Day 5: A walk along the “Bukovec - Jizerka – Jizerka Peat Moor" nature trail

A - today it's off to the mountains! We recommend travelling into the mountains (approx 20 km) in your own car. There are suitable car parks at Pod Bukovcem or by the church in Horní Polubný. However, if you park in Horní Polubný the walk is around 6 km longer. You can stop for something good to eat and drink in Horní Polubný or in Jizerka. The path of the nature trail runs from the beginning of the road from Horní Polubný through the Bukovec nature reserve around an old basalt quarry and over the peak of Bukovec hill. The trail ends on the edge of the Jizerka Peat Moor National Nature Reserve (Rašeliniště Jizerky). There is a Czech Union for Nature Conservation information centre in the village of Jizerka and a museum with interesting exhibits that document the history and present of the Jizera Mountains. This is open to the public between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekends from May to October ( www.csopjizerka.cz). The nature trail is only intended for hikers or ramblers and the ascent to the summit of Bukovec is quite physically demanding. Those who want to see a little bit more can continue from the museum on to Stará Pila and Poland over the newly-opened border crossing for hikers at Jizerka - Orle.

B - from the Pod Bukovcem car park wander leisurely towards the Pyramida chalet. If you walk round the whole of Jizerka until you reach Pešákovna, you will arrive at the edge of the Jizerka Peat Moor National Nature Reserve, where you can have a look round the heart of the peat moor by following the log pathways and spot some rare and protected species of plants. The Jizera Mountain Museum in the Old School (Stará škola) is also worth a visit. Exhausted after the trip, take time to relax in one of the restaurants in Jizerka.