Welcome to a landscape where you’ll rarely encounter a soul on the hiking trail. Where the views are so breathtaking that you have to stop and take a deep breath. Where water flows uphill and the landscape is bathed in gold. A place where you’ll find people with big hearts and their sleeves rolled up, ready to work.
We’ll start our journey at the Edel Sanatorium, whose history dates back to the second half of the 19th century. Today, it’s a private children’s sanatorium specializing in respiratory diseases and speleotherapy. The sanatorium is surrounded by the forests of the Jeseníky Protected Landscape Area, a large park with disc golf, a maze, and an amphitheater.
From Edel, you can walk along the green hiking trail to the Zlaté Hory train station, which now offers train trips to nearby villages (only on weekends and holidays) in the spacious car of local train No. 297, taking us back a few decades in time.
If you continue along this route, you’ll come across the Gold Prospectors’ Open-Air Museum. It offers a unique glimpse back into a time when the region was teeming with adventurers eager to find lasting fortune in the form of gold. During the tour, visitors can try their hand at panning for gold, examine period tools, or dip their feet in the stream that flows through the entire grounds. Nearby, you’ll also find the Zlatorudné Mills and Náhon—a place where water flows uphill.
On the other hand, if you head in the opposite direction from Edel, you certainly won’t miss the observation tower on Biskupská kupa rising in the distance—the first stone observation tower in the Jeseníky Mountains. For more experienced hikers (the elevation gain on the route is approximately 450 m), a green hiking trail leads from the town square. Along the way, you’ll come across the Chapel of St. Roch, Mnichovy kameny, and Hoffman’s Bench. A less demanding route follows the blue trail from Petrovy boudy, which you can reach by car or bus.
Zlaté Hory is surrounded by the neighbouring villages. In Horní údolí, the Chapel of St Anne with its glass roof is certainly worth a visit; it used to be an important place of worship for devout miners. If you head there directly from the bus turning circle, don’t forget to look down the hill. For all lovers (whether couples or mountain enthusiasts), there is a heart-shaped pond to admire.
From St Anne’s, pilgrims would set off for the pilgrimage site known mainly as Maria Hilf (the Church of Our Lady of Help). These two places are linked by a hiking trail approximately 3.5 km long with a gentle incline. However, if you love views as much as we do, we definitely recommend extending the route a little to visit the Táborské and Hornické Rocks. You won’t regret it.
Last but not least, the well-known Velké mechové jezírko (Great Moss Lake) is certainly worth a mention; you can easily reach it from Rejvíz. An educational trail with wooden walkways leads to the lake, allowing you to explore this unique environment.
