*Walks to the Velká Deštná viewing tower, including winter options: 4 km to 12 km*

• At 1116m, Velká Deštná is the highest peak in the Orlické hory range, located in northeast Bohemia. The chain forms part of the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. Velká Deštná is a popular mountain to ascend in all seasons, with (usually) great views into Poland and of the northern Bohemia upland areas (except on the day the author chose for his visit!). The peak is topped with an iconic metal observation tower, which replaced previous wooden versions in 2019.
• The peak can be approached from the north, south or east on different trails. In winter, cross country ski tracks are created on the northern and eastern trails. Pedestrians are permitted to walk on the northern and southern approaches, which make this one of the best destinations for a winter walk anywhere in the Orlické mountains.
• The 12 km circular route shown in the map is best kept for the spring to autumn period, as the routes down to and up from Deštné are usually quite icy in winter. For the winter walk, the normal starting point (the northern approach) is the Šerlich saddle, which can be reached by bus from Deštné and there is a large parking area. The alternative (southern) winter route is served by the car park at Luisino údolí (map point 4). It is a 7 km ‘there and back’ walk to get to Velká Deštná from Šerlich and 4 km if starting and finishing in Luisino.
• The main winter route (from Šerlich) has a very gentle slope (there is just 120m altitude difference between the saddle and the peak). The full circuit, however, involves 420m height to ascend/descend. For refreshments, there is a snack bar near the summit of the peak, which is open seasonally, and often only at weekends. Near the saddle, Masarykova chata (map point 7) is a popular mountain pension/restaurant (note it is a 500m walk uphill from the saddle car park – in the opposite direction from Velká Deštná) . If completing the full circuit, there are various good restaurants in Deštné. Close the the route are the Alba (map point 5) and the Karolina (map point 6) . On the edge of town, the popular Kozí chlívek pension-restaurant, is also worth stopping at. This is a Hejlík recommendation.

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 (for the circular route)

• The circular route can be started from various points, including in Dešté village in the valley. However, as Šerlich saddle is a natural starting point for the winter walk, this is shown as the start and finish point in the map above
• From the Šerlich saddle, join the RED trail heading towards Velká Deštná. The junction (with the snack bar) just below the summit is reached after 3.3 km
• At the junction, join the GREEN trail heading first the tower – reached after 250m – and then downhill to Luisino údolí, reached after 2 km
• At the Luisino údolí junction, join the BLUE trail which leads down to Deštné after 2 km. Various restaurants in Deštné are down the main road to the left
• From the Deštné v Orl. h. – Zákoutí junction, take the YELLOW trail back up hill. It leads directly back to the Šerlich saddle after 3.8 km