A trip from the ruins of Pařez to the Prachovské Rocks

A trip in the Bohemian Paradise to the Prachovské Rocks and Pařez Castle

Starting point

We left the car at the pond in the village of Pařezská Lhota, not far from the ruins of Pařez Castle. Parking is free here.
 

Description of the hike

We reached the ruins of Pařez Castle early in the morning and the parking lot was completely empty. I can imagine that in the main tourist season you just can't park here.

From the car park it is only a short walk to the rock ruins of Pařez Castle. There are several carved steps leading up to the castle. During our visit, part of the castle was closed for repairs. From the castle we followed the red trail. The path leads past many sandstone blocks. The nature of the path varied. In some places we followed a narrow forest path, which was interspersed with a wide rocky path. Eventually, we reached Pelíšek Pond. Here we turned to the green marker and continued along the beautiful valley to the village of Maršov. The road turns sharply here and we sweated for the first time on the way uphill. Eventually we reached the viewpoint of Ervín's Castle. We continued along the trail, but soon turned onto a blue hiking trail that led us to the Fortna rock gorge. This is already part of the Prachovské Rocks.

We descended into the gorge, walking between high rocks. We made a detour to the Vítkov lookout point and followed the green trail to the main part of the Prachovské Rocks. We descended through the Mouse Hole only to immediately climb the stairs to the opposite rock outlook. We continued along the green trail on the Great Circuit. We joined the red marker and descended again to the lower floors of the Prachovské Rocks. We continued to the tourist hut and the main entrance to the rocks. In the high season, there is a fee to enter, this time the ticket offices were closed. From the Prachovské rocks we went back to the ruins of Pařez along the red tourist trail.

 

Difficulty

At first sight a very simple and pleasant trip. Most of the route is along forest paths between sandstone rocks. The Prachovské rocks themselves are a bit more demanding on the physique. Very often you climb or descend on carved stairs. You can climb hundreds of them on the whole trek. So you get tired. However, the trail is ideal for children or even for dogs. Of course, a stroller can't go through it.
 

Water availability

There is a restaurant of the tourist cottage Prachov near Prachovské skály. Otherwise, we did not come across the well anywhere. We had about 1.5 litres with us.
 

Mountain peaks

The trail itself does not lead over any peaks, but there are several rock outlooks. We did not have good weather for views, otherwise you can see for example Jested.
 

Danger

You have to be very careful in the rocks. Wet rocks are slippery. All viewpoints are secured with railings, but especially small children should be supervised at all times.
 

Food

The restaurant of the Prachov tourist chalet is right on the route. Another restaurant is the Testauce Pod Šikmou Věží, a short walk from the Fortna rock gorge.
 

Attractions

The castle of Pařez did not have a long existence. It was probably built in the middle of the 14th century on a rock block. It was destroyed in 1424 when it was conquered by the Hussites. Nowadays, the remains of a square tower and a carved world room have been preserved. These served as cellars.