Probably, Šumava is our most favourite national park. We had been planning for quite a long time that once we have a free weekend, we would like to go to a three-day trek in Šumava. Just to walk, to sleep in a tent and in the morning to go again. So one day we set out for that trip with our friends. With backpacks on our backs, from Špičák to Kvilda.

• Type of trip: walking
• Difficulty: medium (if you are a little bit used to walking)
• Elevation: ↑ 4950 ft, ↓ 4215 ft
• Length of the trek according to maps: 31 mi
• Real length: 34 mi
• Time of walking according to maps: 15:44
• Real time: a three-day trek
• The date we were there: 23. – 25. 8. 2019
• Transport to the place: by train from Prague to Špičák – approx 3 hours
(you can buy the tickets on eshop ČD or at the train station)
• Transport back: by bus from Kvilda to Prague – approx 3 hours and 30 minutes
(you can buy the tickets on idos website or in the bus)
• Visited places: Špičák (town), Čertovo jezero (lake), Nocoviště Hůrka u Prášil (campsite), Jezero Laka (lake), Poledník (lookout tower), Tříjezerní slať (lakes), Nocoviště Modrava (campsite), Pivovar Modrava (brewery), Kvilda (town)

Day 1

Plan for this day: Špičák → Čertovo jezero → Nocoviště Hůrka u Prášil

From a pub near our train station, we went in the direction of Čertovo jezero (lake). There was quite a huge hill right at the beginning, but it definitely worth the effort. The lake is beautiful. The water. Unbelievably clear. When we came to the lake, there were few people, like ten or something, however, when we went a bit farther there was no one. Just we and the breathtaking nature. In the water, there was glittering sand and some aquatic insect. The birds were singing and it was just such a nice place to stay.

Nevertheless, we had to set off in half an hour, to come to our campsite near Prášily in time. It was a nice walk, only the road could be more natural (there was a tarmac road), but whatever. It was ascending almost for the whole time. We went very slowly and came to the campsite at night. We didn’t expect many people there, however it was pretty full and there was almost no place to build a tent. Btw, you can’t have a tent anywhere in nature in Šumava, if you want to save money, you can use some of the free campsites here (as we did). In case you need more info – go to this site (it’s in Czech, but there is a map showing the placement of these campsites).

Day 2

Plan for this day: Nocoviště Hůrka u Prášil → Jezero Laka → Poledník → Tříjezerní slať → Nocoviště Modrava

The next day, we were supposed to went to another campsite. The path was more natural and it was a very pleasant walk. Our first stop was jezero Laka (lake), beautiful and clear like Čertovo jezero (the previous lake). There was also a nice seating to have a snack.

We continued to Poledník. Poledník is a mountain with a lookout tower at the top. During our way to the top, there was a huge thunderstorm. It was pretty scary, the lightnings were everywhere around us and we were soaked to the bone. Of course, there is no place to hide on a way to a mountain. When we finally reached the top, hailstones started to fall, we hid under the lookout tower and bought something hot to eat (excellent garlic soup and sausage with bread). We didn’t go to the lookout tower because it was too rainy and foggy and we wouldn’t see a thing. In case you had more luck with the weather and wanted to go there, THERE is a link with the opening hours and prices.

When the rain stopped pouring, we took off for another campsite. This time it was in Modrava and we wanted to have a short stop in Tříjezerní slať (lakes). Because of the storm, we had a big delay. Nonetheless, the walk was awesome. After the rain, there was a fog and with the setting sun, it looked perfect. Anyway, we didn’t make it to the campsite, not even to Tříjezerní slať, so we just took our sleeping bags, placed it to carefully chosen places (so as we didn’t hurt any plants or anything) and slept till the morning.

Day 3

Plan for this day: Nocoviště Modrava → Pivovar Modrava → Kvilda

In the morning (like every day) we got up pretty soon, in order to make it to Kvilda in time. Our bus was leaving at 4 pm, so we didn’t have much time to waste.

We finally visited Tříjezerní slať (which we didn’t manage to visit the day before). The place was full of nice wooden paths. We spent some time here and then we continued to Modrava. Near Modrava we found a small village called Pivovar (means brewery). There was a brewery and nothing else. We had a beer (opening hours) and set out to Kvilda. It wasn’t very far away, so we were here soon enough and we even had some time left to have lunch.

If you had more time left in Kvilda, you can visit the tourist information centre, or go to see deers and lynx to Kvilda visitors centre.

Before the trip, it’s good to check the possible current restrictions on some routes in Šumava. You can find it either in the visitor rules (down on the page, PDF attachment number 1) or sometimes it marked right in the map.

Video

Please, excuse the quality of the video, it is one of the first videos I’ve ever made. Moreover, it’s a lot shaky since I didn’t have any stabilizer for my camera when I was shooting it. I hope that it will be enough to serve its purpose and to show you the amazing nature of Šumava.

Itinerary

In case you want to set out for the trip, we can send you our itinerary (.pdf document) for free to your email, so as you don’t have to waste your time with planning 😉

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