So, how to visit the Adršpach-Teplice Skály national park. The Adršpach-Teplice Skály is a fantastic rock labyrinth located North East of the Czech Republic and less than 7km from the Polish border.
We visited the Adršpach-Teplice as a part of our 2-week road trip holiday (Uk to Czech Republic), and it was a last-minute stop. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never heard of it before.
The Adršpach-Teplice Skály has been part of the Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area since 1991 and is becoming very popular as a tourist site.
The sandstone formations extend for 17km, and the main closest villages are the village of Adršpach and Teplice nad Metuji.
Besides being a fantastic and magical park to visit, the story behind it is even more impressive.
Cool facts about the Adršpach-Teplice Skály
So these incredible rocks are estimated to be over 89 million years old, and all of it was once covered in water. The reason why they have got funny shapes it was due to the power of the water.
The area was entirely wild for many years, covered in trees and plants. In 1824 there was a great fire that exposed completely these rocks.
In the 19th century, Baron Ludvík Karel Nádherný created the hiking trails that nowadays are used to visit the park.
How to get to Adršpach-Teplice Skály
By car
The Adršpach-Teplice park is about 180 km from Prague. Renting out a car is the easiest because it only takes 2.5 hours.
You can pay for the car park online when you buy the entrance tickets.
By train
It takes about 3.5 hours from Prague. Take the train to Hradec Králové, then change to Teplice Nad Metuji. Then it would be better if you took another train to Adršpach. The train station of Adršpach is right next to the park entrance.
The price is about 9£, and you can buy tickets here.
By Bus
The trip by bus takes about 3.5 hours. Take the bus from Prague (Praha, Černý Most) to Trutnov. Then from Trutnov to Adršpach.
Check the bus tickets here, but ideally, buy it with the driver.
Places to stay
We stayed at the Skalní Mlýn Adršpach, a beautiful 3-star accommodation with a direct walking trail to the Adršpach-Teplice park. It’s only 30 minutes walk, meaning we could leave the car parked at the hotel. That was very handy.
We paid about 200£ for two nights for two people and 10£ per dog. The parking is free.
You must try the on-site restaurant where they serve fantastic food. Pretty nice not having to drive anywhere far to have a meal after a long walk.
Where to buy the tickets for the park
You can buy tickets online or at the entrance. There is an option to pay for the car park as well.
How to visit the Adršpach-Teplice park?
So there are two entrances to the park. One access is via the Adršpach-Skály, and the second starts at the Teplice Skály (south entrance). The hiking trails end up connecting in the middle.
It is easier to start at the Adrspach Skály entrance. From here, there are three different coloured trails to follow.
The Blue Trail
The walking path marked as blue is the path around the sand quarry. There is a beautiful mountain lake where you can spot fish.
The blue turquoise water makes it very inviting, specially if it’s hot. But NO, swimming in the lake is strictly forbidden.
The Green Trail – The Rock Town
The green trail is a beautiful walking circuit where you can visit the rock formations that resemble human and animal figures or simple objects. It was an awe-inspiring walk because the rock formations looked precisely like people or things. There is an arrow at the site marking the names.
This walking circuit is about 3.5km long, and you can take at least 3 hours to complete it.
There are more than 20 points of interest in this circuit, but we will show you only a few.
The Gothic Gate
The Elephant Square
The Lovers
Rocks Panorama
The mayor and Mayoress
We also planned to walk the yellow circuit to exit at the park’s south side (direction to Teplice Skaly). From this point, it was only a 40-minute walk to our hotel.
For that reason, we walked the green walking circuit until the “Mayor and Mayoress” (Starosta a Starostová) rock formations. Then we went back, cutting the trail through the emergency exit(nouzový východ).
We walked a bit of the green trail again, crossed the Gothic Gate, and walked another 15 minutes until we reached the Little Waterfall.
From here, there was an option to climb a few stairs to reach a small lake where you could take a beautiful boat trip. The boat trip takes about 20 minutes and costs only 3 euros. We decided to avoid the never-ending queue and skip the boat trip, not to mention that since we were so lucky, it started raining.
The Yellow Trail
The yellow trail leads to the Wolf Gorge, which connects the Adršpach and Teplice Rock city. It takes at least 1.5 hours, and the hike is quite challenging. There are a lot of stairs to climb, so be prepared.
At the beginning of the yellow trail, you can check the Little Waterfall and have a rest. A bit further, check out the Big Waterfall, where the water falls from a height of 16 meters.
As I mentioned, the yellow trail starts with a strenuous climb of stairs, and we had to carry our smaller dog, which did not make it easier. After that, the path becomes effortless and beautiful.
We followed the trail until the south side exit. From this point it was only 30 minutes walk to our accommodation which was quite convenient.
Special tips for visiting the Adršpach-Teplice Skály
1- Try to buy your tickets in advance because they’ve got limited tickets per hour. Check here for ticket prices, and there is an option to pay for the car park.
2- Pick up a map by the entrance or at the information desk.
3- It is dog friendly, so you can bring your furry friends. Bring a lot of water, specially when it is hot.
4- Bring adequate footwear as some areas are very rocky or very slippery.
5- Bring food and water with you.
6- Use the toilets before you enter the park because there are none once you enter.