Adršpach-Teplice Rocks

Otherworldly rock formations fill this park, cropping up among the trees like giant stone guardians of the forest. The sandstone behemoths are massive. Yet despite their impressive size, they cast a rather small shadow on the Czech international tourism scene.

Pass through the Gothic Gate, which looks like a portal to a mythical realm, and you’ll find yourself winding among the rocks, squeezing through crevices, and generally feeling small. Various trails weave around the formations, and climbers often test their skills on the sandstone towers. Keep an eye out for peregrine falcons, too, as this reserve is one of the species’ largest permanent breeding sites in Europe.

Within these obscure and towering rock formations are such unique finds as a bust of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Why Goethe, who was German and not Czech after all? Goethe not only wrote “Faust,” which would be reason enough. He also visited these rocks in 1790, well before the reserve was on the tourism map.