SUMAVA NATIONAL PARK   MOUNTAIN BIKE TOUR

Mountain bike touring Description:

The Šumava Mountain Range is considered to be the cleanest in the Czech Republic and it is the most attractive tourist destination in Southern Bohemia. It stretches over an area of 120 by 45 km (75 by 30 miles) and together with the Bavarian Forest belongs to the Czech massif. The Protected Landscape Area Šumava was established in 1963 and in 1991 it was declared the Šumava National Park. In 1990, Šumava received the UNSECO status of biospheric reserve.
Being a border mountain range, Šumava historically had a guarding significance. We can find remnants of fortifications from the Thirty Years’ War and bunkers from the time of fortification of the First Republic in 1938. For the long decades of the communist regime, many places were inaccessible to tourists. Visiting such unique areas, which were only recently opened to the public and where the remnants of the infamous “Iron Curtain” fortifications are ever present, is a unique experience.

During our 9-day bike tour we will explore deep forests, mysterious swamps, ride along wild mountain rivers to glacial lakes, lookouts, viewpoints and we will also ride in the Bavarian Forest on the German side of the border. We will simply visit the best places Šumava has to offer. Naturally, we can’t miss a visit to the source of the Vltava river which eventually flows through Prague and the most world-renowned unique nature reserve of the Czech Republic – the Boubín Primeval Forest, where the oldest spruce and fir trees are 300-400 years old, while the entire forest is older than mankind.

The program of this 9 day bike tour begins with the visit of Prague, as the starting point of our trip. We will then take you to the border town of Domažlice, where we get on the bikes and start our first attractive mountain biking. We will finish our mountain biking in Český Krumlov, nowadays a world-renowned UNESCO protected historic town and then return to Prague.

We selected combinations of more challenging and easy day bike tours with the option to skip some more demanding climbs. Both self-guided biking or guided biking for groups are available.

Mountain bike touring Daily program:

Day 1   Prague arrival day
This day begins with a welcome at the airport and transfer to your hostel for accommodation. Today we will rest and discover the magical places of Prague. We suggest visiting the historic UNESCO-protected city center. After your sightseeing we will have a welcome dinner ready for you in a restaurant.
If we decide to spend one more day in Prague, we will begin our program with the visit to the Prague Castle and its gardens. After a good lunch, we can enjoy a river boat ride on the Vltava river and visit the Petřín lookout tower from where we can take some birds-eye pictures of Prague. In the afternoon, we will not forget to shop for some gifts from Prague and say goodbye to the capital of Czech Republic.

Day 2   Prague - Domažlice - Čerchov - Domažlice : VAN transfer 165 km / 102 miles; cycling 39 km / 24 miles
A van will take us from our hotel in Prague to Domažlice, a border town in Western Bohemia, which is a heritage town-center reserve and where we will first get accommodated. Today we suggest to start with the first biking route, a bit challenging, but unforgettable. We will set out to the first of places which were under control of the Czech Army and inaccessible to the public until 1990. It is the tallest peak of Czech Forest, the foothills of Šumava, called Čerchov, 1, 042 meters high. We shouldn´t forget our camera for taking pictures from the Kurz lookout tower on the top of Čerchov or from the memorial of J.Š. Baar, a famous local writer. In good weather we might even see the distant peaks of the Austrian Alps.
If we decide to stay in Domažlice, we will focus on the square with arcades, Chodský castle, Municipal House and especially the City Tower, which, similarly to the Pisa tower in Italy, is leaning from its axis by about 60 cm.

Day 3   Domažlice - Železná Ruda : mountain cycling 61 km / 38 miles
After a hearty breakfast, we will get ready for the longest and most challenging from our 9 day journey. We will leave Domažlice and set out into initially mildly hilly terrain toward the Šumava border. After about 30 kilometers (19 miles), we are climbing up through the Šumava protected landscape area - through a romantic landscape with deep woods, passing the tallest Šumava waterfall and approach the largest glacial lake, Černé lezero (Black lake) in the altitude of 1, 008 meters above sea level. After exploring the lake, we descend to a mountain town - Železná Ruda, where we will get accommodated and rest in one of the mountain restaurants after a hard day.

