Český kras

Limestone canyons and quarry lakes between Prague and Beroun — Karlštejn's crowds, Koněprusy caves, and surprising wild corners in between.

Half an hour on the train from Prague puts you in Srbsko or Beroun, and the quieter days start by walking away from the famous poles — Karlštejn castle with its procession of visitors, and the Koněprusy caves underneath the same hills. The parts walkers come back for lie in between: the Kačák valley, the cliffs above Srbsko and Tetín, and the flooded quarries of the “Amerika” group, canyon lakes left by limestone mining. All of it is the country’s largest limestone area, cut by the Berounka and its side valleys into gorges, cliffs and dry karst plateaus.

The warm rock carries steppe flora and the best fossil record in Bohemia — the Silurian-Devonian boundary at Klonk near Suchomasty is a world reference point. Rail on the Beroun line brackets the region, so loops from Srbsko, Karlštejn or Beroun need no car.