The Povydri Trail

Povydri is the stretch of the Vydra river between Antygl and Cenkova pila, about seven kilometres, and the best known walk in Sumava. The Vydra does not flow in a channel so much as through a jumble of granite boulders the size of small cars, so the water is constantly splitting, dropping and rejoining, and the noise carries the whole way. The marked path follows the left bank a few metres above the river, in and out of spruce, with regular points where you can climb down onto the rock. It is almost flat and takes two to three hours at an unhurried pace. Buses connect the two ends in season, so there is no need to walk back.

What you actually see

• The boulder river - the Vydra threading between granite blocks, with pools, chutes and no single channel.
• Turnerova chata - the wooden hut roughly halfway, the only place to sit down and eat on the route.
• The rock terraces - flat granite slabs beside the water where the path drops to the riverbed.
• Cenkova pila - the old sawmill site at the lower end, with a small hydro plant and the confluence below.

When to go

May to October. High water after snowmelt in May makes the river far more impressive than late summer, when flow can be thin. Autumn gives colour and empty paths. Start early on summer weekends, since both car parks fill by mid-morning. Check the seasonal bus timetable before committing to a one-way walk.

Honest expectations

It is popular enough that on a July weekend you walk in a slow queue of people. The path is rocky and root-crossed in places and less pram-friendly than its reputation suggests. In a dry August the river shrinks and the boulders look like a dry rock field. Parking at both ends is charged and limited, and buses stop running in October.

Nearby

Srni and Modrava are close, and the Sumava bogs and glacial lakes are within a short drive.