Czech Republic’s mountains: sport, recreation and endless relaxation

IT’S MORE THAN JUST SKIING

Ski and adventure

The Špindlerův Mlýn ski resort in the Krkonoše (Giant) Mountains (www.skiareal.cz) stands among the best known Czech ski areas. It offers 25 km of downhill runs and 90 km of cross-country trails. You can experience a quality winter vacation here and never know a moment’s boredom – and not even after the snow boots come off. Directly at Špindlerův mlýn, there is a bobsleigh run, an adventure park where you can feel the adrenaline on a giant swing, fanciers of speedy runs can ride the snow scooters, romantics will fall for a ride with a dog team, and probably everybody will enjoy sledging or snowtubing. (www.yellow-point.cz, www.snowtubingpark.cz, www.bobovka.cz a www.sankarska-draha.cz)

The Jizera Mountains also offer excellent conditions for sport lovers. The Ještěd resort (www.skijested.cz) stretches out from the edge of Liberec and is ideally positioned inasmuch as it is only an hour from Prague. It offers ski runs at all levels of difficulty, and visitors can go straight from skiing to the Babylon aquapark (www.centrumbabylon.cz), which offers a truly wide range of attractions. A new attraction is aquazorbing.

Fans of sporting events can also set out for the Czech Republic’s mountains. During 12 to 14 February at Nové Město na Moravě in the Czech-Moravian Highlands will be the running of the well-known Zlatá lyže (Golden Ski) cross-country ski race (www.zlatalyze.cz). Incidentally, the area aroundNové Město na Moravě (http://holiday.nmnm.cz) is a true cross-country skier’s paradise. The groomed ski trails are laid out over a distance of 100 kilometres. Another well-known cross-country race is the Patria Direct Jizerská 50 (http://bezky.jiz50.cz). The race is run on 10 January in Bedřichov. The Jizera Mountains also are among the favourite cross-country skiing locations. Here one will find the Jizera Trail, with a total length of 155 km (www.jizerskamagistrala.cz).

You can really get your adrenalin pumping in the Czech Republic’s mountains. Perhaps in Krušné hory (the Ore Mountains), on the open plains around Boží Dar, the city with the highest elevation in the Czech Republic. Here is located the biggest winter snowkiting centre in the Czech Republic (www.kite-skola.cz). In this sport, you are pulled forward by the wind as it swells into your kite. But Boží Dar has something to offer those who want more than “just” skiing and snowboarding. At the Boží Dar – Neklid ski resort you will find several downhill runs and a snowpark. The Novako ski resort is especially suited to beginners, families with children and seniors (www.bozidar.cz).

When it comes to food, a sportsman ought not cheat oneself. A winter holiday provides an excellent opportunity to learn something about Czech cuisine. During your visit, perhaps you will choose one of the restaurants bearing the Czech Specials certification. This is your guarantee that you will find the national speciality marinated beef sirloin in cream sauce on the menu and at least one regional dish. A complete overview of restaurants in the mountains (and elsewhere) can be found at www.czechspecials.com. (This gastronomic project is a joint effort of the agency CzechTourism, the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, and the Association of Chefs and Confectioners.)

This possibility is offered at the Monínec ski centre in Central Bohemia, which is conveniently situated just 80 kilometres from Prague. In winter there is downhill and cross-country skiing here, and, if you fall in love with it, then come back in the summer, when grass skiing is underway (www.moninec.cz).

Are you a party of non-skiers and you’d like to enjoy the fresh mountain air? Why not? Maybe you should head for the Moravian Beskids, where, in addition to lovers of classic winter sports, those who do not ski at all will have a great time. One possibility is to rent snowshoes and set out to drink in deeply the winter landscape. The offer even includes night-time excursions with head lamps (http://winter.beskydysport.cz). And just maybe you’ll sign up for ski school after all and do some skiing. The Bílá ski resort (www.skibila.cz), with its easy to medium-difficulty slopes, will be ideal for your first attempts. 

