Activities

Caves

Moravian Karst is full of caves. There are 5 with public access:

1. Balcarka - closest to Jedovnice - 7 km from the campsite.
2. Kateřinská jeskyně - 9 km from the campsite.
3. Punkevní jeskyně - 9 km - this is the most famous cave - during the tour, you will visit the bottom of 138.5 m deep abyss Macocha. Second half of the visit is a boat trip on underground river Punkva.
4. Sloupsko-Šošůvské jeskyně - 12 km - the first of the caves to be opened to public - already in 1881. But don't be afraid the safety is much better than 100 years ago. Probably best reachable by bike.
5. Výpustek - 10 km - this cave was a top-secret nuclear shelter for Czechoslovak army headquarters during cold war. Opened to public in 2008.

Official info about caves can be found at: http://www.caves.cz/?lang=en and http://www.moravskykras.net/en/moravian-karst.html

I expect that Punkva cave and Výpustek will be the most interesting for you, although all of the caves are beautiful. Punkva cave is so famous that advance reservation is necessary and group reservations are recommended for all caves. I'll organise trips to Punkva cave and Výpustek. We do not have to walk all the way there and back. 20 km plus a cave visit is quite a lot. Výpustek is near the village Křtiny, and you can get by bus right to the entrance. So I would propose one-way trip by bus and return by foot. There is also a very nice and big baroque church in Křtiny, and a good restaurant at the castle (no castle tours, only hotel).

Punkva cave is not reachable by bus, but we can take some cars to Macocha abyss, have a look into its depth, have another look on the bottom of a pint of beer, and descend 1.5 km to the cave entrance. Lazy ones can even take the funicular. After that we can make a round trip to the Kateřinská cave, and back to cars. (6 km). If not enough cars are available, we can take a short bus ride to Vilémovice - then the round trip would be 10 km. Full trip from the camp to both caves would be 20 km. So there are many options according to your fitness. Map is here: https://en.mapy.cz/s/ZGxl to see the height profile (and switch languages) look at the right bottom corner.

If you are bored by the classic cave visits you may try visiting some non public caves with guide. You'll get muddy, wet, scratched and scared of claustrophobia: http://www.speleoart.cz/

Another option (less commercial) is to do a course on speleology in Rudické Propadání - they will lend you all necessary equipment, just bring warm underwear. You'll spend 4-5 hours in the cave at 8 °C, climbing 150 m on ladders down and up, crawling in small tunnels. Only for fit people who are not afraid of dark depths. Here is a czech report about the course, the images tell a lot: http://mapygarmin.wz.cz/akce_rudicke_propadani.php

Other places of interest

Rudické propadaní

The stream that flows from the big lake, enters underground about 2 km south-west from Jedovnice. We plan a welcome walk to this nice place. Unfortunately we cannot enter underground at this place (not without proper caving equipment and experience). The stream forms a big underground waterfall, flows 4-5 km underground, and returns to surface at cave Býčí skála. This cave is open to public only few days a year, usually in May. http://www.rudice.cz/index.php?page=priroda

Rudice village

There is a windmill in this village, with museum of mining. There used to be iron ore mines all around this village. There is an abyss "Tumperek" in the middle of the road in this village, covered and disguised as water drain by iron lid. We can visit Rudice as a part of the welcome walk or on the way back from cave Výpustek. The local restaurant is OK. http://www.rudice.cz/index.php?page=informacni-stredisko

Windmill in Ruprechtov

This windmill has very unusual wind turbine. There are also some WWII bunkers in the fields near the village. Let's hope that the crops will already be harvested, so that we could explore them closely. http://www.mlynruprechtov.cz/en

TV tower Kojál

8 km north-east from Jedovnice is a 340 m high TV and FM transmitter Kojál. No public access to the control room, but a sure Wow! effect and pain in the neck when you stand at its foot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koj%C3%A1l_radio_transmitter

Hiking

There are lots of marked tourist paths. See red, blue, green and yellow paths on https://en.mapy.cz/turisticka. The markings in terrain are three horizontal stripes, colored stripe in the middle and white stripes around it. http://www.kct.cz/cms/turisticke-znaceni-kct-pesi.

However, unlike in UK, you can walk almost everywhere, except for private gardens and fields with crops. Only in protected areas (rezervace), you have to follow a marked path. Protected areas are marked by signposts with Czech coat of arms (sometimes replaced by Moravian coat of arms) and red stripes on trees - two stripes outside, one stripe inside.

Picking berries and mushrooms is allowed in the forests, out of protected areas. The end of august is the season of blackberries ;) If you know which berries and mushrooms are good, do not hesitate and pick some.

The terrain around Jedovnice is hilly, no big mountains. All the walks should be fine for everyone. If you find the terrain not challenging enough, just choose a longer path.

Swimming

The camp is at the shore of a lake (fishpond) Olšovec. Unfortunately the quality of water is not very good. On my visit at 14th of August 2016 the water was a bit green due to algae. There were warnings on the shore that swimming is at one's own risk, and a shower is recommended after swimming in lake. However, you can rent a boat, wakeboard, or buy a fishing permit to enjoy the lake in other way than swimming. Paddleboards can be rented in Surfbar on the opposite side of lake.

If you really want to go swimming, and you are worried about the quality of water, the nearest swimming pool is in nearby willage Křtiny, about 10 minutes by bus: http://www.koupalistekrtiny.cz/

There is also an almost abandoned sandpit Seč near Rudice, with a small lake. Locals go there even though it is officially forbidden. Beautiful place, but visit is on your own risk. http://www.rudice.cz/index.php?page=lom-sec

Bikes

Bike rental is in the camp: http://singlekras.cz/pujcovna-kol

Their page is not in English, so a short summary: They have mostly mountain bikes, and some road bikes. Rental is 900 CZK/day or 600 CZK/half-day. Deposit is 5000 CZK, and two IDs are required (Passport, driving license, or other official ID). There are some trails in the forest behind the camp, where you can sweat to your liking... The surroundings are full of short or long distance tracks - paved as well as non-paved. See the paths marked in violet on https://en.mapy.cz/turisticka and small yellow roadsigns in terrain. http://www.kct.cz/cms/turisticke-znaceni-kct-cykloznaceni

Other activities

If you want to try climbing or "via ferrata" you can practice here: http://www.velkadohoda-moravskykras.cz/

Vocabulary

• jeskyně = cave
• propast = abyss
• kolo = bicycle (or wheel in general)
• horské kolo = mountain bike
• silniční kolo = road bike
• koupaliště = swimming pool
• půjčovna = rental place
• půjčovné = rental fee