Around the Foot of Říp

České středohoří · Point to point · hiked 28 June 2024

Distance
14.1 km
Ascent
118 m
Descent
155 m
Highest point
235 m
Difficulty
1/5 · Easy

A 14.1 km hot-day finish of the summer čundr weekend — around the foot of Říp to Roudnice nad Labem and a night under the stars; second half of the pair.

The second, humbler half of the weekend — and an honest lesson in summer planning. The original idea was to climb Říp on the way; a June heatwave and a short night on Hazmburk vetoed it, and the route became this: a flat arc around the mountain’s foot to the Labe.

After a morning resupply in Libochovice (a bus hop covers the dull road stretch to Přestavlky), the way crosses open farm country through Kleneč and Vesce. Říp stands close on the right the whole time, looking deceptively small — if you’re fresher than we were, the detour to the rotunda adds about an hour and a half and is the obvious upgrade to this route.

Roudnice nad Labem ends the walking: a proper town with pubs for the evening, the Labe embankment, and trains to Prague. We stretched the čundr one more night and slept under the open sky before the Sunday morning train home.

Practical info

Start Přestavlky — by bus
End Roudnice nad Labem railway station — by train, bus
Terrain field track
Links Open route on Mapy.com
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On the way

  • Říp

    summit 461 m

    The national mountain of Bohemia — a lone basalt dome over the plain where legend puts Forefather Čech, crowned by the Romanesque rotunda of St George rebuilt in 1126.

  • Roudnice nad Labem

    village

    An old Elbe town below Říp, dominated by the vast Baroque Lobkowicz chateau built over a Romanesque castle of the Prague bishops.

Photos