Down the Picturesque Valley North of České Budějovice

A TOP trip - a recommended sight-seeing trip in České Budějovice

Follow us down a cycling trail from České Budějovice, through beautiful country, which leads you along the Vltava river via Hluboká nad Vltavou to Purkarec. You can visit the castle at Hluboká nad Vltavou, see gorgeous views of the Hněvkovice Reservoir, ride under the ancient Baba hillfort and around the Old Game Park to the Karvanice Nature Reserve. Visit the Karlův Hrádek ruin, see the timber rafting museum, and maybe go a little further to learn about nuclear power at the Temelín NPP.

Which way is it

From České Budějovice (parking lot by Dlouhý bridge), follow CT 12 to Hluboká nad Vltavou (route follows left bank of the Vltava), past the Sports and Relaxation Center, still along the left bank, and take CT 1079 to Purkarec (possible detour via Karlův Hrádek). The cycling trail has an asphalt top. The České Budějovice – Hluboká nad Vltavou section is flat, and the next Hluboká nad Vltavou – Purkarec section gradually becomes hilly. That part of the cycling trail is lined with information panels on the fauna and flora and roofed resting places.

If you wish to extend your trip with a visit to the Temelín NPP, from Purkarec follow CT 1079 and once out of the village, turn left down a red hiking trail, join CT 1095 and follow it to Býšov and then down the main road to Temelín NPP.

Returning to České Budějovice from Purkarec, take the same route. If the trip tires you, or if you want more variety, you can take the regular boat cruise line operated by Vojtěch Lanna Jr., a boat that can also take your bicycle (timetable here). If you decide to visit Temelín NPP and do not feel like going back to Purkarec, you and your bicycles can take the yellow line of the Cyklotrans transit system back to České Budějovice (timetable here).

What to see and experience

• České Budějovice – see the historic center with Přemysl Otakar II Square, Samson Fountain, Black Tower, Old City Hall, Piarist Square, and much more.
• Master wild rapids on a raft or canoe at the Lída Polesná Whitewater Center in České Vrbné.
• Bavorovice – the central part of the village is a heritage zone featuring vernacular farmsteads of the moorland type, a smithy with a belfry and an 18th-century chapel.
• Hluboká nad Vltavou – learn about history at the castle. For sports, adrenaline and fun, go to the Hluboká Sport and Relaxation Center, the golf course or the swimming area. See animals at Ohrada Zoo, horses at Vondrov, etc.
• Take a ride through the beautiful country around the Old Game Park stretching from Hluboká nad Vltavou to the Gothic Karlův Hrádek ruin. The Old Game Park includes the Baba nature park with remnants of a Celtic oppidum.
• Karlův Hrádek – freely accessible romantic Gothic castle ruin. Charles IV had the castle built in the 14th century as his personal place of relaxation.
• Purkarec – former timber rafting village; visit the local timber rafting museum, where preserved documents, photographs, models and everyday items will teach you a lot about building timber rafts, making withes, clothes and rafting tools, etc.
• Býšov – a 14th-century fort mentioned as the seat of brothers Arnošt and Kunín of Býšov. See the museum exhibits dedicated to the fort itself and life in forts in general, archeological finds in the area and distilleries in the Czech Lands.
• Temelín NPP – visit Temelín Nuclear Power Plant Information Center inside the Renaissance chateau of Vysoký Hrádek, which contains a technical multimedia exhibition on nuclear power and physics. Learn interesting facts about Temelín NPP and its operation and more.