Srdínko
Srdínko

Sites of natural interest

Punkevní jeskyně   Come and get to know the most important karst area in Central Europe - the Moravian Karst. In orographic terms it is part of the Drahany Highlands (along with the Adamov Highlands and Konice Highlands). The Moravian Karst is the largest and most typically karstic area in the Czech Highlands. Typologically this is mesokarst, i.e. incomplete karst with relatively pronounced development of surface and underground phenomena. The most characteristic karst features include plateaux, sinkholes, plunges and springs, not to mention caves and depressions, important archaeological sites and remarkable flora and fauna. Krasový jev The Moravian Karst was declared a protected landscape area in 1956, as only the second such area in the country to be given this status. The most interesting locations in the karst include the national nature reserves Vývěry Punkvy (The Punkva Springs), Býčí Skála (Bull Rock) and Rudické Propadání (The Rudice Depression). Rakovec Valley, through which an educational trail runs, is also an important location. There are wetlands here with alder and ash trees, the only place where the flowers snowflakes grow in the Vyškov region. An artesian well is one of the items of interest to be seen along the educational trail. The principal landscape feature in the Drahany Highlands are extensive remnants of levelled surface, which was formed primarily in the Tertiary period. The streams and rivers in the headwater areas form wide shallow valleys. The greatest altitude in the vicinity of our cycle path is around 600 metres above sea level on the flat summit near Senetářov, on which the Kojál television transmitter stands - one of the tallest manmade structures in the Czech Republic (339.5 m).
 
The Moravian Karst
 
  Blansko is known as the gateway to the Moravian Karst, whose unique and individual character attracts tourists from all over the world. Hřebenáč Of the more than one thousand caves here, four are open to the public. The greatest attraction in the Moravian Karst is undoubtedly the Punkva Caves, which offer a unique boat ride along the underground River Punkva and a sightseeing trip opening out into the bottom of the Macocha Gorge. Catherine Cave is also an attractive destination for families with children, most notably for its extensive stalactites and stalagmites. You can get to both caves from Skalní Mlýn (Rock Mill) in the Moravian Karst. The Balcarka Cave in Ostrov u Macochy, in contrast, attracts visitors with its unusual variety of colour and its intricate labyrinth of passages and cupolas. The last of the cave systems open to the public are the Sloupsko-Šosůvské Caves, falling under the authority of Sloup in the Moravian Karst, Jeskyně which conceal wild and monumental formations alternating with delicate multiform stalactites and stalagmites. These are also the only caves accessible to those in wheelchairs.
Reservation of tickets to the caves:
Skalní Mlýn Central Information Service - tel. 516 413 575,
uismk@cavemk.cz
 
The Rudice Depression
 
  The dominant feature of the middle part of the Moravian Karst - the Jedovnice waters disappear underground here, coming back to the surface after a long journey through the mysterious underground near the distant Býčí Skála (Bull Rock) twelve kilometres away. It also boasts the deepest dry gorge in the Czech Republic (153 metres) and a system of waterfalls 86 metres high. Certain areas are open following agreement with the local speleological organisation.