Jeseníky Mountains resilient, magical and healing

Such are the Jeseníky Mountains, the second highest mountains in the country. The Jeseníky Mountains with their glistening waterfalls, mysterious caves, avalanching slopes and stony sea sleeping under the forest canopy, and of course the elves, who, according to legend, have been living for centuries in the peat bogs.

For stories of the healing water of Jeseníky

Before we go looking for the best ski terrain in the Jeseníky Mountains, let's first look at the unique possibilities that await you in these mountains until your body tells you - enough for today. The numerous medicinal springs gushing from the bowels of the mountains have already been spoken about. Of course you can also go to the spa after skiing in other mountains, but in Jeseníky it will be different. Take Karlova Studánka - for example, the smallest and highest spa in the Czech Republic. In a mountain basin under Praděd , in the arms of the forests, the air is crystal-clear, your lungs will loudly rejoice and you’ll be able to breathe deeper than you’ve ever dreamed. You will probably be a bit surprised by the local rehabilitation wellness pool in this tiny mountain village. It is filled with thermal salt water and contains a lot of modern rehabilitation elements. You can undergo complete hydrotherapy, thermotherapy and phototherapy, inhale the air of the salt cave, enjoy the color changing light days, go to the sauna or tepidarium ... The spa ensures massages and traditional treatments, so you can be sure that you will really experience luxurious relaxation. The spa stories from Jeseníky can sound a bit miraculous. The healing power of the mineral water springs in Karlova Studánka was first recognized certain by a certain Bruntál burgess, who at the end of the eighteenth century tried in desperation, to relieve his chronically sore feet. The effects were surprising, and so he tried heating up the water on the hot slag from smelters - and the pain subsided. There is an even more famous story behind the birth of the Jeseník spa. A local farmer, Vincenz Preissnitz, was walking through the woods when he caught sight of a limping deer that had just come out of a spring. He had seen her there repeatedly, until one time he saw it running away healthy. When a cart with wood later fell on him and doctors couldn’t help with, he tested the effects of water on himself and using cold compresses, he healed himself. Then he placed a common wooden washtub on the ground floor of his house, filled with spring water - and the first hydrotherapy institute in the world began functioning. It was the year 1822. One hundred years later, even the Russian poet Gogol was treated at the spa. And now you too can visit the Jeseník spa, tired all day from playing sports. Even here you can entrust yourself into the hands of masseurs and hydrotherapy, enjoy all the conveniences of wellness therapies, plus enjoy the atmosphere of a pulsating spa town within the sight of the town of Jeseník itself, with the remarkable homeland museum, a charming pastry shop and a Café in the native home of Vincenz Preissnitz.

Beautiful skiing

The Jeseníky Mountains are the idea locality for downhill and cross-country skiing as well as snowboarding. There are usually no problems with snow and the variety of terrain is really superior. Let's first take to the cross-country trails. Of all the 380 km of groomed trails in Jeseníky, those around Praděd are the most sought after. Perhaps wandering from Červenohorské Sedlo past the cottage Švýcárna, on top of Praděd with a needle-like tower and onward to Ovčárna, it is one beautiful route after another. However, it is said that the most picturesque, flowing and most gentle terrain is around Rejvíz. If you insist on visiting a ski resort, you won’t be far from these cross-country trails. Above all, there is the highest located resort in the Czech Republic, Praděd-Ovčárna. The snow there really lasts long into spring and really provides a fantastic ride. Six stunning slopes with a total length of 4.5 km, built on the northeast side, where there is some of the best snow conditions in the country. The climax is the legendary black ski slope from Petrovy kameny down into the Bílá Opava valley. A two-hundred meter elevation on 850 meters in length - simply wonderful. There are six modern lifts and a snow park. Another modern ski resort literally filled with snow sports possibilities is the nature park Králický Sněžník and is called Dolní Morava. Two four-seater chair-lifts and two ski tows lead to the top of five ski slopes with a unique width of 50-80 meters! On top of all this there is still the lighted bobsled with many curves and even 360 ° turns and up to 6 meter terrain dislocations open year round, as well as the beautiful forest toboggan run, two and a half kilometers long. The local Skialp center with a shop, rental and advising, with the possibility to participate in trips with a mountain guide or intense avalanche courses and alpine skiing courses are also unique. And to make sure that you get enough relaxation in this part of Jeseníky there is the Vista Wellness hotel right next to the slopes, which even has a golf simulator and a bowling alley. But if you really want to experience something extreme, that you can’t get elsewhere, go to Kouty nad Desnou. A two and a half kilometer cross-country trail around the most remarkable lake in Europe. The artificially created lake pumping water power station Dlouhé stráně is actually a cut-off hilltop filled with water. A surreal experience. Well, and then down, along one of the five slopes, perhaps the longest blue slope in Moravia, 3050 meters long, with an elevation of 520 meters or one of the two free ride zones.

Paper tip

Does hand-made paper intrigue you? Then be sure to go to Velké Losiny, to check out the Museum of paper. You will walk through the manufactory, watch the production process of handmade paper, you will learn all the history of this phenomenon, which enabled chronicling history and all human knowledge and art.

Fishing tip

Fishing in the winter? In the mountains? Why not, if you know where. By that we mean the magical pond logically named Úžas (wonder), in Hynčice pod Sušinou. Here you can catch fish even on bitter cold days, namely through a drilled hole in the ice. They can best guide you in the nearby ski area Králičák where, incidentally, there is also excellent skiing.