Nature

People who like outings and hiking have a wide choice in our country. Except for the sea, the Czech Republic has almost everything to offer.

There are the mountains along the borders where many rivers have their source., the Elbe in the Giant Mountains, the Vltava in the Šumava Mountains and the Morava in the Jeseníky Mountains. The highest ground above the sea level is in the Giant Mountains. From their highest peak, Sněžka, one can see steep wooded hillsides, glacial valleys or mountain meadows with rare specimens of flora growing only in these mountains. Much of the area is protected as a national reserve. If you set out on a trip along tourist footpaths, you can admire mountain streams, gorges, waterfalls and wild life. Some mountains, such as the Šumava, boast a primeval forest, swamps, but also picturesque torrents like the Vydra, with boulders, waterworn rocks and rapids.

In the mountains you are far from the civilization – there are only scattered human settlements. – but as the hillside slopes to the foot of the mountains, you can see signs of human presence again, flocks of sheep and herds of cattle grazing on pastureland.

Inland there are highlands, hilly country with mild slopes, woodlands and groves which alternate with lowlands along big rivers. In the lowlands and highlands most of the farmland extends across fields where corn, potatoes, sugar beet, hops, fruit and vegetables are grown.

The south Bohemia is rolling country with coniferous and leafy trees and many lakes which originally were built for raising fish but now they are also used for recreation. Even if you want to see barren rocks, you won’t be dissapointed when you visit the Adršpach or Prachov Rocks, the bizzare sandstone rock towns with a number of fantastic and romantic rock formations.
You can also find karst caves here, such as the Koněprusy Caves in the environs of Prague, adorned with stalagtites and stalagmites, or the whole complex of the Moravian Karst with underground lakes and rivers and the well-known Macocha Abyss.
If one si tired of people and civilization, there is no better way to regain new energy than to set out on a hiking trip in the country. Somebody is not used to hiking and partly because he doesn’t want to carry a heavy rucksack with food, a sleeping bag, a pad or a tent. But i thing, that everybody likes to set out on a trip, because he or she can see the green of the nature and feel the aroma of wood.