Divoká Šárka — "wild Šárka" — is the nature reserve where Prague gives up being a city. A brook called the Šárecký cuts a gorge through cliffs on the north-western edge, and the whole thing sits inside the tram zone: woods, a crag, a swimming lake, all a half-hour from the centre. Roughly four and a half kilometres, best in the morning before the meadows fill.
The 20 and 26 trams end at the reserve and so does the traffic. Drop down into the les (woods) and make first for Dívčí skok, the skála (crag) the legend of Šárka is named for — a real drop into the valley, the edge unfenced. Below it the gorge is the dramatic stretch, the path running with the brook between the cliffs, cool even in August.
Then the land opens. Džbán is a reservoir with a natural swimming area; you don't have to swim, but bring a towel if it's hot. Cross the meadows east — the gentle half of the walk — and follow the woodland paths out to Nádraží Veleslavín, where the metro A takes you back.
