Mala Skala

Mala Skala sits along the Jizera between two ridges in the Bohemian Paradise, and it has been a summer place for a long time - paddling, climbing, cycling and swimming in the river, with campsites and pensions along the valley. Above the village on the Vranov ridge stands the Pantheon: from 1802 the owner Frantisek Zacharias Roman turned the ruins of Vranov castle on the sandstone towers into a memorial landscape in the Romantic manner, cutting paths, steps and chambers through the rock, placing reliefs, inscriptions and busts of Czech and European figures among the crags, and building a chapel. The route through it crosses between rock blocks on bridges and stairs with drops on either side, and the view runs down the Jizera valley. The Suche skaly, a jagged rock ridge across the river, is a serious climbing area.

What you actually see

• A memorial cut into rock - paths, chambers and reliefs among the sandstone towers.
• A castle ruin absorbed - Vranov's remains built into the Romantic scheme from 1802.
• Bridges between blocks - the route crossing the crags with drops either side.
• Suche skaly opposite - a jagged ridge used for serious climbing.

When to go

May to September. A day.

Honest expectations

The Pantheon route has exposure and steps - not for anyone uneasy with heights, and it closes in ice. The village is busy in summer. Facilities are pensions and campsites rather than hotels.

Nearby

Hruba Skala and Drabske svetnicky are south; Turnov is west.