Day 4   Železná Ruda - Kašperské Hory : mountain cycling 57 km / 35 miles
Today we start by climbing from Železná Ruda and after a few kilometers along the German border, we enter the Šumava National Park. Again the route is demanding, however we suggest the visit to a second glacial lake, Prášilské jezero and the highest peak of the trip, Poledník, reaching 1, 315 meters. The lookout tower at the top of Poledník was built in a hard-to-access military zone and was closed to the public for several decades. It was opened for tourists in 1998 and from its 37 meter tall tower, we can overlook practically all Šumava.
If you resist our recommendations, we will continue through the less demanding terrain directly to Kašperské Hory, the hub of central Šumava, the city of historic gold mines with its rich history going back to the 13th century. We will be accommodated there after our hard trip. Here we can visit the near-by Kašperk castle or rest and relax in many of the stylish mountain restaurants.

Day 5   Kašperské Hory - Kvilda : mountain cycling 42 km / 26 miles
Today we will ride from Kašperské Hory through the romantic valley of the Otava river into a small mountain village called Kvilda. We are riding through the area of Modrava Swamps, the largest nature reserve of the Šumava National Park and, if following the recommendation, we can optionally take a ride to the source of the Vltava river. After a long journey through Southern and Central Bohemia, the Vltava river flows through Prague, under the Charles Bridge. It is also the last ascent of the entire trip and from now on, we will be descending toward Český Krumlov.

Day 6   Kvilda - Lenora (Volary) : mountain cycling 36 km / 22 miles
We leave Kvilda and with the feeling that our route will be very easy and we’re looking forward to the visiting the only primeval forest in the Czech Republic - Boubín. Boubín was declared a primeval forest reserve in 1858 and it spreads over an area of 670 hectares. The core of the primeval forest is inaccessible, but we recommend a 5 kilometer walk on the educational trail around this core.
We will finish today’s "relaxing" route in Lenora, a former glassmakers’ village. We will be accommodated in a pleasant bed-and-breakfast and we won’t miss seeing a covered wooden bridge with a shingle roof and especially the local historic bread oven from the 19th century, which was restored after a long time. Every last Saturday in of each month, local bakers arrange public baking of bread, cakes, buns and Lenora flat breads. With a little luck, we may be present.

Day 7   Lenora (Volary) - Horní Planá : mountain cycling 55 km / 34 miles
We’re slowly wrapping up our biking wayfaring in Šumava and so we enjoy our last route through the National Park. To have a true proof that the Iron Curtain is indeed history, after about 15 km of riding, we will cross the border to a German border town named Heidmühle. After a short refreshment, we will come back to the Czech Republic. We will ride through beautiful Šumava forests and along the
Schwarzenberg channel, a most interesting water structure floating lumbered wood. Nowadays, its reconstructed part along which our route leads, from Horní Planá to the shore of the Lipno lake, is a part of the Vltava cascade. We board the ferryboat which will take us to Horní Planá. There we get accommodated and get some strength for the last route.

Day 8   Horní Planá - Český Krumlov : mountain cycling 48 km / 30 miles
We say goodbye to Horní Planá, again we will use the ferryboat and set out along the Lipno lake and Austrian border on a bike route. After 16 km, we will last use the ferryboat to leave the protected landscape Šumava and ahead of us we have the last few kilometers to Český Krumlov. After settling in a hotel here, we will spend unforgettable moments walking through the historic streets. We may visit the romantic chateau and its tower, museum of medieval torture instruments or many other points of interest. We will wrap up the evening with a goodbye dinner, shop for some gifts and get ready for our return to Prague.

Day 9   Český Krumlov - Hluboká - Prague : VAN transfer 185 km / 115 miles
Having spent our last night in the Czech Republic in Český Krumlov, after breakfast the van will pick us up at the hotel. On our way to Prague, we will stop at the Hluboká chateau, nicknamed the pearl of Southern Bohemia, which we may not miss. After visiting the chateau we will head straight to Prague airport. Thus we end our romantic biking tour through some of the most beautiful parts of the Czech Republic. We may be looking forward to going home but someplace inside, we tell ourselves we will certainly come back again.