Tucked away on the steep western slopes of Mount Travný (1,204 m) in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, the Travný Nature Reserve is one of the most untouched wild corners of the Czech mountains. For centuries, the sheer inaccessibility of these slopes kept loggers and settlers at bay, leaving fragments of near-primeval forest that are now home to brown bears, Eurasian lynx, and grey wolves — the only place in the Czech Republic where all three large predators share the same territory.

Covering nearly 155 hectares with an elevation difference of up to 673 metres — among the greatest of any small protected area in Czechia — the reserve shifts dramatically in character as you climb. Beech dominates the lower and middle slopes, mixing with silver fir and Norway spruce, while the highest zones harbour introduced mountain pine and green alder. In autumn the beech forests blaze with copper and gold; in spring the forest floor comes alive with Carpathian endemic plants like the glandular toothwort. Deep-cut mountain streams, boulder fields and rugged ridgelines give this landscape an authentic wilderness feel that is rare in Central Europe.

• From Pražmo village — blue-marked hiking trail leading to the Travný summit; the trail passes along the north-eastern edge of the reserve. Difficulty: moderate to demanding.

• The reserve has been protected since 2000 and overlaps with the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area and Natura 2000 sites.
• No marked hiking trails run through the interior of the reserve — the blue trail skirts its edge only.
• Cycling is not prohibited on forest roads but is discouraged, especially during the bird breeding season.
• There is no tourist hut or shelter on Mount Travný itself — plan accordingly.

Keep an eye out for the fire salamander hiding beneath mossy logs in damp hollows — and listen for the drumming of the black woodpecker, which nests here regularly. The reserve waited decades for official protection, finally receiving it in the year 2000.