*Wild walks in Divoká Šárka: highlights of Prague’s mountain reserve (7 km to 13 km circuits)*

• Divoká Šárka is an area of extraordinary natural beauty, situated just 5 km from the centre of Prague. On some of the trails in this protected park it feels like hiking through an incredibly ancient mountain range. It would be difficult to find another European capital city with an equally dramatic landscape so close to its centre. The landscape has been created by Šarecký stream carving a deep gorge through 600 million year old sedimentary and volcanic rock, leaving a rugged and twisting ravine, strewn with giant boulders that have tumbled down the dark cliffs.
• The Šárka valley and its rocky outcrops were settled by several different cultures of prehistoric man, long before the first foundations of the Prague were laid down. Gravettian hunter-gatherers camped, possibly over several thousand years, in the fields close to the current day chateau Jenerálka, where the Šarecký and Nebušický streams join. Some 22,000 years ago, in the middle of the last ice age, Prague and its surroundings would have been a bleak and icy steppe landscape, the glacier tongues no more than a few days walk away. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors presumably found the sheltered Šárka valley a convenient location to process their hunted wild horse, woolly mammoth and reindeer.
• Future generations of prehistoric farmers also came to view Šárka as a favoured site. Neolithic and Bronze Age settlers started to use the naturally well protected hill that today looks down over the Džbán reservoir, possibly as a fortified sanctuary. Certainly, when the Slavic tribes arrived in the area around the sixth century AD, they determined that the hilltop site – known today as Hradiště Šárka – could be a location for their main centre of power in the area.
• The Slavic fortifications, dating from the 8th-10th centuries, are barely visible today, but the site and the views from it are certainly dramatic. The Slavic fortress was probably abandoned soon after the foundation of nearby Prague castle and ever since then Šárka has been left as a natural wilderness.
• Today, Šárka is a popular destination for Prague residents, especially on warm weekends when the parking area next to McDonald’s on the Evropská main road can seem as crowded as the Old Town Square. However, just a short step from McDonald’s doors, the wilderness remains virtually untouched and the routes described below will hopefully allow anyone escaping the metropolis to enjoy a hike through Prague’s unique ‘mountain’ landscape.
• Several circuits of different lengths are available. A full 19 km loop which takes in the whole valley is explored in the Baba and Šarka valley walk. On this page shorter loops only in the (more scenic) western end of the valley are discussed.
• All the three circuits pictured in the maps and described briefly below can be started from the McDonald’s car park or the nearby Divoká Šárka tram stop (which is the end of the line). However, a quieter starting point (for the 13 km and 7 km circuits) is the car park at the Artima sporting area (which can also be accessed with a 700m walk from the Veleslavín metro station).
• The 13 km circuit visits all the main viewpoints in the area, as well as Hradiště Šárka, with some 250 m of climbing to negotiate. In places it will feel like a gentle hike in a mountainous region. The 7 km hiking option has 150m of height to ascend/descend and its main section follows the course of the Šarecký stream. It also includes a visit to the Šárka hillfort.
• The route suitable for walking with a baby stroller/buggy – which is also up to 7km long – is entirely on good asphalt paths, and also partly follows the Šarecký stream. It is not a completely flat walk, though, and has 130m of ascent/descent.
• Refreshments on all the described routes can be found at the popular Hostinec Dívčí skok pub, located close to the swimming pool, at the bottom of the valley (and of course at McDonald’s…).

