The Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area (CHKO) authority keeps an official list of the places where visitors concentrate most. It includes the Punkva Caves (Punkevní jeskyně) with Skalní Mlýn, the Macocha Abyss, the surroundings of all the show caves, the Josefov Valley with Býčí skála, the Rudice Sinkhole and Holštejn with Rasovna. You will find peace where that list ends: in the Rakovec Valley near Jedovnice, in the Křtiny Valley, at Čertův hrádek above the Svitava, or on the field tracks around Senetářov and Kojál. And if you want to see the headline attractions without queues, go on a weekday morning, in spring or in autumn.
QUICK LINKS 🚶 Where everyone goes · 🌿 Quiet places · ⏰ Main attractions without the queues · ⚠️ Peace for nature · ❓ FAQ
About 2 in 3 visitors spend only a few hours or a single day in the Moravian Karst. Most of them head for Skalní Mlýn, the Punkva Caves and the Macocha Abyss. Drive just a few kilometres further, though, and you will meet more roe deer than people on the path.
Where everyone goes
In its analyses of the area (2017), the CHKO authority lists the places with the highest concentration of visitors:
- the Punkva Caves and the stretch from Skalní Mlýn,
- the Macocha Abyss and the path to the Lower Bridge (Dolní můstek),
- the path from the Punkva Caves to the Blansek ruin and the Salm Path (Salmova stezka) between Macocha and the Punkva Caves,
- the area around the Sloup-Šošůvka Caves, Balcarka and Výpustek,
- the path from the windmill in Rudice to the Rudice Sinkhole,
- the Josefov Valley with the Františka Ironworks and Býčí skála, including the monument to the poet K. H. Mácha,
- the Říčka Valley with Pekárna Cave and the paths in the Hádecká planinka National Nature Reserve (see The Říčka Valley and Pekárna Cave),
- Stará and Nová Rasovna and the ruin of Holštejn with Lidomorna Cave.
All of this is well worth seeing. Just don’t expect solitude, especially at weekends from June to August.
Quiet places
The Rakovec Valley
A nature park in the Drahany Uplands between Jedovnice and Račice-Pístovice, through which the Rakovec stream flows. It is followed by an educational trail that starts behind the Budkovan pond near Jedovnice and ends at the car park in the Rakovec Valley on the Račice–Ruprechtov road. Sources give different lengths, from 8.5 to 14 km, depending on where you start. It is suitable for walkers and cyclists alike.
In spring the spring snowflakes bloom here. The valley is home to the Rakovec Nature Reserve (established in 1973) with its fir and beech woods, and along the route you will see the remains of the abandoned medieval village of Bystřec. From Jedovnice, the red-waymarked path leads to Budkovan past the Olšovec pond.
The Křtiny Valley
While day-trippers flock to the neighbouring Josefov Valley, the Křtiny Valley is quieter. Yet it is historically the richest part of the karst: a hammer mill dating from 1506, early medieval ironworks, and traces of the Liechtenstein and Salm families. There is more in the article The Křtiny Valley.
Čertův hrádek and the Olomučany educational trail
The ruin of Olomučany Castle stands above the Svitava valley south of Blansko. It is freely accessible, about 3 km from Blansko along the green waymarked trail. The Olomučany educational trail passes woodland springs and viewpoints. You will find the legend and the route in the article Devils in the Moravian Karst.
Senetářov, Kojál and the Drahany Uplands
On the eastern edge of the karst the Drahany Uplands begin, with fields, grassy baulks and wide views. On a clear day you can see Hostýn and Pálava from Na Člopkách hill above Senetářov. The village has an unusual modern Church of St Joseph, and I write about the local legends in the article Field names and legends of Senetářov.
Suchý žleb away from Skalní Mlýn
The lower end of Suchý žleb (the Dry Gorge) by Skalní Mlýn is busy, but the higher you climb towards Ostrov u Macochy, the fewer people you will meet. By bike you can ride it on the circuit described in the article Cycling through Suchý and Pustý žleb.
Main attractions without the queues
If you want to see the Punkva Caves and the Macocha Abyss without the crowds:
- On a weekday. At summer weekends, tickets for the Punkva Caves are often sold out by around midday.
- First thing in the morning. The car park at Skalní Mlýn fills up early in summer.
- In spring or autumn. In April, May and September the caves are fully open, and the summer crowds have either not yet arrived or have already thinned out. There is more in the article When to visit the Moravian Karst.
- In winter. The Punkva Caves and Výpustek are open in winter too, and the Macocha Abyss is accessible all year round, free of charge. See The Moravian Karst in winter.
- Tickets in advance. Booking won’t thin out the people around you, but it will save you waiting. You can find out how in the article Tickets and booking.
Peace for nature
It is not only people who need quiet. The CHKO authority also draws attention to places already being damaged by visitors: the dense network of worn paths on the Hádecká planinka, the rock edges at Býčí skála, the rocky spurs at the Punkva Springs (Vývěry Punkvy) around the cable car, and the cave portals in Pustý and Suchý žleb.
Some reserves, such as the Habrůvka Beech Wood National Nature Reserve, have no tourist path at all, and leaving the marked routes there is forbidden. So look for quiet spots on waymarked trails outside the list above, not in the woods off the path. The rules are set out in the article Rules in the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area.
FAQ
Where is busiest in the Moravian Karst? At the Punkva Caves and Skalní Mlýn, at the Macocha Abyss, at the show caves, in the Josefov Valley and at the Rudice Sinkhole. That is also what the CHKO authority says.
Where should I go in the Moravian Karst for some peace and quiet? To the Rakovec Valley near Jedovnice, the Křtiny Valley, Čertův hrádek near Blansko, or the Drahany Uplands around Senetářov.
When should I visit the Punkva Caves to avoid the crowds? On a weekday morning, ideally in April, May, September or in winter. Book your tickets in advance.
Can I leave the path in the nature reserves to be on my own? No. In the national nature reserves you may only follow the marked routes, and some have no path at all.
Information verified as of 10. 10. 2026. Sources: AOPK ČR, Analyses of the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area (2017), ch. 4.11 Tourism and visitor numbers and ch. 3.2–3.3 Protection of the area; Rakovec Valley educational trail; Kudy z nudy: the Rakovec Valley in the Drahany Uplands; Treking.cz: the Rakovec Valley.
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