The rock towns
Sandstone pillars tens of metres high forming narrow passages between high walls.
NOvYl at Czech Wikipedia — Public domain · Txllxt TxllxT — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Txllxt TxllxT — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Crutch1973 — CC BY-SA 4.0
It is possible but a long day: about two hours by train to Turnov, then the Hruboskalsko trail on foot, returning in the evening. If you want Trosky as well, a night in Turnov or Jičín is better, as the sites are spread out and local transport between them is infrequent.
The area was a sea floor in the Cretaceous about ninety million years ago, where thick sand layers were deposited and hardened into sandstone. When the sea withdrew and the land rose, water, frost and wind began cutting the joints in the rock and widening them over millions of years, leaving the harder blocks standing as pillars while the weaker eroded away. The result is these rock towns.
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A sandstone region north-east of Prague, the first protected landscape declared in Czechoslovakia in 1955, and today listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark. What sets it apart are the rock towns: sandstone pillars and towers tens of metres high, carved by erosion over millions of years from an ancient sea floor, standing packed together in dense forest so that they form narrow passages between high walls. The best known are Prachovské skály and Hruboskalsko. Among the rocks stand castles on isolated summits — most famously Trosky, with its two towers on twin volcanic peaks — along with lakes and villages of traditional timber houses. This is primarily walking country: the trails are numbered and well organised, and some pass through narrow clefts and up iron stairways. Access is by train or bus to Turnov or Jičín and then on foot. It needs a full day at minimum and rewards an overnight stay.
Sandstone pillars tens of metres high forming narrow passages between high walls.
Two towers on twin volcanic peaks, the region's defining image.
Numbered and clear, some through clefts and up iron stairways.
North-east of Prague, about ninety kilometres