Czech Republic & Slovakia trekking holiday
| country: | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
| location: | Carpathian Mountains |
| trip type: | Introductory trekking holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 16 Aug |
| price: | From £445 (8 days) excluding flights. Single supplement £75. This trip can also be tailormade for groups or individuals, with dates of your choice. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Set out to border areas on the eastern side of the Czech Republic. The picturesque, wooded hills will capture your attention with their vastness and honor and unique flora and fauna.
You can also enjoy the folk architecture and living traditions. Visit an unique open-air folk museum - the Wallachian Village, behold the statue of the legendary Slavic god Radegast, which stands on the ridge of the Beskydy Mountain range.
Conquer the Javorniky Mountains on foot, then moving to Slovakia you will be intrigued by the remains of medieval castles, situated on rocky ledges.
We will also take you to old Trencin, one of the most beautiful Slovak cities. At the end you will get to know wine growing region of South Moravia with its beautiful panoramas, wine-cellars and delicious food.From ancient Mikulov with its renowned Jewish ghetto, we will walk across the Palava Nature Reserve.
Highlights:Trekking on the Czecho-Slovakian border Wallachian mountain range Beskydy Mountain community Pustevny Open-air museum in Roznov pod Radhostem Mountain lodge Portas Impressive ruins of Lednica castle Sulov Highlands Picturesque village of Cicmany Medieval town Mikulov Trekking through Pavlovske hills natural reserve South Moravia - Wine cellar visit Brno - visit to a mini-brewery Pegas
You can also enjoy the folk architecture and living traditions. Visit an unique open-air folk museum - the Wallachian Village, behold the statue of the legendary Slavic god Radegast, which stands on the ridge of the Beskydy Mountain range.
Conquer the Javorniky Mountains on foot, then moving to Slovakia you will be intrigued by the remains of medieval castles, situated on rocky ledges.
We will also take you to old Trencin, one of the most beautiful Slovak cities. At the end you will get to know wine growing region of South Moravia with its beautiful panoramas, wine-cellars and delicious food.From ancient Mikulov with its renowned Jewish ghetto, we will walk across the Palava Nature Reserve.
Highlights:
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival in Brno - accomodation - early evening walk in Brno's centre - visit to the Pegas mini-brewery Arrival in Brno, transport to the hotel in the centre of Brno. We will take you to have a short look around the historical centre which is an irresistible mixture of gothic and renaissance architecture entwined with a number of legends. We will have dinner in the home style mini-brewery Pegas where you can taste the special wheat beer which is brewed right in front of the guests. |
| Day 2: | Brno - mountain community Pustevny - open-air museum in Roznov pod Radhostem. After breakfast we will leave Brno and head towards Roznov pod Radhostem, the heart of Wallachia, located at the very eastern end of the Czech Republic. From here we'll take the cableway to Pustevny, a popular tourist centre located at an altitude of 1 018 meters. We will take a short walk towards the statue of the ancient pagan god, Radegast, from where you can enjoy stunning panoramas of the surrounding areas.After getting back to Pustevny, we will dine in Libusin restaurant with its Art Noveau-styled interior, which was declared a national cultural treasure, and where you can enjoy typical Wallachian specialities. In the afternoon, we will drive back to Roznov po Radhostem to see the Wallachian open-air folk museum with its exhibitions: The little wooden town, The water mill valley and Wallachian village. Accomodation will be provided in one of the B&B houses in picturesque surroundings below Radhost Mountain. |
| Day 3: | Bumbalka pass - trekking on the Czecho-Slovakian border - mountain lodge Portas (5 hrs.) In the morning we will drive you to Bumbalka saddle /859 meters above sea level/ between the peaks of Beskydy and Trojacka near Slovakian border. Bumbalka is one of starting points for the Javorniky crossing. Here also starts the ridge route ''Javorniky Educational Trail'' /the longest educational trail in Europe/, which leads towards mountain centre of Portas. This route is about 20 km long and is perfect for experiencing the natural beauties of the Javorniky Mountains. Specific living conditions and seclusion of communities provided preservation of the rich folk tradition. Accomodation will be provided in the Portas mountain lodge. |
| Day 4: | Lednica castle ruins - trekking in the White Carpathian Mountains - Vrsatec castle ruins (4 hrs.) In the morning of day 4 we will move to Slovakia, to the nearby ruins of Lednica castle. After the castle tour, we will set off for a 10 km long tour through picturesque hills in the most northern part of the White Carpathian Mountains, dominated by rock crests of Vrsatec Mountain. Towards the end of our journey, we will meet ruins of Vrsatec castle one of the highest castles in Slovakia. In the evening, we will stay in a nearby guest house and if weather permits, a BBQ will be provided, along with beer tasting. |
