The castles of Bohemian Paradise
An hour east of Houska the sandstone grows taller and the castles grow stranger. Bohemian Paradise, Český ráj in Czech, packs rock towns and a handful of castles into a small corner of north Bohemia, among them a ruin perched on two volcanic stumps and a castle no army ever took. It does not combine easily with Houska in one day, but it makes a fine second day out of Prague.
A different kind of rock country
Bohemian Paradise lies about 60 km (37 miles) north-east of Prague and roughly an hour's drive east of Houska. It was declared in 1955 as the first nature reserve in the country, and today it is the only UNESCO Global Geopark in the Czech Republic. The heart of it is sandstone, worn into towers and narrow passages (one tour listing mentions forms up to 60 m tall), and the castles were built on top of the rock or wedged between it.
If you have seen the Kokořínsko hills around Houska, the stone will look familiar and the scale will not. Kokořínsko has its mushroom rocks and quiet valleys, which our Kokořín guide walks you through. Here the rock rises into whole labyrinths, and Prachov Rocks, protected as a reserve since 1933, is the best known of them.
Trosky, the castle on two volcanoes
Trosky is the silhouette on every Bohemian Paradise poster. Two basalt volcanic plugs stand side by side on a hill, each crowned with masonry. The lower peak, Baba, reaches 47 m, and the higher, Panna, 57 m. In Czech, Baba means old woman and Panna means maiden, so the castle is a crone and a girl facing each other above the ruins, and on a gray day it looks every bit as eerie as that sounds. Čeněk of Wartenberg founded it in the 14th century, and it first appears in writing in 1396.
It is a ruin, not a furnished castle, and the appeal lies in the climb and the outline against the sky. From Houska it is the furthest of the castles here, about 69 km (43 miles) and roughly 72 minutes by car, and about 100 km (62 miles) from Prague. We could not check its season or ticket prices, so look them up before you drive out.
Kost, the castle nobody took
Kost stands in Libošovice, in the Jičín district, and unlike Trosky it survives as a whole castle rather than a ruin. Beneš of Wartenberg founded it before 1349. It was never conquered, and its setting, tucked away among three valleys, goes some way to explaining why.
Kost means bone in Czech, a fittingly stark name, although the Visita Praga tour listing traces it to the Latin "de Costa". The same listing says the castle was nationalized in 1948 and opened to visitors in 1950. It is the closest of the region's castles to Houska, about 51 km (32 miles) and just under an hour by road, and the only one with its own tour on this site, the Kost day trip from Prague.
Valdštejn, Hrubá Skála and Prachov
Valdštejn is a castle ruin about 62 km (39 miles) from Houska. Hrubá Skála, about 64 km (40 miles) away, is both a rock town and a chateau set among the rocks, and the chateau now works as a hotel.
Prachov Rocks is the place to walk. Paths thread through narrow sandstone passages and climb to viewpoints over the forest. The Adventure Tribe tour spends its morning here, on a hike of about 3.5 km (2.2 miles) that takes two hours.
We could not verify the season, hours or prices for Trosky, Kost, Valdštejn or Hrubá Skála. Check each castle's own website before you go, especially in spring and autumn, when castles in this part of Bohemia often open at weekends only, as Houska and Kokořín do in April and October.
Two ways to go from Prague
| Bohemian Paradise hike | Kost day trip | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$151 per person | ~$674 per group up to 2, ~$743 for 4 |
| Length | 8.5 hours from 8 am | 6 hours from 9 am |
| Group | Small group, at most 8, or private | Private car |
| Castle | Lunch inside an unnamed 14th-century castle | Guided tour of Kost |
| Food | Lunch and a beer tasting included | Not included |
| Reviews | 4.98 from 255 | New, none yet |
The Adventure Tribe hike is the crowd favorite, at ~$151 per person (discounted from $201), with its guides rated 5.0 and its value 4.9. A 9-seat van leaves Prague at 8 am for an 80-minute drive. You hike Prachov Rocks for about two hours and eat lunch inside a 14th-century castle, one main and one drink. Then comes a tasting of three or more beers at a craft brewery in Lomnice nad Popelkou. Raincoats and crampons are provided, and it runs rain or shine.
Read the fine print. The listing rules out people over 70 and anyone with a low level of fitness. One reviewer found it a little overpriced with too little time at the castle, and another said the nature part is short. If the brewery is closed at a weekend, the group goes to another beer cellar instead.
Rocks first, castle lunch after
From ~$151 per person with hotel pickup at 8 am and no more than eight guests. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The Visita Praga trip is the castle-first choice. A private car collects you at 9 am for six hours, with a guided tour of Kost and its admission included, plus rock areas the listing does not name. It costs ~$674 for up to two people and about $743 for four. Lunch at a local restaurant is at your own cost, and the tour is new with no reviews yet.
Pairing it with Houska
Neither tour goes near Houska, and the private Houska tour (~$923 for up to three) pairs it with Kokořín rather than Bohemian Paradise. For most visitors that means two separate days out of Prague, one for the gateway to hell and one for the rock towns. Read the Houska legend before the first, and the second will feel like daylight after it.
With a car you can join them in one long day. Houska opens at 10 am with tours on the hour, and Kost is just under an hour beyond it. The castle's site does not state how long a Houska tour lasts, and we could not check Kost's hours, so plan loosely and confirm both. Trosky, at 72 minutes from Houska, is a stretch after a morning there. Our day-trip guide has sample plans, and the route to Houska explains the roads north of Prague. If an hour east feels too far, Bezděz and Mělník lie within 30 km of the castle.
Choosing your day
- You want to walk and drink a beer at the end. The Adventure Tribe hike, with the most reviews of any tour on this site.
- You want a castle interior and a slower pace. The Kost trip, priced for a couple or a small family.
- You have a car. Kost plus Prachov, or Trosky late in the afternoon for the light on its towers.
- You came for Houska. Do that day first, then come here. What you see inside Houska sets the bar for everything after.