Trip to the North Upper Palatinate Forest

The beginning of the trip (about 2 km) leads from Chodová Planá comfortably along the cycle path built next to the main road. The ancient town is definitely worth a stop for its numerous monuments, such as the Museum of Mining or the hundred-years-old lookout tower on Bohušův Hill. Then continue along Cycle Route No. 2138, which heads to Tachov, but in Nahý Újezdec turn right onto the Cycle Route No. 2169. Alternating between dirt roads and district roads, you will walk through the villages of Březí and Ctiboř to Halže, a large village on a rolling hill. After another 4 kilometres or so, the settlement of Branka with a recreational resort appears. There is an Olšový pond on the Mies River where you can swim, stay in a guesthouse and dine in a restaurant.

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On the way to the border crossing

The 15-kilometre-long Branka cycling educational trail leads through the surroundings of the village. The initial part of it will lead you through the wooded terrain to the Pavlův Studenec border crossing. However, you can continue to the same place from Cycle Route No. 2169 along the road leading to Bärnau, Bavaria. This Upper Palatinate town is famous for the production of mother-of-pearl buttons, the history of which can be explored in the local museum. Various events also commemorate the town’s connection with the legacy of Jan Hus, who received a friendly welcome here on his way to the Council of Constance.

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Learn about the life in a Slavic Mediaeval village

A great attraction is the historical park, built in cooperation with the town of Tachov. Based on archaeological findings, medieval settlements from the 8th to 13th centuries are reconstructed here using original materials and techniques. Visitors can walk through an early Slavic settlement in a unique environment, see a later castle on a hill with a church and a village of the High Middle Ages, which represents the progress of the art of construction. The trip can continue to the district town: you will arrive in Liebenstein along a marked cycle path, from where you will follow the cycle path built on the track of the former local railway (Bärnau–Wiesau). Our destination, Tirschenreuth is the centre of the fishing pond region and therefore has a museum that traces the more than 1,000-year-long history of fish farming and pond building in the region.

Route: Chodová Planá – Planá – Halže – Bärnau – Tirschenreuth

Start: Chodová Planá

Finish: Tirschenreuth

Character: medium-long route mostly following roads, with a significant climb only to the border saddle below Studenec Hill.