Říčky v Orlických horách

Photo: Ski centrum Říčky. Říčky v Orlických horách is a small but very charming ski resort a few kilometres north of the town of Rokytnice, right below the main ridge of the Orlické Mountains. Its out-of-the-way location has not stopped a fairly modern ski resort being built on the slopes of Zakletý vrch (992 m): it has varied pistes and is almost never crowded. What is more, prices here are very reasonable. The resort has a four-seater chairlift and two T-bars, but in total there are more than 4 km of downhill pistes. Thanks to its fairly high altitude and the harsh climate typical of the Orlické Mountains, the ski season here usually lasts until mid-April. Three pistes start at the chairlift's top station, black, red and blue, so there is something for everyone. On top of that there are more than 40 km of groomed cross-country trails, which are also best reached from the chairlift's top station. While in the area, it is worth spending a few hours visiting the nearby Hanička fortress: a complex of 6 combat bunkers forming a very strong group of fortifications on the former Czechoslovak border from the interwar years, which the communists later rebuilt as a nuclear shelter.