Things to Do in Moravian Karst

The Moravian Karst feels like someone left a back door open to the underworld. Damp limestone and pine needles scent the air as wooden walkways guide you past dripping stalactites, the echo of water following you into cathedral-sized caverns where the temperature drops ten degrees in an instant. Above ground, forest paths wind between sinkholes and disappearing streams, with the occasional farmhouse selling fresh cheese through a ground-floor window. Hikers emerge from cave mouths blinking at daylight, their boots muddy from underground rivers that have carved these passages over millions of years.

In Blansko's main square, Restaurace U Karla does proper Moravian goulse with bread dumplings that soak up the paprika sauce. The brewery restaurant near Starobrno serves beer-cheese soup in hollowed-out bread bowls that are a meal in themselves. Up at Skalní Mlýn, the touristy but decent Hotel Skalní Mlýn restaurant does trout from their own ponds with dill sauce - pricier than town but you're paying for the location. For something more local, the Jedovnice lake area has weekend beer gardens where families grill klobása sausages over open fires, the smoke mixing with pine scent from the surrounding forest.

May through September gives you full cave access and warm weather for hiking, though July-August brings tour bus crowds and higher accommodation rates. Late September is lovely - golden forest colors, fewer people, and the caves maintain their 8°C temperature regardless of outside weather. Winter access is limited to two caves and some trails can be icy, but you'll have Macocha Abyss almost to yourself with the mist rising from the gorge.