In the Czech Republic, Indian summer usually offers steady weather and breathtaking views. Where should you go if you are travelling with young children, or if hiking up hills is not quite as easy as it used to be? You should, of course, go to places that you can reach by cable cars, or where a car or a bus can take you just below the summit.
By Cable Car to the Highest Mountain of the Czech Republic
Let us start in the most famous Czech mountain range, the Krkonoše Mountains, on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland. Several peaks offer comfortable access without trekking for kilometres and climbing hundreds of metres in elevation, and are therefore the starting point of a number of ridge hikes. You can comfortably reach the highest mountain of the Czech Republic, Mount Sněžka (1,063m), by cable car, which will take you from Obří důl in Pec pod Sněžkou to a halfway point on Růžová hora (1,354m), from where you can either continue your cable car ride to the top of Mount Sněžka or hike the final stretch on foot. The Černohorský Expres cable car will take you from Janské Lázně to Černá hora (1,299m), from where you can go further on a bike as well as on foot to, for example, the peat-bog Černohorské rašeliniště. From Špindlerův Mlýn, you can take a cable car to Pláně or to Medvědín – and be assured that there is no more comfortable way to reach the springs of the River Elbe! Nice views also await you on Čertova hora (1,021m), where you can get by a cable car from Harrachov.
Conquer the Jeseníky Mountains and the Beskids
The Jeseníky Mountains in North Moravia are a mountain paradise with many natural, historical, and technical treasures. In summer, you will find hundreds of well-marked trails both for hiking and for mountain biking here. A cable car will take you from Ramzovské sedlo all the way to Šerák (1,351m), with a change halfway in Černava. A wonderful view of the surrounding hills opens up here, as well as a view of a valley with the town of Jeseník and the famous Priessnitz Spa. Marked hiking trails go in all directions from here. The historical town of Olomouc, listed as a UNESCO site and just 100 km away, is another tip for a cultural trip.We will stay in the Jeseníky Mountains for a little while longer. Another cable car in the sports and entertainment mountain resort of Kouty leads to a lookout tower on Medvědí hora at an altitude of 1,095 metres above sea level. If you like, you can continue from here by bike or on foot along the red-marked route to the upper round tank of the pumped storage hydroelectric plant Dlouhé stráně. You will also have a great view of Praděd (1,491m), but you won’t be able to reach it from here. The most comfortable way to reach the highest mountain of Moravia is by shuttle buses from the Hvězda saddle. They will drop you off at the Ovčárna lodge, and from there you must continue on foot; it is a little less than an 8-kilometre round trip.
The upper station of the first chairlift in the Czech Republic to Pustevny (1,018m) in the Beskids has recently been renovated. The departure station is located near the Ráztoka hotel in Trojanovice. From Pustevny, you can hike along the ridge-line to Radhošť, a mountain famed by legends, and enjoy beautiful views of the Beskids.
Cable Cars in the Krušné Mountains, the Jizera Mountains, and Elsewhere
The slopes of the Krušné Mountains on the border of the Czech Republic and Germany are easily accessible by car, but you can make use of more than a 2km-long cable car ride from Jáchymov to Klínovec (1,244m). If you go on foot, be aware that the lower station is located almost three kilometres from Jáchymov.From Horní Hanychov, a city district of Liberec in the Jizera Mountains, a cable car will take you within a few minutes to Ještěd (1,012m), which features a famous mountain hotel with a transmitter, and where you can enjoy an exclusive view of the surroundings.
If you are on the way to South Bohemia, visit Kleť near the town of Český Krumlov, the highest peak of Blanský les (1,084m) with the oldest stone lookout tower in the Czech Republic. The trip will be made easier by a chairlift with a lower station in Holubov, and, in good weather, you can even glimpse the snow-capped peaks of the Alps from here.