| Day 5: | Sulov Highlands - trekking - Maninska tiesnava (Maninska pass) (3 hrs.). After the breakfast we will take a minibus and drive to the north along the river Vah towards the town Povazska Bystrica, which is the gate to the fairy-tale, romantic land - Sulov Highlands. We will pick up one of the many trails and walk about 15 km through this amazing place full of various rocky formations. You can admire the weirdest shapes, towers, spikes, cones, castles, gates and bridges, all just the nature's work. No wonder this area attracts many filmmakers from all around Europe. We can also find here two of Slovakian bests: the narrowest canyon - Maninska tiesnava and the biggest krans - Kostolecka tiesnava. Early evening we will get on the minibus again and drive to Rajecke Teplice where you can let your muscles soak and relax in thermal spa. |
| Day 6: | Cultural village of Cicmany - Strazovske hills - medieval town Trencin. In the morning we will head again to the south. Our first stop will be in the village Cicmany situated in the fold of Strazovske vrchy /Strazovske hills/, almost at the spring of the river Rajcianky. The village is known for its antique and unique architecture - painted wooden cottages with ornamental features about 200 years old. Since 1977 this part of the village was declared as a cultural reserve of the folklore architecture. Here, the rich traditions are still kept alive and people are using the old technique of embroidery to make pictures, table cloths and folk costumes, the same way as they have for centuries. Leaving Cicmany behind we will head towards Trencin, one of the oldest towns in Slovakia, where the first communities settled back in roman times. Wandering around the tiny streets of Trencin you can feel spirits of centuries and shadows of traders travelling on the important trading route between Mediterranean and Baltic sea. We will stay in Trencin for the night and enjoy the evening in one of the many lively pubs. |
| Day 7: | South Moravia - Mikulov - trekking through Pavlovske hills natural reserve (2,5 hrs.) - wine cellar visit. This morning we will start little earlier and head back to the Czech Republic, specificaly to south moravian town Mikulov. In about 2,5 hours we will be welcome by its beautiful panorama with three outstanding silhouettes: the renaissance palace, Svaty kopecek /Saint hill/ and Kozi hradek /Goat's castle/. We are going to visit one of them, the palace, and walk around the historic medieval centre of the town, declared the cultural reserve in 1952. Mikulov is also the starting point for the wine educational trail passing through Palava nature reserve where visitors get to know all about the wine traditions and have the best opportunities for wine tasting. After lunch in Mikulov we will get on this trail and walk about 10 km through this amazing land, among the vineyards and woods, up to theruins of Divci hrad /Girl's castle/. For the evening there is an excursion arranged to the wine cellar, with delicious buffet and wine tasting. You will also have the opportunity to enjoy live performance of a traditional dulcimer band. |
| Day 8: | Brno - departure. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.how this holiday makes a difference
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On this tour you will travel in varied small group of like-minded people. The smaller the group, the less it interferes in the everyday life of the visited place. Small group also allow our guide to dedicate more time to making your journey more unique and special.
You will spend your holidays not only by sightseeing, but you can also pursue walking amongst the local people in small villages of Wallachia and Western Slovakia. Instead of moving through great distances and visiting many places in one day, you will get better idea of how the country feels by exploring its local attractions. We will visit a unique open-air folk museum - the Wallachian Village, the statue of the legendary Slavic god Radegast or several impressive castle ruins scattered around the White Carpathian Mountains. You will not eat only in international restaurants or fast food chains but rather in local restaurants where traditional food is served and where you can enjoy regional dishes (Wallachian specialties like "Wallachian kyselica" or cabbage soup, "Wallachian kontrabas" or baked and gratined mixture of pork, buckwheat and potatoes and "brynzove halusky" or potato gnocchi with goat cheese) together with excellent beers and wines the country can offer. We will visit the family run mini-brewery or dine in a community owned restaurant at Pustevny. In order to maintain maximum authenticity and comfort, we provide accommodation in smaller family run hotels and guesthouses preferably, with local atmosphere and the possibility of an outdoor seating area. While trekking, accommodation may be provided in farmhouses, country homes or mountain chalets owned by local people. You will learn a lot more about the culture of the country by personal experience rather than looking at it through a coach window. This way of travelling has the lowest environmental and cultural impact to the visited country and creates a positive experience for all. |
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