Spring in the Slavkovský les

A 34.7 km three-day spring čundr across the Slavkovský les — Lázně Kynžvart to Mariánské Lázně, then forest all the way past Tři křížky to Bečov and the St Maurus reliquary.

A spring weekend built like a spa-country sandwich: two civilised town nights around one long, empty forest day. The Slavkovský les is the quietest of the western ranges — most visitors stay at the colonnades, which leaves the woods to walkers.

Day 1 — Lázně Kynžvart to Mariánské Lázně

A warm-up leg through the forests above Kynžvart, past the venerable spruce known as the King of Spruces, and down into Mariánské Lázně. Arriving on foot into the spa bowl is the right way to see it; the local brewery and a hotel bed close the day.

Day 2 — across the Slavkovský les to Bečov

After breakfast in town, the long day heads north into the plateau forests — hours of spruce, bog and empty forest road, with the crossing of the open serpentine country near Prameny as the change of scene. Tři křížky was the highlight of the whole trip: three crosses on their bare knoll with the moor grasses around, a landscape unlike anywhere else in Bohemia. From there the route bends east and descends the Teplá valley into Bečov nad Teplou for dinner and a bed.

Day 3 — Bečov and home

The morning belongs to the reliquary of St Maurus in the castle — the country’s greatest goldsmith work after the crown jewels, with a detective story attached — before the scenic little railway takes you out of the valley toward Prague.