Two Winter Days to Blaník

A 50 km two-day winter traverse of the Podblanicko from Vlašim to Kondrac — the Kalamajka lookout, a night at Růžkovy Lhotice and a finish under Blaník.

Podblanicko is the country I grew up in, and this is the walk I never did as a local: two winter days straight across it, from the town at its centre to the village under Blaník itself. It is farm country — low wooded tops, orchards, lanes between hamlets — which is exactly what makes it work under snow, when the going is easy and the whole landscape turns quiet.

Day 1 — Vlašim to Růžkovy Lhotice

The route leaves Vlašim south along the Blanice and climbs slowly out of the valley into the open country around Zdislavice.

The morning’s target comes at km 14: Javornická hůra with the Kalamajka tower — brand new when we passed, and worth planning around, since the top cabin is opened by borrowed key rather than kept unlocked. Beyond the hill the way turns southeast through the fields towards Čechtice and drops to the day’s end at Růžkovy Lhotice, the hamlet around Smetana’s childhood chateau. We slept in a cottage here; whatever your roof, this is the natural overnight — the day splits 28 + 22 km.

Day 2 — over the tops to Kondrac

The second day runs back west along the higher ground — the wooded tops of Jizbický kopec and Zhoř pass to either side without views — to Načeradec, whose 12th-century church tower is the landmark of the whole middle stretch and whose square is the one refreshment chance of the day. From there the lanes head north through Křížov, and the finish walks straight at Blaník: the hill with its lookout tower grows ahead across the fields for the last hour, until the route slips around its eastern foot and down into Kondrac, where the pub and the bus stop end the trip.