Sights The administration of the Protected Landscape Area and National Park Šumava is located in the town Vimperk. The separated stations are in the small town Kašperské Hory and in the village Horní Planá. Throughout all the national park there are a lot of information centres (with attendants or self-service with active notices). All the park is interlaced by the web of tourist trails, bike trails and paths for cross-country skiing. They are well marked both in the country and on maps and they lead to some of the most gorgeous places of the Šumava mountains. About 60 boating trails, mainly on the Otava and Vltava rivers, have good conditions for canoeing. The Otava river is navigable between villages Èeòkova Pila and Rejštejn in summertime. The Vltava river is passable between villages Borová Lada - Lenora in spring and in the part Lenora - Soumarský most - Nová Pec in summer. Visitors can use many instructional trails available throughout the Protected Landscape Area and National Park Šumava. The most well-known are nature trail Medvìdí Stezka (Bear Path), the nature trail in the protected peat-bog Chalupská Sla (Crip Fen), the nature trail in the Boubínský Prales (Boubín Virgin Forest) on Boubín mountain, the instructive trail Churáòov around the top of Churáòov mountain, the nature trail in Povydøí (Vydra Valley) along the Vydra river, the nature trail on the Hamižná Hora (Greedy Hill), etc. Besides extensive woodland areas, the national park Bavarian Forest offers mountain peaks with fascinating vistas of nearly endless forests which cover the mountain range representing the Bavarian-Bohemian border, mysterious bogs, cristal clear mountain streams and Lake Rachelsee, the park´s only glacial lake. The fauna, which is characteristic of this region, is the result of a rather harsh, slightly continental climate with high snowfall in the winter, increased by large differences in altitude between 600 to 1,453 meters. Besides the eagle-owl, the ural owl and the raven, which have been reintroduced to this area, the otter, the capercaille, the hazel grouse, the Eurasian Pygmy Owl and the Three-toed Woodpecker belong to the indigenous fauna. A network comprising more than 300 kilometers of well-signposted hiking routes, nearly 200 kilometers of bicycle routes and about 80 kilometers of cross-country ski runs give visitors the opportunity to enjoy the beauties of the national park´s characteristic nature, both, in summer and in winter. Furthermore, the park offers a wide range of touristic facilities free of charge, providing information and relaxation. Besides the "Hans-Eisenmann-Haus" information center near Neuschönau, with its surrounding outdoor enclosures for plants and rocks ("Pflanzen- und Gesteinsfreigelände") as well as the nearby outdoor enclosure for animals ("Tier-Freigelände"), visitors can enjoy nature trails such as the primeval forest trail "Watzlik-Hain", "Schachten & Filze" trail, "Seelensteig" trail, "Aufichtenwaldsteg" trail and "Hochwaldsteig" trail. Further hiking areas include the "Felswandergebiet", a rocky mountain hiking area and the "Waldgeschichtliche Wandergebiet", a hiking area where visitors can learn about the historical development of forests. All these attractions give visitors the opportunity to enjoy the national park´s wide range of attractions and to experience and understand the natural processes of creation, growth and decay. Sources: http://www.sumava.cz http://www.npsumava.cz http://www.jiznicechy.org/en/index.htm http://www.germany-tourism.de