AN ALLURING COMBINATION: WINTER SPORTS AND SPAS

Just like winter sports, “taking the waters” has a great tradition in the Czech Republic. Moreover, you can combine these two healthy and wholesome activities in order truly to enjoy their maximum benefit. This is possible in several locations.

Priessnitz Spa Health Centre (www.priessnitz.cz) and Karlova Studánka spa (www.k.studanka.cz) are in the same Jeseník mountains where the Praděd-Ovčárna ski resort is located(www.figura.cz). This is the highest-elevation ski centre in the Czech Republic.

The most famous Czech spas, Karlovy Vary (www.karlovyvary.cz), Mariánské Lázně (www.marienbad.cz) and Františkovy Lázně (www.franzensbad.cz), are situated in the vicinity of Krušné hory (the Ore Mountains). The largest ski centre in those mountains is the Klínovec ski resort (www.klinovec.cz). The Jáchymov spa (www.laznejachymov.cz) is located directly in the Ore Mountains.

Tourists may enjoy the combination of spa and mountains also in the Krkonoše Mountains. Very nearby to the spas of Janské lázně (www.janskelazne.com/) is located Ski Resort Černá hora (www.cerna-hora.cz). This is a new ski region which was founded in connection with the resorts in Janské Lázně, Černý Důl, and Svoboda nad Úpou. The resort in Janské Lázně has available an eight-passenger cable car and downhill courses that are among the longest in the Czech Republic.

In the Jizera Mountains you can let yourself be pampered at the Libverda Spa (www.lazne-libverda.cz and www.laznelibverda.cz), 30 kilometres from Liberec. The largest ski centre in the Jizera Mountains is Tanvaldský Špičák (www.skijizerky.cz).

THE CZECH REPUBLIC’S MOUNTAINS ARE FAMILY FRIENDLY

The mountains make an ideal place for a wintertime family holiday. Ski schools for children and adults, as well as learning slopes for the children,are the usual standard for high-quality ski centres. In fact, you will find many of these. An entire network of schools for children and adults, which operates in 20 winter sport centres across the entire country, is at web address www.sunski.cz.

A good example of a family centre is Lipno Ski Resort (www.lipnoservis.cz) in South Bohemia’s Šumava Mountains. Here is the modern Foxpark kapitána Lipánka learning centre, which has three magic carpet lifts plus fairytale and animal-theme slaloms. The children ski, too, on seven high-visibility and low-difficulty runs, and here the entire family may also go ice skating (see the 3 mountain mosts). Also on offer is a wide range of free time (aprés-ski) activities, and families with children also are invited to animated programmes. These can be found also in other hotels, among which are, for example, www.hotel-aurum.cz (Krkonoše Mountains), http://aparthotel.sumava2000.cz (Šumava), and www.centrumbabylon.cz (Jizera Mountains).

The most high Czech mountains are theKrkonoše Mountains. Among well-known ski centres are Špindlerův Mlýn, Pec pod Sněžkou, Harrachov, and Rokytnice nad Jizerou. The most demanding skiers come to all of these. An overview of the Krkonoše ski resorts can be found at www.ergis.cz.

The most large ski area in the Czech Republic is called SKIREGION.CZ (www.skiregion.cz), and it is situated on the border between the Krkonoše and Jizera mountains. It offers altogether 40.5 km of downhill runs and 200 km of cross-country trails. The region includes the ski centres of Harrachov, Rokytnice nad Jizerou, Paseky nad Jizerou, Rejdice, and Příchovice.

The most long groomed skating track is laid out each year on the frozen lake Lipno na Šumavě. It measures nearly 11 kilometres and, according to available information, is even the longest skating track in the world.

A clearly ordered listing of prices for ski passes in the Czech Republic’s winter sport centres can be found at www.holidayinfo.cz.