On Top of the World on Sněžka

Mikuláš and I took off in a giant continuous line of tourists going up the asphalt road to the bottom of the mountain. It was a lush mixed forest, mostly covered in various pines. Some of the people on the trail were the same ones we saw on the bus we took.

We had grandiose plans for the route, so we couldn't stay in the crowd. We gave ourselves a boost and rushed past most people tagging along together, soon walking along and catching up to early bird groups.

The forest started to clear up and the road has become way more rocky than before. Random patches of snow or ice started to show up on the sides, but the walk was still pretty comfortable.

A few times we walked past barricaded entrances to local mines all the way back from the 16th century. We even saw some backup ventilation shafts! The waterfalls from the water streams on the slopes were also cool. But despite the older age of these mountains, the streams haven't carved out that big of paths for themselves.

As we ascended higher, we started seeing the surrounding summits and the saddles between them. Back then, it looked like a typical saddle you'd find in Austrian or German Alps. What I didn't know, however, was that the top of the mountains was a relatively flat tundra plateau occasionally covered in shrubs and small trees. It was so unusual!

Soon after, we reached Dom Śląski at the flat top of the saddle and made our first short break. The restaurant is located on the Polish side already, so you can say I had a double-country hike again. While the way up was relatively empty, with occasional small groups we passed by, the top area was quite crowded.

There was a single paved road leading to the observatory at the top of Sněžka (1603.3 m), with a single continuous line of hikers going up and down. The snow has already melted revealing the ice that covers the paved trails. With the hikers attempting the route mostly without shoe spikes, quite many of them were slipping and/or falling.

We decided to skip the spikes on the way up, but we couldn't skip all the viewpoints overlooking the surrounding ridges! Every dozen of meters, there was a small offshoot of the trail leading to a scenic panorama. We made sure to visit all of them while avoiding the constant flood of other tourists.

The top of Sněžka (1603.3 m) was a nice surprise too, with a few buildings for any and all use cases. First, visitors are greeted with an observatory on the Polish side and a viewing platform towards Karpacz.

Next, you see the St. Lawrence's Chapel (Kaplica pw. Świętego Wawrzyńca) in the middle of the summit area. I'm used to seeing crosses of all sizes on mountaintops, but I don't recall seeing a chapel there ever since my Brünnstein (1619 m) hike.

On the Czech side, we were greeted with the Sněžka postal office, where you can send and receive actual mail, although it also functions as a bar and a souvenir shop. It was cool to see so much infrastructure on the peak, but the prices in the shop were expectedly steep.

Lastly, there was the cable car station. Since the snow already mostly melted and summer hasn't yet started, the station was closed, but it still offered nice views along the ridge. Also, the path along the cable car poles was more popular, with an even greater flow of tourists going up and down.

After spending so much time on the summit, we contemplated if we should keep going towards e.g. Vysoké kolo (1509 m), but the time was not on our side and we decided to stick to the original plan. Our next target - Krakonoš (1422 m) - the peak carrying the same name as the mountain ridge area.

We went down to Dom Śląski and continued to the Luční bouda restaurant, a giant restaurant and hotel on the mountaintop plateau, visible from all surrounding summits. We decided to skip the restaurant and head to the peak first. By this point, the flow of tourists stopped, and we only met occasional pairs of more eager hikers.

We traversed through the snow and the ice slush, trying to stick to the outlined trails, and eventually reached the Krakonoš (1422 m) peak. It was much different from Sněžka (1603.3 m), being closed to what you'd typically see in Bavaria, like the Großer Traithen (1852 m) ridge I visited in 2025.

A steep slope to the sides with bare sections on the way down, a thin ridge lowering into the valley, small spruce bushes near the top holding a layer of snow, making it dangerous to walk closer to the edge. Some footsteps led further down the ridge, but we saw no point following them.

After getting a snack while enjoying the views, we turned back and headed down. Another interesting point to mention is the appearance of the mountains in the area. In Bavaria in the pre-Alps region, you'll typically find forested slopes for most of the routes, with smaller trees and bushes near the top. The hills are covered in grass and shrubs, making it a great place to graze for local mountain goats. In Austria, the higher peaks are much more rocky, with bushes covering the lower sections of the slopes and the higher parts being covered in gravel and other small rocks, being a perfect for landslides and avalanches.

Here, however, there was a mix of everything. Tons of little stream sources carving away the rocks and joining into Bílé Labe and other rivers. Small and big rocks with a greenish tint, rich in earth metals and covered in moss. Trees and bushes covering the rest of the slope, shrubs and various ferns filling in the gaps. Most of the paths were paved with big stones or wooden platforms, ice and snow covering them. Although the hike was quite long, I still feel like I could spend much longer there, taking in the views and the change of scenery.

On the way down, I was wondering where all the tourists went. The route was mostly empty, and we didn't have to overtake anyone for quite a while. But soon after, once we got closer towards the Bílé Labe restaurant hut, we started coming across mostly German hiking groups going up or down. That answered my earlier question. It seems the more local hikers have already concluded their routes for the day, while the Germans continued, being used to longer tracks. Approaching the restaurant we saw a snowmobile, which brought back memories from my hike to Sonnenberg (1622 m) where I lost and on a later attempt found my hiking pole.

When we got to the hut, I asked Mikuláš to stop there for a meal, since I would feel miserable missing out on local cuisine. We bought some česnečka, a garlic soup with chunks of meat, sausage, and vegetables. It was amazing, much more filling than the Bavarian Alpine hut soups, and having much deeper flavors. To finish the meal, we ordered some berry cake with some jam on top. A great treat for any visitor, I highly recommend the place.

Since we took our time in the hut and on the peaks, the rest of the way was in a hurry. We kept walking as fast as we could to reach the last bus at 6 PM. At one point we assumed we were already there, but it was just a glitch in the navigation app. We still had more than a kilometer left. In the end, we got to the bus, did our stretches, and enjoyed the drive back to Prague.

To conclude, this is a great area for hiking and the route we took is a great introduction to the highest ridges in the Czech Republic. Accessible to families and somewhat accessible even to disabled people, this is a must-visit for any enthusiast. Especially if you're used to the Alps, this area offers a nice change of pace. The abundance of local huts and restaurants allows to stay on the ridges longer and enjoy the local dishes and overnight rooms. Finally, the trails along the river streams cool down the valleys nicely, while the trees provide the much-needed shade in summer. Go there if you can!