A nicely varied long walk in southwest Prague, with an excursion into the Český kras hills: 30+ km

• There are probably more interesting walking options to the southwest of Prague than any other areas near the capital, mainly due to the proximity of the protected nature area of Český kras, with its hilly limestone terrain, coupled with the attractive paths near the Berounka and Vltava rivers which meet just to the north of Zbraslav.
• The walk featured on this page passes through the Chuchelský háj nature reserve, before dipping into the Český kras nature zone near Radotín and then returns on a popular trail along the Vltava between Zbraslav and Modřany, where there are a number of good refreshment options.
• Chuchelský háj is a protected area of original forest situated to the southwest of Prague, overlooking the Vltava River. Unlike many Czech forests that were replanted with (often unsuitable) foreign tree varieties in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Chuchelský háj grove retains most of its original character. An educational nature trail crosses the park, and in the center of the forest is a free mini zoo, featuring wild animals native to the Czech territory. Nearby is the Pacoldova vápenka, a 19th century four-chimneyed limestone blast furnace, which is a well interesting industrial monument.
• If wanting to finish (rather than start) with the long flat section beside the Vltava (with its multiple refreshment options), then the best starting point for this walk is Praha Braník, which has a train station, is on a tram line and also has a large Park&Ride car park. The route crosses the Vltava and then climbs up to Chuchelský háj, passes the blast furnace and then ascends again to the village of Slivenec, where there is a popular pub, Hostinec U Bůčka.
• From Slivenec, the trail crosses the plateau, which is dotted with old quarries where the unique limestone called Slivenec marble was mined, before dropping down to meet the Radotínský stream. Here, the trail enters the Český kras nature zone and follows beside the stream, passing a number of reconstructed water mills.
• The final section of the route crosses the ancient farmland between the villages of Třebotov and Kosoř, before joining the oak forested ridge above the Berounka river. The trail then drops down to the pass through the towns of Radotín and Zbraslav, crossing both the Berounka and the Vltava rivers. The return journey from Zbraslav to Modřany train station partly follows the cycle trail alongside the Vltava. There are a couple of good snack bars along this stretch of riverside path – map points 11 and 12.
• The total circuit (if finishing in Modřany) is just under 30 km long, with 520m of height to ascend-descend. If preferring a complete circle, returning to Braník, the route is 33 km long. None of the trails are difficult, but there are several quite steep sections on narrow footpaths, especially descending to Radotín.

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 the walk in Braník, join the GREEN trail and cross the Vltava using the railway bridge, reaching Malá Chuchle after 1.3 km
• At the Malá Chuchle trail junction, join the YELLOW trail heading towards Velká Chuchle
• Pass through the Chuchelský háj nature reserve and on reaching the public road, leave the YELLOW trail to join the BLUE trail, turning right onto the road
• After 400m pass the old lime furnace and continue uphill on the BLUE trail to reach Slivenec village after 1.4 km
• On reaching Slivenec village, turn left along the main road, joining the RED trail heading in the direction of Choteč
• Continue on the RED trail for 4.8 km, crossing ring road using the flyover bridge and finally drop down steeply to reach the Maškův mlýn trail junction
• From the Maškův mlýn junction, turn sharply right to join the road and keep on the RED trail in the direction of Kalinův Mlýn
• After a short section along the road, the trail joins the footpath beside the Radotínský stream and continues for 1.8 km to reach the partially reconstructed Maškův mlýn
• Just past the mill, leave the RED trail to join the BLUE trail, turning left and heading southwards towards Třebotov
• Continue on the BLE trail for 3.3 km, crossing the main road in Třebotov and continuing as far as the Kulivá hora trail junction
• At Kulivá hora join the RED trail heading towards Radotín
• Continue on the RED trail for 4.9 km initiallz in the forest and then descending steeply to reach Radotín town
• From Radotín, stay on the RED trail, crossing the Berounka river using the new footbridge and continue for 4 km to reach Zbraslav
• Passthrough Zbraslav remaining on the RED trail, crossing the Vltava using the road bridge
• Immediately after crossing the bridge, turn left to join the BLUE trail
• Follow the BLUE trail beside the Vltava for 4 km to reach Modřany (if continuing on to Braník, follow the cycle trail beside the river for a further 3 km)