Adršpach-Teplice Rocks

Hello friends. In this post, I want to share our visit to the rock formations of Adršpach-Teplice located in the northern part of the Czech Republic. We arrived in the late afternoon, had dinner at the hotel, spent the night and the next morning, we woke up early to start walking. The hotel we stayed at is named Hotel Javor. This wonderful hotel is situated just 400 meters away from the entrance of the conservation area.

There was rainy weather outside and people were wearing raincoats. First we headed towards the main entrance. It's marked as the location of the railway station. This area seems like a private courtyard, making it an ideal spot for those arriving by train. In front of us there were massive rock formations and we continued towards the entrance.

At this point you can purchase entrance tickets. Since the visitor count can be high during peak seasons, it's better to buy tickets online in advance for a specific time. The same applies to the parking area, which can also be reserved in advance on the website.

After passing through the ticket booth, we immediately encountered a lake. The entrance fee is 180 Czech Korunas for a single person, and a family ticket for two children and two adults costs 520 Czech Korunas. There's even a separate fee for dogs. The first lake we saw had been formed by flooded quarries and had shades of blue, green and turquoise.

We continued our journey by following the marked paths. Since this is a protected area, wandering around on your own is not allowed. There are benches for resting, and signboards indicating each rock formation are everywhere. There are many different rocks here, some reaching heights of up to 90 meters, each with their own names.

One of the most interesting rocks is referred to as the "Sugar Cone" due to its shape. These rocks seem to stand on stalks but a closer look reveals their support. The gates built in 1839 possess an iconic and impressive appearance.

Walking towards the bridge, we reached the riverside and arrived at Elephant Square. Everything here appears extraordinary like a scene from a movie. The gates constructed in 1839 are striking and reminiscent of fairy tale worlds.

These rocks have unique shapes and even names. Some scenes, including portions of "The Chronicles of Narnia" were filmed here intermittently. Taking a walk here is truly worthwhile, even in rainy weather, to witness this magical scenery.

Here are the elephants. Many formations resembling elephants have occurred, formed in that direction. We continued along the green path. Then we planned to switch to a blue trail.

Here there was a mark from 1844 indicating the water level. That's 189 meters. To reach that point, we had to go further. This area was entirely covered with water. There's a theory about how these magnificent mountain shapes formed. It's said that this area used to be a sea, with the sea floor covered in limestone, sandstone and various rock types. Eventually, the sea receded, and natural elements like rain, sun, cold and wind sculpted these rocks into their current shapes.

In my opinion this theory is a bit incomplete, as the nature reserve is situated about 500-600 meters above sea level.

Then comes the sign known as the 'devil's bridge.'

Here there's a lightning-struck stone, like a frame, with the Donetsk Miner's symbol beneath it.

On the right there's the Madonna rock, probably not a singer. However we couldn't find it there, there were no distinct contours.

The rock's surface is covered by a yellow mushroom like color, entirely acidic in hue. Next to the Madonna rocks, we turned right and went uphill.

Here are these steps. Then we descended a bit. Our friend slipped a little. Thankfully they grabbed onto the railing fearlessly, everything was okay, no harm done. We didn't have to call anyone for help.

Here's a place like this, a list of those who have died during tours or mountain accidents. Generally it's a list of individuals who lost their lives in this place due to unreliable or natural conditions. Unfortunately deaths have occurred here.

Reserves have developed climbing in designated areas, but only licensed individuals are permitted. However if anything happens, you can call rescuers. Numbered posts are placed all around the reserve. You just state the number and help comes to find you.

The green path ended here and we transitioned to the yellow one. There's also a small waterfall here.

We continued our descent. It's very narrow, there's hardly any space here. Crossing on a boat costs 100 kronas. We tried to make a card payment. There was no signal there. We didn't have kronas. So we ended up paying in euros. They even provided change for euros. It was around 4.50 according to the exchange rate but they calculated it as 5 euros. A tight passage.

After crossing the narrow passage, we arrived at an artificial water area with a Czech gondola gliding on it. This water doesn't freeze in winter. It looked daunting at first. But then the gondolier came, conducted a survey to determine which side we came from and to figure out which language he should use for the tour. By the way we traveled with a Polish group because we were only 5 km away from the Polish border. Most tourists come from Poland. I'm sure you can pay here not only with euros but also with zlotys.

There's a bridge like this. This wooden bridge is laid over the mud. It's a complete swamp. You almost sink as soon as you step anywhere. There are these red dots around, as if something should be attached to them. Because they are not clickable. There's a post filled with these signs. We continued on the blue path.

Continuing further seemed normal to me, about nine kilometers according to my estimation and it seemed like a quite interesting route. But we took a big curve, we wanted to see what was there. Calling this part of the path a trail is a bit difficult because it's rocky. We went uphill, and everything around us was in mist. It gave off vibes like Stephen King's book 'The Mist.' Despite it being summer there's snow here. The sun doesn't reach here doesn't shine here. It's much cooler here.

As we descended it felt colder. They even hung a thermometer here for you to check; it was one degree.

A very nice sign: "Be quiet, don't make noise," like some sort of castle wall, as if showing a passage. Everything is covered in moss. Like something out of a fairytale.

Here's another rock, like a horse's head.

There should be a castle here but you have to reach it using these stairs. 300 steps upwards. We gave up on this idea. We didn't go because we were quite tired.

There was a sign, it said 500 meters to the exit. A bit more, and we would leave this wonderful place. There it was, the sign was standing there; we were finally leaving the conservation area. It was like making a half-circle, a vast pasture. But what's interesting is that we never retraced the same path. We constantly saw new things, so we ended up in a completely different village and had to get to our hotel where we left our car.

From the village of Teplice, we needed to walk 4 km to our hotel or we could have used the train, but we decided to walk the entire way.

A miracle happened; the sun came out. We weren't expecting it at all because the chance of rain was very high, around 80-90%, and until 8 in the evening. But as we were heading back the sun was shining and warming us nicely.

When we returned to our hotel room, we were very tired. But we thought it was all worth it. We felt like we had gone to a fairy tale world and returned.

When it comes to recommendations, first stay here after a tiring hike, especially if a long journey awaits you afterward. Second if you're coming by car, sort out the parking situation beforehand. Our hotel also provided parking and breakfast. Third you can also stay in the village of Teplice, the entrance fee is cheaper there. And most importantly plan and travel.

Thanks for reading.