Podyji National Park

The hike through Podyji National Park was one of the most memorable moments during our long Europe trip.

Podyji (Czech name for the park) or Thayatal (German name) National Park is located on the border of the Czech Republic and Austria. It was inaccessible until 1991 since it was a border zone. We could not even realize when we were crossing the little bridge inside the park from one country into another one. It is the smallest Czech National Park and exceptionally well preserved river valley in a richly wooded landscape.

To go to the national park, we had to arrive in the village called Znojmo by bus from Brno. There are different ways to arrive in Znojmo.

By plane: The nearest airports are in Brno (80 km away), Vienna airport (100 km away) and Prague airport (200 km away).

By bus: There are regular buses from Prague and Brno to Znojmo. By Train: There are trains to and from Vienna (Znojmo-Vienna) every 2 hrs. The journey takes about 90 minutes. 

By Car: There is no direct highway to Znojmo or Podyji N.P. From Prague use the highway to Brno, exit via Jihlava. From Brno use the motorway to Mikulov, exit behind Pohorelice. 

We arrived in Znojmo by bus in the late evening so we didn’t visit the village but went straight to the National Park to find a place to sleep. However, to get to the park, we had to pass a part of the village so we also could take some photos of it.

There are different shelters in the park but we chose a nice place to put our tent with a view of the village. It was very nice at night and amazing at sunrise.

The National Park offers more than 100 km of hiking trails. The hiking routes bring you to to explore the river valley, ascend to rocky overlooks, and lead to many historical landmarks within the park

On the Czech side, the trails are marked by the Czech Tourist Club marking system. The trails are easy to follow. On the Austrian side, there are signs with the name of the tour and a logo of Thayatal National Park.

The hike was not too difficult and the view along the way was peaceful and beautiful.

We arrived at a small village called Hnanice at the Austrian side. Although Czechs are famous for their beer drinking, the area around the park is famous for its wine. Some say it is one of the best in Europe, but this can be argued. Many of the vineyards are on sunny south facing slopes sheltered from the wind, and the weather is relatively warm here. The area is popular with cycling trails along vineyards with the goal of some wine tasting.

It was a very nice experience. We met friendly and welcoming locals, got some presents from a Czech soldier, caught some fish, washed in the pure freezing river and enjoyed the feeling of crossing a border of two countries without notice.