Krkonoše, Adršpach and Český ráj Road Trip from Prague: Rock Towns, Castles and the Cable Car to Sněžka in 3 Days

North-east of Prague, three landscapes lie within an easy drive of each other. Český ráj, the Bohemian Paradise, is a country of sandstone rock towns and castles built on top of them. The Krkonoše (Karkonosze in Polish) are the highest mountains in Czechia, on the border with Poland, and the Adršpach rocks, which Polish visitors know as Skalne Miasto, are the largest rock town in the country. This loop picks up a car at Prague Airport, spends the first day in Český ráj, the second at Kuks and Adršpach, and the third on Sněžka and in Špindlerův Mlýn. It makes about 494 km in three days.

You leave and return on the D10 motorway, so you need the Czech electronic vignette. In the mountains, keep in mind that the Krkonoše National Park limits cars by law: outside the villages you may drive only on public roads, and the roads up to the mountain huts are for residents, staff and hut guests. You park in the valleys and walk or take a lift.

Day 1 — Prague Airport to Valdštejn, Trosky, Prachov and Jičín (142 km)

Pick up the car at Prague Airport and take the D10 to Turnov. Follow the brown signs through Pelešany and park below Valdštejn. A marked path of about 700 m leads up to the castle. Founded around 1260, it is the oldest castle in Český ráj. It is open from April to October, only at weekends and on holidays in April and October, and closed from November to March.

Drive on to Hrubá Skála, a romantic chateau on sandstone rocks, on the site of a 14th-century castle. Today it is a hotel, but the lookout tower and the courtyard are open to visitors.

Then drive to Trosky, the ruin that stands on the skyline of the whole region. Its two towers rise from two steep rocks: Baba (47 m) and Panna (57 m). You walk the grounds on your own and climb the lookout on Baba. Trosky is closed in winter; the season starts in April.

Finish the day in the Prachov Rocks (Prachovské skály), with towers up to 40 m high. Marked circuits of 1.5 km, 2.5 km and 3.5 km lead through the rocks; don’t miss the Vyhlídka Českého ráje viewpoint. Entry is paid, needs no booking and is valid for the whole day; the car park is paid too. Sleep in Jičín, about 8 km away.

Day 2 — Kuks and the Adršpach rocks to Pec pod Sněžkou (144 km)

Drive east to Kuks. Count František Antonín Špork founded the hospital here at the start of the 18th century, a home for old men run by the Brothers of Mercy. The sculptor Matthias Bernard Braun carved the allegories of the Virtues and Vices for it, and the house keeps one of the oldest Baroque pharmacies in Europe. From September to October it is open Tuesday to Sunday, in November only at weekends, and in December it is closed. In the Nový les forest nearby, Braun’s workshop also made Braun’s Bethlehem in the 1720s, an open-air group of hermits and biblical scenes.

Continue north to the Adršpach rocks, part of the national nature reserve Adršpašsko-teplické skály. A 3.5 km circuit on the green trail takes at least three hours and passes the Gothic Gate, put up in 1839 where the old entrance was, the Great Waterfall, 16 m high, and Milenci (the Lovers), the tallest tower at 81.4 m. From April to October a boat crosses the small lake inside the rocks. The circuit is open every day except 24 December, from 8:00 to 18:00 in spring and autumn and until 16:00 from December to February. Buy entry and parking online: on busy days, once a time slot is sold out, you cannot buy a ticket at the gate either.

Then drive west to Pec pod Sněžkou and sleep there.

Day 3 — Sněžka and Špindlerův Mlýn to Prague (208 km)

Start early with the Sněžka cable car. It climbs about 3.5 km in two sections, via Růžová hora, and rises more than 700 m from Pec to the summit. The full line opened on 22 February 2014. It runs all year, but in April and November only at weekends, and it stops when the wind is over 60 km/h: check its status online before you go up. Sněžka is the highest mountain in Czechia, 1,603 m; its highest point lies a few metres over the border, on the Polish side. If you walk on into Poland, the Karkonosze National Park charges an entry fee there.

Drive west to Špindlerův Mlýn, where the Elbe meets the White Elbe. The roads above the town, such as the one to Špindlerova bouda, are closed to cars without a permit. The source of the Elbe is a walk, not a drive: the mountain road from Horní Mísečky to Vrbatova bouda is closed to private cars, a bus runs up in summer, and the spring lies about 950 m from Labská bouda. Then drive back through Vrchlabí and down the D10 to Prague.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights. The D10 needs the Czech electronic vignette, bought at edalnice.gov.cz: in 2026 a 10-day vignette costs CZK 300 and covers the whole trip (1 day CZK 230, 30 days CZK 480). There are no other tolls and no ferries. Driving in the Krkonoše National Park is free, but you may park only in marked places. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 494 km, car rental, parking at the rock towns and in the mountain villages, and tickets for Valdštejn, Trosky, Prachov, Kuks, Adršpach and the Sněžka cable car. From 1 November to 31 March, winter tyres are compulsory whenever there is snow, ice or frost on the road or you can expect it, with at least 4 mm of tread; in the Krkonoše that can be any day of the season.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.