Map of the gorge
Location
Valašské Klobouky, Smolina
Navigation in Mapy.cz
Navigation in Mapy Google
Time: 5:50h
Ascent: 3:10h
Descent: 2:40h
Difficulty
Elevation difference: 330m
Discovered for rokling.cz by Průzkumníklára.
Trail description
The route starts at the bus stop “Valašské Klobouky, Smolina”. Here you can also leave your car. Follow the asphalt road for about 1.5km, at Smolinka Nature Reserve you can follow the streambed. The Smolina Nature Monument was declared because of the presence of the highly endangered white-flowered saffron, which covers the meadows with its purple flowers in spring.
The gorge is simple but very long, so consider whether your children can handle it. The banks of the gorge become steeper and steeper as you get higher. The banks are overgrown with ferns and horsetails, and in the occasional “muddy” creeks of the stream you can see many blue butterflies, which are rarely found in Moravia anymore. Around the gorge in the treetops there are many birds, if you are attentive you might spot a buzzard or a kestrel.
If you climb through Bařinky to the source of the Smolinka stream, you will reach the top of Láz. From there you can go to Vařákovy paseky (Vařák’s Clearings). This settlement was burnt down during the Second World War because its inhabitants supported the partisans. Eight of the ten cottages were burnt down, three men and a twenty-two-year-old girl, Růžena, were executed. In nearby village Lačnov there is the Museum of Burnt Homesteads of Vařák’s Clearings, where replicas of the burnt homesteads are on display.
If you don’t have that much time, you can continue straight back from the top of Láz along the “Hornolidečská magistrála” trail, which later connects to the yellow hiking trail leading to Lačnov village. Along the way you can see the aforementioned museum or Lačnov Nature Reserve. From Lačnov, continue past Suchý vrch hill to the end.
Recommendation
Saffrons are seen only in very few places, so it is really worth looking at the ones in Lačnov and Smolina. Are you planning to visit this gorge? Head here in late March and early April when the saffron is in bloom, it’s definitely worth it!
You can also extend your trip to the Lačnovské skály rocks.