Na Letišti is a small but ecologically rich nature monument on the southwestern edge of Otrokovice. It's a former meander of the Morava River, cut off from the main channel during river regulation - now a quiet backwater teeming with aquatic plants and wildlife, perfect for a peaceful nature walk.

The scenery is defined by calm, reed-fringed water bordered by white willows, blackthorn and elderberry bushes. In summer the surface is partly covered with floating water plants, and you can often hear frogs calling or spot a grass snake gliding through the vegetation. In autumn and winter the old river arm takes on a still, misty character typical of abandoned meanders, drawing waterfowl to its sheltered waters.

How to get there

• From the center of Otrokovice, near the train station - about 1.5 km southwest, easy walk, roughly 20-25 minutes
• Also reachable via local field paths from the town's outskirts

Practical information

• Protected as a nature monument since 1997 (previously a state nature reserve from 1956)
• The site protects rare aquatic plants and animals, including the critically endangered water caltrop (Trapa natans)
• Managed by the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency of the Czech Republic

Interesting fact: back in the 1980s, around 300 water caltrop plants grew here - a critically endangered species in the Czech Republic whose population has sadly since declined significantly.