13 km circuit

7 km circuit

Circuit with a baby stroller/buggy – 7 km

Directions – main 13km route

• Start the walk at the Artima sporting area located 700m from the Evropsá main road (turning of this road at the Veleslavín metro station)
• From the car park, follow the cycle path toward the forest for 300m to reach the hiking signpost of Kemping , and the RED hiking trail
• Turn left on the RED trail in the direction of Džbán and walk for 1km on a good gently rising footpath, until reaching the Hradiště signpost
• At the signpost, leave the RED trail and follow the path, marked as leading to the Hradiště. After 100m on this path, there is a detour to the right, marked as leading to rocky viewpoints. This detour is worth taking for the excellent views down into the gorge
• Form the rocky viewpoint area return back to the main path and continue for a further 250m to reach the entrance to the main fortified area of the hillfort. The path ascends to the right through the spot where an ancient gate would have been located, to reach the plateau area (the highest part of the fortress where the acropolis would have been located). It is definitely worth taking this path into the hillfort, and then circling around the ramparts (roughly a 600m circuit) for the variety of views
• From the hillfort entrance descend quite steeply on the footpath towards the Džbán reservoir, which is reached after 400m (and rejoining the RED trail)
• Follow the RED trail along the reservoir wall , and 100m of the south bank of the reservoir. The trail then ascends up steep steps to reach the Dolní Liboc tram stop (hiking signpost). From the signpost, join the YELLOW trail and follow this along the main road and on the road that passes below the McDonald’s restaurant (note: it is possible to avoid the road section by cutting across the field and joining the YELLOW trail just below McDonald’s)
• Continue on the YELLOW trail from McDonald’s reaching the Vaníčkův pomníček signpost after 1.8km and the Purkrabský háj signpost after a further 1.7km. This attractive path leads through the centre of the park and then skirts its northern edge
• At Purkrabský háj leave the YELLOW trail and join the RED trail in the direction of Nebušice.
• After 400m on the RED trail reach the signpost of Rozcestník, where there is a marked detour to the right, leading after 200m to the Nebušická vyhlídka, arguably the best viewpoint in the park
• From the viewpoint, return to the Rozcestník signpost and there take the wide (but unmarked) footpath to the left, which descends into the forest. This attractive path is a nice shortcut that leads after 400m to the RED trail. Continue descending on the RED trail for 300m to reach the summer swimming pool (Koupaliště)
• At the swimming pool, leave the RED trail, turning left onto the cycle path (which is an asphalt road) which follows the Šarecký stream past the popular pub Hostinec Dívčí skok (refreshment option), and the attractive old mill – the Čertův Mlýn – now a private residence
• 500m after the old mill, leave the asphalt path just as it starts to climb, turning onto footpath to the left, which is also a marked cycle pat. This path, which can sometimes be a little muddy and wet, leads ultimately to Jenerálka, location of Paleolithic archaeological site
• After 2km, this path meets the RED hiking trail. Turn right onto the RED trail which climbs steeply up the forested terrace, and traverses through the forest, with occasional viewpoints, reaching the Kemping signpost after 1.9km. From there it is just 300m back to the Aritma car park
• Note: If starting at the McDonald’s car park, or the nearby tram stop, follow the circuit in a clockwise direction using the above directions, starting first on the YELLOW trail, and returning rom the Kemping signpost, through the hillfort section as the last part of the walk

Directions for the shorter routes

• For the shorter (7km) hiking route, follow the directions described above from Aritma, until reaching the McDonald’s restaurant. From McDonald’s take the RED trail which descends into the gorge, following the Šarecký stream. At the swimming pool, turn off the RED trail following the asphalt cycle path past the Hostinec Dívčí skok (refreshment option), and the attractive old mill – the Čertův Mlýn. Continue on the cycle path as it follows the stream, and then climbs steeply up to the Aritma sports area, which is reached 2.2km from the swimming pool
• For the route entirely on asphalt paths, suitable for walking with a baby stroller/buggy, start at the McDonald’s tram stop, and follow the YELLOW trail for 1.7km, initial on a flat section and then descending into the valley. Just after the tourist seating area (an altán), the YELLOW trail turns left into the forest, away from the asphalt path. Stay on the asphalt path and after 400m the path rejoins the YELLOW trail. Turn right onto the trail and follow this for 800m to reach the Purkrabský háj signpost. Here turn right onto RED trail and descend for 800m to reach the stream and swimming pool. At the swimming pool there is an option to follow the stream further (past the Hostinec Dívčí skok) on this very attractive (and popular) section of the path, which is a signposted cycle path, eg as far as the Čertův Mlýn. Return back to the swimming pool and take the RED trail for 1.3km back to the McDonald’s/tram stop