EN > Trip tips > Chorušice Nooks and Crannies

In the southeasternmost corner of the area known as Kokořínsko, not far from Mšeno, where the forest covers ravines cut deep into the surrounding landscape, the newly-opened educational trail Chorušická zákoutí weaves its way through the countryside, leading visitors to various nooks and crannies hidden away between the municipalities of Chorušice and Zahájí. The trail measures a little over four kilometres in length.

The vicinity of Chorušice is very close to such natural and cultural monuments as Kokořín Castle and the popular sandstone formation known as Pokličky ("pot lids"). In character, it is a seamless continuation of Kokořínsko – plains settled by countryfolk and for the most part used for farming are punctuated by deep ravines seamed with sandstone formations. These canyons, called "mines" by the locals, have always played an important role in their lives: trade routes led through them, and springs were found at their bottom – an important source of freshwater in a landscape perennially beset by water scarcity. The rocky hillsides, previously bare and used as pasture, are currently covered by forests, which are home to numerous attractive animal species, particularly birdlife. Deep in the forest, near a man-made cave hewn into the rockface, a stone’s throw from the hamlet of Zahájí, a group of partisan fighters hid out for days in April 1945 and received support from the inhabitants of Zahájí.

Along the four-kilometre trail, visitors encounter ten panels or game elements, designed to convey information in an enjoyable way to the broadest possible audience – from pre-schoolers to adults. In this way, people can take a peek into the history of the Chorušice water retention pools and learn about their four-legged inhabitants, find out what kind of signs hint at the presence of animals in the forest, understand the causes behind the drying-up of a well much frequented in the past, compare the appearance of the "mine" back then to that of today, and discover the fate of the Zahájí partisan fighters.

The first info panel is mounted in Podstavy, a part of Chorušice (GPS: 50.2556233N, 14.5597622E). The route leads from the local retention pool into the Nedvídek forest, where it swings to the left inside a compact ravine and opens up into a footpath that heads into a rocky gorge, taking the visitor to the final panel, erected beneath the hamlet of Zahájí near the signpost with the blue hiking trail marker (GPS: N 50°22.19550, E 14°39.71988).