Teletín's Hidden Lookouts: Exploring the picturesque Vltava Valley

The next stop on our Vltava tour takes us to a valley near the small village of Teletín, offering some of the most beautiful views you can find of the Vltava River.

'Stone dwarves' at the Máj lookout point|Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

At first glance, Teletín, with a population of less than 100 people and few sights to boast of, may not seem like a must-go destination. But it serves as the starting point for a series of lookout points offering some of the most beautiful views you can find of the Vltava River. These viewpoints have a series of names beginning with M - Myšák, Mařenka, Máj. The most famous of them is Máj above the Štěchovice Reservoir, with its view of a horseshoe bend in the river.

It used to be possible to reach it via a marked trail, but it has since been closed off. However, less than three hundred metres from Teletín on the road to the neighbouring village of Krňany, you will find a car park. The meadows surrounding the car park are now enclosed by electric fences, but the signs around the car park point to where the viewpoints can still be accessed.

Myšák lookout point|Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

A well-signposted route takes you to Myšák, the furthest viewpoint, from where you can admire the Vltava as it twists and turns in the deep valley. The nearby Mařenka lookout point offers a similar view of the landscape. From Mařenka, there is a steeper climb to Máj, the highest hill in this part of the Benešovská hills, at 448 metres. It offers a complete view of the entire Vltava horseshoe bend.

Mařenka lookout point|Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

If you continue you will see the Skalka lookout point; an inconspicuous group of small rocks where heather and goldenrod bloom at the end of summer. A new view of the Vltava River awaits at the edge of the summit plateau - the southern part of the Štěchovice Reservoir.

Skalka lookout point|Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

A colourful cross may catch your eye in the bottom left of your field of vision. This is Bednář, the final stop on our tour around Teletín. Bednář has a completely different atmosphere to the other lookouts described here. It has a quiet meditative feeling about it, for those who want to stop for a moment and think a while.

Bednář lookout point|Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

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