"It was late evening – May Day - May evening – it was the time of love."

Karel Hynek Mácha (May)

As part of this year's May Máchov hiking tour, we will connect the landscape of the Bohemian Central Mountains with the landscape of the Kokořín region. This time, the route of our hike will lead unconventionally from Litoměřice (where we will travel by train from Prague on Friday morning, May 1st) through Radobýl, Porta Bohemica, Mount Varhošť and the eastern part of the Bohemian Central Mountains (the so-called Verneřické Central Mountains) with the magical Mount Sedlo to Úštěk; from Úštěk we will continue to Kalvária na Ostré and from there to the western part of the Kokořín region to Malý Vlhošť, where we will celebrate 'May, the time of love' with a poetry recitation. From Vlhošť we will descend to Holany, from where we will return to Prague. 

Friday 8 May: Prague – Litoměřice, Radobýl, Porta Bohemica, Kamýk, Plešivec, Varhošť (18 km)

We will meet at 7 am in Prague at the main train station, from where we will take the train via Všetaty to Litoměřice at 7:20 am. In Litoměřice we will remember the life story of the poet Karel Hynek Mácha, who died unexpectedly soon after a tragic event here on November 5, 1836. In the North Bohemian Gallery of Fine Arts we will visit the current exhibition "Through the Máchov landscape", which is being prepared by curator Alena Beránková for the 210th anniversary of Mách's birth. The exhibition will focus on romantic tendencies in the visual arts and present reflections on Mách's literary work from the Romantic era through the artistic movements of realism and surrealism to contemporary visual arts. It will feature, for example, Adolf Kosárek, Antonín and Josef Mánesová, Jan Preisler, Jindřich Štýrský, Pavel Nešleha, Václav Jirásek, František Skála, Miloš Šejn, Jan Hísek, and others.

After a tour of the exhibition and subsequent lunch, we will set off from Litoměřice to Radobyl (399 m above sea level), a distinctive basalt hill above Litoměřice, a European significant natural monument, which is also the legendary Máchov topos. There is a unique view from here, especially to the western part of the Bohemian Central Mountains on Porta Bohemica, to the mountains Lovoš, Milešovka, Kletečná, etc. From Radobýl we will head via Michalovice to Velky Žernoseky, a famous wine-growing village on the banks of the Elbe River, where it begins Porta Bohemica (Gate of Bohemia), a four-kilometer and in places up to one hundred and forty meters deep canyon of the Elbe. We will walk through it from Velké Žernoseky through the Kalvárie nature reserve to the rocky promontory of the same name with three crosses, where rare flora can be found. From Calvary let's go to the village Pebble with the ruins of the medieval castle of the same name and further along the Kamýk-Hlinná nature trail to a forested basalt cone Bald eagles (509 m above sea level), a natural monument of the same name. From Plešivec we will continue via Hlinná to Bald Mountain (576 m above sea level), a nature reserve of European importance (occurrence of the open grasshopper and the highly endangered meadow grasshopper) and continue along the green and yellow signs to the beautiful Raven Rock up to the top of the basalt ridge Varhošt (639 m above sea level) with a lookout tower from which there is a unique view of the Bohemian Central Mountains. We will spend the night under Varhoštěm.

Saturday 9. 5.: Varhošť, Dlouhý vrch, Panna, Kalich, Litýš, Sedlo (26 km)

The next morning we will set off along the yellow trail to the mountain village of Čeřeniště and from there to the Babinské louky natural monument, a European important site for the protection of the lily-leaved bellflower and other rare species of foothill meadows. We will then continue on to Long hill (655 m above sea level) and follow the yellow to Staňkovice, from there to the village of Rýdeč and to the volcanic cone Virgo (594 m above sea level) with a hillfort and the remains of a castle from the 14th century. From Panna we descend to the village of Řepčice and from there we head to another volcanic hill Calyx (536 m above sea level), formed by volcanic rock trachyte, with the remains of Žižka Castle. We descend to the village Trebusinfrom which we will follow the red tourist trail to the Znělcovy Hill Litysh (435 m above sea level) with the ruins of a medieval castle. We will continue along the red path to the crossroads below Small Saddle (535 m above sea level), from where we climb to the highest peak of the Verneřice Central Mountains, a massive mountain Seat (726 m above sea level). The saddle (also Jelečská hora) with two prominent peaks is one of the most beautiful mountains of the Bohemian Central Mountains. There is a national nature reserve here, which protects the remains of original deciduous forests with remnants of rare flora. We will spend the night on the top of the mountain, where we will have an improvised poetic ritual.

Sunday 10. 5.: Sedlo, Habřina, Úštěk, Kalvárie, Helfenburk, Skalka, Vlhošť (21 km)

In the morning we will set off from Sedlo on the red trail to Srdov and then to Habřina, from where we will continue along the Chmelař pond to Úštěk. Those of you who want to end your journey in Úštěk can return to Prague by train from here. At the same time We expect that new pilgrims will join us in Úštěk and will travel with us to Vlhošť for the final part of the pilgrimage. poetry meeting at Malé VlhoštěWe will walk through Úštěk and take the road to Ostrý up to the hill. Calvary with a Baroque pilgrimage area with the Stations of the Cross and the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre by Ottavio Broggio. There is a unique view of Sedlo and Úštěk from here and from the top of Kalvarija and the top of Velké Vlhoště. At Calvary, a poetic invocation of the spring landscape around us can be heard. Then we will set off to Hradec Králové mine, which we will travel to Macha's favorite castle ruins HelfenburgFrom there we follow the yellow trail to Skalka, where we have lunch and then head over Silver Hill (400 m above sea level) and Včelí hrad up to Little Vlhošť (440 m above sea level), where we will celebrate May poetry recitation. Bring with you poems you would like to read.Malý Vlhošť is a great place where you can listen to nature and talk to it – talk to the mountains, clouds, winds, forests, birds, and the magical moon.

"Future days? – tomorrow? – What beyond that, a mysterious dream." 

Karel Hynek Macha

Monday 11. 5.: Vlhošť, Pastviny, Holany (6 km)

In the morning, we will first go around the massive Znělce mountain Vlhošť (613 m above sea level), the highest hill in the entire Kokořín region. There is a nature reserve with rubble forests (beech forests and relict pines) here, and the wood pigeon and the peregrine falcon nest here. Then we will follow the blue tourist trail along Court stones to Holany, from where we will return by bus back to Prague.

Connections

Prague – Litoměřice on Friday, May 8 (train)

departure from Prague main station in 7:20 – transfer Všetaty (arrival 8:03, departure 8:07) – arrival in Litoměřice at 8:44

departure from Prague Masarykova railway station in 7:35 – transfer Lovosice (arrival 9:21, departure 9:03) – arrival in Litoměřice at 9:47

Holany – Prague on Monday, May 11 (bus)

departure from Holland 11:55 – transfer Dubá, bus station (arrival 12:25, departure 12:36) – arrival in Prague, Holešovice train station 13:54

departure from Holland 13:11 – transfer Zahrádky kříž. (arrival 13:17, departure 13:22) – arrival in Prague, Holešovice railway station 15:04

Contact and further information

George Zemanek

sarvanga@centrum.cz
777 117 466

Tomas Hruza

tomashruza@gmail.com
775 052 607

"I believe that a lot of good would come from a change in attitude if tourists became pilgrims again."

Rupert SHELDRAKE