Stone Suns and Orchids
České středohoří · CHKO České středohoří · Point to point · hiked May 2022
A 42 km May botany epic — the Třtěnské stráně steppe, the one-of-a-kind Kamenná slunce, orchid meadows under Solanská hora, and the Košťál panorama before Lovosice.
Come in May or don’t bother — the timing is the route here, because the whole day is designed around what blooms: the south-western Středohoří holds the region’s best steppe and orchid sites, and the walk strings them together on the long day north from the Ohře, with rail at both ends.
From the Koštice stop the way heads north through Želevice to Třtěno and the Třtěnské stráně, a kilometre of white slope in full flower. Just beyond, near Hnojnice, a short detour reaches Kamenná slunce — a quarry wall of radial “stone suns” found nowhere else in the world, and worth the pause even with the distance still ahead.
The middle of the route climbs through Třebívlice into the hills, and between Solanská hora and the Oltařík ruin come the orchid meadows — May is when they show. Past Vlastislav the day saves its favourite for late: Košťál, my pick for the best panoramic lookout of the whole south-west, with the evening light on Hazmburk and Milešovka. The long descent through Vchynice ends at the Lovosice station.
Practical info
| Start | Koštice nad Ohří railway stop — by train |
|---|---|
| End | Lovosice railway station — by train, bus |
| Terrain | forest path |
| Best months | May |
| Links | Open route on Mapy.com |
| GPX | Download track |
On the way
-
Třtěnské stráně
A kilometre of white steppe slope above Třtěno — feather grass, sea pink and flax on bare marl, at its best in May bloom.
-
Kamenná slunce
A quarry face near Hnojnice where volcanic tuff dried around basalt bombs into radiating "stone suns" — a geological formation described nowhere else in the world.
-
Třebívlice
A wine village on the southern rim of the hills where Ulrika von Levetzow — Goethe's last love — lived and is buried; chateau exhibition and a working winery.
-
Solanská hora
A three-topped forest massif (Solanská hora 638 m, Dlouhý vrch 618 m, Třtín 601 m) with no marked trail — its open summit slope gives one of the finest views over the lower Ohře basin.
-
Oltářík
The ruin of a Hussite castle built after 1426 by captain Jakoubek z Vřesovic on a steep basalt cone above Děkovka — small remains, huge views.
-
Košťálov
A Gothic castle ruin on the bare basalt cone of Košťál (481 m) above Třebenice — one of the signature silhouettes of the middle České středohoří, freely accessible.
-
Lovosice
An industrial Elbe town at the foot of Lovoš and the mouth of Porta Bohemica — the busiest rail gateway into the western České středohoří.