An 8 km tour around the Zvolská homole nature reserve overlooking the Vltava river

• The Zvolská homole is a rocky promontory overlooking the river Vltava, 15 km to the south of Prague. The area is a protected nature reserve due to the variety of rare and endangered plant species that grow on the ancient (more than 600 million years old) sedimentary rock. There are also fine views of the Vltava from various points in the reserve.
• An educational nature trail traverses the area (with information boards in Czech mostly discussing the different ecosystems in the reserve) . The trail can easily be incorporated in a circular walk from Vrané nad Vltavou to the village of Zvole, and back. Vrané has regular trains direct from Prague main station.
• The plateau area directly to the east of the Vltava was an important prehistoric settlement area from the Stone Age onwards. At the edge of the Zvolská reserve (just off the marked nature trail) the remains of an ancient fortress – the Hradiště Zvolská homole – can be found. The small but steep sided hill, with a deep surrounding defensive ditch, was occupied at the end of the Stone Age and later in the Bronze Age, when it was likely fortified. A small medieval castle was also constructed on the site, but there is no recorded history of its origin or owners.
• The suggested circular walk from Vrané initially follows the Zvolský stream to reach the village of Zvole, where there is a large village pond with grassy edges – perfect for a summer picnic. From Zvole, the route then enters the nature reserve, circles around the main viewpoints and fortress site, before descending back to Vrané nad Vltavou.
• The total circular walk is 8.1 km long with 190m of height gained/lost on the route. The paths are mostly easy forest tracks with no significantly steep sections (although the path up to Zvole village does involve crossing the stream a couple of times on rocks). For refreshments (if not picnicking by Zvole pond) there is a restaurant just next to the pond – the Restaurace U Rybníka – and also a pizzeria back at Vrané station – the All’infinito and a couple of decent pubs. on the main street.
• Note – if travelling by train it would be possible to combine Zvolská homole with a visit to the Závist Celtic oppidum site, by starting at Vrané and finishing at Zbraslav station (or vice versa) . See the standalone Závist walk for information on the highlights of that trip. A suggested itinerary for a combined walk is shown in the second map below. This combined walk is 10 km long and involves 350m of climbing.

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

Combined walk – Zvolská homole and Závist (from Vrané to Zbraslav, 10 km one way)

Directions – for the shorter circular walk

• Start the walk at Vrané nad Vltavou railway station (there are regular direct trains from Prague main station). If driving, there are usually a few parking spots just before and just after the station, beside the road
• From the station, join the YELLOW hiking trail in the direction of Zvole. The trail gently ascends along the stream to reach the Zvole main street after 3.3 km
• If wanting to visit the attractive village pond ( eg for a pic nic, or stop at the restaurant) turn right at the Zvole hiking signpost and walk past the church for 200m to reach the pond (the restaurant is located a further 200m along the left side of the pond)
• From the Zvole signpost continue on the YELLOW trail in the direction of Ohrobská, which is reached in 1 km
• At the Ohrobská signpost, turn onto the RED trail in the direction of Vrané nad Vltavou. After 300 there is an information board relating to the nature trail and a footpath branches off to the right. Take this footpath (which is part of the nature trail)
• Continue straight on this footpath (without taking any turns off) for 500m to reach the fortress site which is close to a viewpoint over the Vltava – the site is evident due to the ditch around the steep castle mound
• From the fortress site return back along the path 100m and then keep right along the cliff edge, with views over the Vltava on the right side
• Follow the cliff edge path for 700m past the large electricity pylon to rejoin the RED trail
• Turn right onto the RED trail and follow this downhill for 1.2 km to return to Vrané nad Vltavou