*Tiské stěny; one of the most scenic sandstone complexes in the country – 4 km*

Tiské stěny; one of the most scenic sandstone complexes in the country – 4 km

The Tiské stěny are a spectacular series of sandstone rock columns, situated above the village of Tisá, close to the German border. Sandy paths weave through the maze-like rock complexes, as scenic as any in Český ráj. The rocks lie in the Labské piskovce Protected Landscape Area which is effectively an extension of the České Švýcarsko National Park, which straddles the border area north of Děčín and Ústí nad Labem.
The sandstone was laid down nearly 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous geological period, when for a period of around 20 million years much of northern and central Bohemia was flooded with a shallow tropical sea. When the seas retreated, the deposited sand was gradually transformed into rock and then in more recent times uncovered and eroded into the complex shapes seen today, by the action of wind, rain and particularly ice. Volcanic intrusions created mineral deposits that served to strength some layers and parts of the sandstone, resulting in different rates of erosion and the characteristic extraordinary column and ‘mushroom’ shapes of the Bohemian sandstone ‘rock towns’.
Tisá is a popular tourist destination and can get busy in peak periods. The village can be reached by bus from Jílové u Děčína, which has a regional train station. However, most visitors appear to arrive by car or bus, due its relative proximity to the D8 highway and so there are several paid parking areas.
There is an entrance fee to the main rock area at Tisá, which provides access to the compact rock town. There are effectively two loops around the rock area, both marked as part of a nature trail, including information boards. The total distance of the two loops is around 3.5 km. There are several rocky step sections to navigate and several viewpoints to stop at. There is around 150m of height to navigate on the route and although short, the route can be quite time consuming.
There are two excellent spots for refreshment just outside the rock area, near the main parking areas in Tisá: the Cafe Krmelec and the Refugio restraurant.

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 the main parking area below the Tisá rocks. If the main car parks are full (and they can be very busy in summer and at weekends) there are several overflow parking areas
Enter the main rock area through the main gate (paid entrance) and start with the circular route through the Malé stěny (marked with a green stripe marker). This route is to the left after entering the Tiské stěny – skalní ‘námestí’. A clockwise tour through this first rock labyrinth is recommended (it is less than one km in length)
After returning to the entrance area after completing the Malé stěny circuit , continue on the Velké stěny route, again following the green diagonal stripe nature trail marker
After completing the first half of Velké stěny route (approximately 1.1km of trail), the trail meets the main GREEN hiking path. Turn right onto the GREEN trail and return back to the parking areas in 1.3 km