Kozinecká stráň is a small yet remarkably rich nature reserve near the village of Hřivice in the Louny district of the Czech Republic. It's a great pick for hikers who enjoy quiet forest trails and a chance to spot rare plant species growing on warm, limestone-based slopes.

The reserve protects a warmth-loving oak forest mixed with beech and hornbeam, growing on the marlstone bedrock typical of the Džbán protected landscape area. The slope has a gentle, wooded character, and the atmosphere is especially rewarding in late spring and early summer, when the notable population of white dittany (Dictamnus albus) comes into bloom alongside other protected plants.

How to get there

• From the village of Markvarec — red trail, about 1.2 km to the reserve, easy walk
• Red-marked trail running from Třeskonice through Výrov, past a hunting lodge to Konětopy, on to Pravda and Domoušice — passes along the upper edge of the slope

Practical information

• Managed by the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency of the Czech Republic
• Established to protect warmth-loving oak woodland and rare plant species
• Notable plants include white helleborine (Cephalanthera damasonium), erect clematis (Clematis recta), bastard balm (Melittis melissophyllum) and dwarf milkwort (Polygala chamaebuxus)

The rich population of white dittany makes this small reserve a real botanical highlight of the Louny region.