The National Nature Reserves of the Moravian Karst: Where They Are and Where You Can Go

Within the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area there are 4 national nature reserves: Punkva Springs (Macocha, Pustý žleb and Suchý žleb), Býčí skála (Josefovské údolí valley), Habrůvka Beech Forest and Hádecká planinka near Brno. They are joined by 2 national nature monuments, Rudice Sink and Pekárna Cave, and 12 nature reserves. Together they cover roughly 14% of the protected area. You can visit the most precious spots, but only along marked paths. No hiking trail leads into the Habrůvka Beech Forest.

QUICK LINKS 🏞️ Punkva Springs · 🐂 Býčí skála · 🌳 Habrůvka Beech Forest · 🌾 Hádecká planinka · 💧 National Nature Monuments · ⚠️ Rules · ❓ FAQ

The whole of the Moravian Karst is a protected landscape area, but not every part of it is protected to the same degree. The strictest protection is reserved for the national nature reserves, the places where nature has survived in its finest form. If you know where they lie, you also know where to tread with the greatest care.

Overview

Figures based on the 2017 analyses by the Protected Landscape Area Administration.

Punkva Springs: The Heart of the Karst

The largest reserve (556 ha, declared in 1997) takes in the Punkva valley, Pustý žleb and Suchý žleb (the “Barren” and “Dry” gorges) and the Macocha Abyss. It protects both underground and surface karst features, as well as a temperature inversion: on the floor of Macocha and in the gorges it is cooler than above, so cold-loving plants thrive down below while heat-loving ones grow on the slopes higher up.

This is also the busiest part of the karst. The Punkva Caves (Punkevní jeskyně) and the Kateřinská Cave (Kateřinská jeskyně) are here, along with Skalní Mlýn and the cable car. Cyclists can ride through the reserve on the roads through both Pustý žleb and Suchý žleb.

Find out more in our articles Macocha Abyss, Pustý žleb and Cycling Through Suchý žleb and Pustý žleb.

Býčí skála: The Forests of Josefovské údolí

Created in 2004 by merging the former Josefské údolí NNR and the Býčí skála NNM, it covers 191 ha. It protects species-rich forests, from oak woods to beech woods, along with karst features and caves. Here you will find Býčí skála Cave (Býčí skála), famous for its Hallstatt-era discovery, and the Stará huť u Adamova (Old Ironworks near Adamov) stands in the valley.

A road and marked paths run through the valley. The public can enter Býčí skála Cave only on open days. Find out more in our articles Josefovské údolí and Býčí skála and The Iron Karst.

Habrůvka Beech Forest: A Woodland Left in Peace

Declared in 2008, this reserve protects 89 ha of natural beech and oak-beech woods on the Rudice Plateau near Habrůvka. Besides the forest, it also protects a geode site in the Rudice strata and karst features.

No hiking trail leads into the reserve. It is one of the few places in the karst where nature is genuinely left in peace, and that is how it should stay. We write about the geodes found around Rudice in our article The Rudice Geodes.

Hádecká planinka: Steppe on the Edge of Brno

Declared in 2008, this 83 ha reserve lies on the Hády karst plateau, in the cadastral areas of Brno-Maloměřice and Kanice. It protects natural oak woods and heat-loving steppe grassland. Among the plants growing here is the red viper’s bugloss (hadinec červený), which you won’t find anywhere else in the karst.

The reserve is close to Brno and accessible along marked routes. However, the Protected Landscape Area Administration cites it as a place where a dense network of trodden paths is damaging the landscape. So the rules count double here: stick to the marked paths and keep your dog on a lead. Read more about the flora in our article The Flora of the Moravian Karst.

National Nature Monuments

Rudice Sink (Rudické propadání; 4.6 ha, protected since 1990) protects the end of a blind valley where the Jedovnice Stream disappears underground, together with the adjoining cave system, a bat hibernation site and an archaeological site from the Magdalenian period. It is freely accessible along a marked path, though the public cannot enter the caves. See Rudice Sink.

Pekárna Cave (Jeskyně Pekárna) in the Říčka valley near Mokrá has been protected since 1933. It is the most important Magdalenian settlement of horse and reindeer hunters in the karst. The famous engravings on bone, such as the bison fight, come from here. The finds are now held in Brno. The cave is freely accessible by a path through the Říčka valley, for instance from the car park at Hádek, not far from Ochoz u Brna. The routes are described in our article The Říčka Valley and Pekárna Cave.

Rules in the Reserves

• Marked paths only. In the national nature reserves, you may not enter or ride off the paths marked with the approval of the nature conservation authority.
• Bikes on roads and approved cycle routes only.
• Do not pick, collect or take anything away, including stones, geodes and stalactites.
• Keep your dog on a lead.
• No fires and no camping.

The complete rules for the whole protected landscape area can be found in our article Rules in the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many national nature reserves are there in the Moravian Karst? Four: Punkva Springs, Býčí skála, Habrůvka Beech Forest and Hádecká planinka.

Is Macocha inside a reserve? Yes, the Macocha Abyss lies within the Punkva Springs NNR, together with Pustý žleb and Suchý žleb.

Can I enter a national nature reserve? Yes, but only along marked paths. No hiking trail leads into the Habrůvka Beech Forest NNR.

Is Pekárna Cave accessible? Yes, Pekárna Cave in the Říčka valley is freely accessible. The archaeological finds from it are held in Brno’s collections.

Information verified as of 10 October 2026. Sources: AOPK ČR (Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic), Analyses of the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area (2017), ch. 3.3 Small-Scale Specially Protected Areas and ch. 4.11; Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on Nature and Landscape Protection, § 29; Hádecká planinka National Nature Reserve, AOPK ČR; Pekárna Cave, Czech Geological Survey; Lesy ČR: The Mysterious Pekárna Cave.

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