Discover Zaborci: Drábovna, hiking trails and culture

Zaborci combines marked hiking trails, unusual sandstone formations and traces of cultural history around Záborčí. Nearby is Drábovna, a small rock town on the right bank of the Jizera. The area also offers views of the Jizera Valley and distinctive landscape features such as the Vranovský hřbet ridge, Suché skály and Trosky. This makes it possible to discover the area through both its landscape and its history.

History and culture in Záborčí

Army General Alois Liška was born in Záborčí near Malá Skála. Another visible feature of the village is a relief wayside cross, which is designated as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. The area around Záborčí, particularly near Drábovna, also contains remains of a Neolithic settlement and a medieval castle. The rocky landscape thus brings together traces from different periods, without the individual remains being limited to a single era.

Drábovna: Rocks, caves and historical traces

Drábovna is characterized by sandstone blocks and numerous mushroom- or honeycomb-shaped rock formations. The distinctive formations include small caves called Foukané díry. The term “small rock town” refers not only to individual rocks, but to a continuous rocky environment along the banks of the Jizera. Together with the remains of the settlement and medieval castle, this creates a destination where natural formations and history are directly connected to the same area.

Hiking trails through Záborčí

A blue-marked hiking trail to Drábovna leads uphill through Záborčí. The blue-marked access route is 3 kilometers long. The three kilometers form a shorter route section than the two 12-kilometer routes; this distance supports separate planning of the shorter access route and the longer hike. The Zlatá stezka Českého ráje also runs from Dolánky via Bukovina and Záborčí to Drábovna. On the section through Záborčí, it crosses a first-class road. The ascent and the road crossing represent different sections of the route. For day planning, the 3-kilometer access route can be considered separately from the longer routes.

Comparing two 12-kilometer routes

The route “Vazoveckým údolím kolem Drábovny” is 12 kilometers long and has an elevation gain of 221 meters. It runs from U Voděrad via Záborčí to the main road between Malá Skála and Turnov. The stated suitability of this route for strollers and seniors provides additional guidance when choosing a suitable route option. The fourth day of the Zlatá stezka Českého ráje is also described as a 12-kilometer stage from Turnov to Malá Skála. Both details help classify the different routes around Záborčí by length and course, without combining them into a single route.

When searching for a hotel in Zaborci, you can therefore first decide whether Drábovna, a longer marked route, the views or the traces of cultural history should be the main focus.

To the overview of the broader trip: Kleinskal.