We call this E-bike ride “Around Hell” because it will lead you around natural preserve called Peklo, which in Czech means Hell. If you will have more time, you can walk through that narrow valley following the red mark as we did earlier. The best time to visit this location is during March when it is full of blooming “bledule” (Spring Snowflake, Leucojum vernum). It is one of the famous spots for this natural phenomenon – the other one being at Písty, close to Budyně nad Ohří, which we described earlier.
Entrance to this valley is strictly forbidden for bikers, so we did not visit the blooming fields this time. We started from a small parking lot in Zahrádky, where it may be hard to find a place during the weekend. Little more than half of the ride is on nice forest roads, but unfortunately this time we were not able to avoid the asphalt roads completely. The area of Zahrádky is known for black and white log houses, which you can find all over the place.
You will see eight ponds of different sizes, and in summer you can probably take a swim in couple of them. This time of the year we saw only a lot of fishermen. And quite surprisingly, we saw even a fish in boots! It was only a statute, but still… Make sure that you don’t miss it at point 15. However, the biggest attraction is the old stone bridge at point 14 and ruins of the castle Milčany at point 12. The part around the bridge at 14 is not rideable and you should be careful to avoid unpleasant fall. If you decide to follow marked bike route 3088 after point 12 instead a little more challenging red tourist mark, you will miss the nicest part of the ride 12 to 20.
From 21 to 24 you will be on a very little frequented asphalt road with a nice downhill ride from Bořetín to Dubice. From 24 to 25 you will pass through the sandstone formations on the left and you will finish the E-bike trip on an asphalt road. But you should pay attention for signs written on the road “ŽÁBY” – it means that frogs may be crossing the road in tropes and you should not kill any (they are very slippery…). And back in Zahrádky you can visit “Hospůdka U Zámku” restaurant where they may give you 10% discount if you mention our blog.
At point 10 you may stop at something you may not have seen yet – the second hand shop “Sekáček v lese” operated by Mrs. Hrošková – she may not be there, but pick anything you like and leave Kč 20 per piece of clothing in a little box. You will not be able to find better deal anywhere in the world!
https://en.mapy.cz/s/hetorelotu 36 km, 440 m elevation gain. To see this E-bike trip in context, check our interactive maps.
Would like to do the ride when the weather gets better. Thanks a lot for the writing, pictures, taking the exercise, so well organised. I appreciate it.