arguably, the climb from Špindlerův Mlýn, which approaches from the western side of the mountain, is the most ‘classic’ approach. However, the round trip to/from Špindl is over 20 km long, even by the shortest route, and involves close to 1000m of ascent.
• The shortest (and most popular) option for the climb is therefore to start and finish in Pec pod Sněžkou. For those just wanting to ‘bag’ the peak without a significant hike, a two-stage gondola (reconstructed in 2013) runs all the way up the mountain, finishing 20m or so below the summit. The starting station is around 1 km from the center of Pec along an asphalt path. The gondola runs year-round, but the top section closes when conditions are windy (not an infrequent occurrence). It is possible to take small strollers on the gondola.
• For those planning to walk to the summit from Pec, there are essentially two trails; the Kubátova cesta which directly ascends the south flank of the mountain and the Kavinova cesta, which connects with the lovely Obří důl valley leading out of Pec pod Sněžkou. The Kubátova cesta route to the summit is just over 6 km long, and the Obří důl route just over 7 km long. The latter is the prettier, offering super views of the mountain range. Both routes have around 840m of ascent to reach the summit.
• The Kavinova cesta is partly in thick forest, partly in the bushy tundra landscape of the higher mountains, so views are limited. It is, however, a faster and slightly easier route. The proposed route shown in the map below ascends via Obří důl and descends via the Kubátova cesta route. If necessary, the gondola could be used one-way for either the ascent or descent.
• One of the big advantages of tackling Sněžka via Pec (in addition to the flexibility the gondola provides) is that there are a number of good mountain restaurants along the route. There are a couple of really nice places in Obří důl (map points 3 and 4) and on the Kubátova cesta, try the Horská Bouda Růžohorky (map point 7, at the middle station of the gondola).
• Both trails up/down the mountain are protected with man-made rock ‘pavements’, with occasional steps. These help avoid scarring of the mountainside but are quite hard work on the knees and feet. Otherwise, neither trail is particularly difficult or steep (for a mountain walk).

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

• Starting at the Pec bus station (which has direct connections with Prague), follow the signs to the Lanovka (gondola bottom station), which is reached after 1.5 km
• Unless taking the gondola, continue on the BLUE trail which leads through the Obří důl and onto the Kavinova cesta, to reach the Obří sedlo trail junction (on the border with Poland) after 4.8 km
• From the junction, join the RED trail heading to the summit (note this is, in theory, a one way ‘up only’ route) in 1 km
• From the summit, join the YELLOW trail which leads to the Růžohorky trail junction (gondola middle station) after 3.2 km
• At Růžohorky, join the GREEN trail which returns to the center of Pec after 3 km