Zelezne Hory

The Zelezne hory, the Iron Mountains, are a modest range south of Pardubice - a tilted block with a steep north-western edge along the Zelezne hory fault and a gentle slope the other way - and the fault is why they are a UNESCO Global Geopark: the break puts rocks of very different ages and origins directly against each other, so within a few kilometres there are granites, gneisses, volcanic rocks, marine sediments with fossils, and iron ores that gave the range its name and were worked from the Middle Ages. The Sec reservoir on the Chrudimka is the main water, with wooded shores and a summer resort. Lichnice castle ruins stand on a spur above the Lovetinska gorge. The range is forested, low and quiet, with cycling routes and small villages, and the Vysocina highlands begin just beyond it.

What you actually see

• A fault line in the landscape - very different rocks meeting within a few kilometres.
• A UNESCO Global Geopark - the designation resting on that geological variety.
• The Sec reservoir - wooded shores and a summer resort on the Chrudimka.
• Lichnice castle ruins - on a spur above the Lovetinska gorge.

When to go

April to October. Two days.

Honest expectations

The geology needs interpretation to appreciate - the landscape itself is gentle rather than dramatic. Sec is busy in summer. Public transport is thin. Geopark information points keep seasonal hours.

Nearby

Hlinsko and its Vysocina open-air museum are south-east.