Litovelske Pomoravi

Between Mohelnice and Olomouc the Morava has not been straightened: it runs in a braided system of channels through about a hundred square kilometres of floodplain forest - ash, oak, elm and willow on ground that still floods - with oxbows, side arms and wet meadows, and the local name for it is the Moravian Amazon, which is about the labyrinth rather than the scale. It is a protected landscape area, set up in 1990, and a Ramsar wetland. Beaver returned in the 1990s and are now abundant enough that their work is visible everywhere. There are kingfishers, black storks, and one of the larger populations of the great capricorn beetle in old oaks. Litovel itself sits on six arms of the river with the water running under the town square, which is why it is called Hana's Venice. Paddling the side arms and cycling the routes are the ways to see it.

The landscape

• A braided river - dozens of channels through floodplain forest, unstraightened.
• Beaver work everywhere - since their return in the 1990s.
• Old oaks with rare beetles - a strong great capricorn beetle population.
• Litovel on six arms - water running under the town square.

When to go

April to June. A day.

Before you go

Mosquitoes are severe from May. Trails flood and can be impassable in spring. Some reserve zones are closed. Paddling routes depend on water level and permits in places.

Nearby

Olomouc is downstream; Mladec caves are north-west.

Key facts