Kumburk Ridge to Jičín

A 22.3 km ridge-and-basin walk from Nová Paka to Jičín — the Kumburk ruin, a pub in Železnice and the Zebín cone for dessert.

The day’s effort is front-loaded: from Nová Paka the route climbs west through Brdo onto the wooded ridge, and the first third delivers the biggest reward of the day — Kumburk, the Vartemberk ruin whose restored tower sees from the Krkonoše to Trosky. The climb to it is also most of the day’s ascent; from here the walking tilts gently downhill.

Down in Železnice the pub U Jindry makes the natural halfway stop, and the village’s little spa-town face is worth the few minutes it takes to cross. The route then aims across the basin at Zebín — a short, sharp climb up the bare basalt cone to the chapel, and the best single view of the day: the whole Jičín basin with Trosky and the Prachov rocks arranged around it. Really nice place, and the effort-to-view ratio is unbeatable.

The finish rolls past Sedličky and the Valdštejnská lodžie lime avenue into Jičín — arrival by Wallenstein’s composed axis, square, arcades, and the train home from the station.