Plechý and Plešné Lake

The highest peak of the Czech part of the Šumava (1,378 m) lies approximately 14 km west of Horní Planá and about 8 km southwest of Nová Pec, right on the Czech-Austrian border. The mountain attracts visitors with many interesting features. The most popular is the glacial Plešné Lake, which for years had been inaccessible to the public. On the slope above the lake stands a 14.5-meter-high monument to writer and poet Adalbert Stifter, built by local stonemasons on the steep cliff he liked to visit for its scenic views.

On the southern slope of Plechý rises the 211-meter-high rock wall of the Plešné Lake cirque – a significant geomorphological formation and one of the most valuable elements of this nature reserve. Near the "dam" (cirque threshold) of Plešné Lake lies a large stone field composed of massive boulders of coarse-grained Plöckenstein granite, cracked by frost weathering.

The northern slope of Plechý is traversed by the Schwarzenberg Timber Floating Canal, accessible from the hamlet of Jelení, where the canal passes through an underground tunnel with two interesting portals.

Access to the summit of Plechý is possible via the red-marked ridge trail from Nové Údolí (4 km south of Stožec) via Dreisessel (Třístoličník), Trojmezná and Trojmezí (15 km – approx. 5 hrs). From Plechý, you can continue along the yellow trail down to Plešné Lake. From there, you can follow the green trail to the hamlet of Jelení or take the green trail with a connection to the blue trail to Nová Pec.