Velká Volavka is a small but botanically remarkable nature reserve tucked just southeast of the village of Volevčice, on the northwestern slope of the hill that shares its name. It's not a place you visit for sweeping panoramas, but for something rarer - a surviving patch of salt-loving vegetation unlike anything else in the region.

The landscape here consists of damp meadows and saline grassland at the foot of a modest 344-metre hill, part of the Ranský Highlands. The setting is quiet and unassuming, with its best moments coming in spring and early summer when the protected plants bloom. The terrain is flat and easy, making it perfect for an unhurried walk with binoculars or a camera in hand.

How to get there

• From Volevčice - a short walk of about 10-15 minutes, easy terrain suitable for everyone
• Alternatively, approach from the summit of Velká Volavka hill, descending its northwestern slope

Practical information

• Declared a protected nature reserve in 2000 to safeguard halophilic (salt-loving) plants
• The only known site in the Most district for the critically endangered sea plantain (Plantago maritima)
• Other protected species found here include rye sedge, saltmarsh rush and tall melilot
• Visitors are encouraged to keep to marked paths to avoid damaging the fragile habitat

This tiny reserve holds a botanical rarity - a remnant of salt meadows that have almost disappeared from the Czech landscape.