Milesovka

Milesovka is the highest of the Ceske stredohori cones at 837 metres, a steep-sided phonolite plug rising abruptly from the surrounding country, and it is best known for its weather: the observatory on the summit has recorded continuously since 1905, one of the longest unbroken mountain series in Central Europe, and the records show it as the windiest place in the Czech Republic, with an average of around eight days a year completely calm and gusts recorded above two hundred kilometres an hour. Fog covers it for a large part of the year. On the top are the observatory building and a lookout with a view over the whole volcanic field, the Elbe and the Ore Mountains. The climb is on foot from Milesov, about an hour up a steep path through beech woods, and the summit is exposed - which is, again, the point of the place.

What you actually see

• A steep volcanic plug - the highest cone of the range at 837 metres.
• A weather station since 1905 - one of the longest mountain records in Central Europe.
• The windiest point in the country - around eight fully calm days a year.
• A view over the whole field - the cones, the Elbe and the Ore Mountains.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is genuinely windy and often in fog - the view is far from guaranteed. The climb is steep and on foot only. The summit buildings keep seasonal hours. Take a windproof layer whatever the forecast below.

Nearby

Porta Bohemica and Litomerice are north; Lovosice is on the Elbe.