--- title: "Benešky: mountain meadows and orchids above Horní Bečva" description: "Benešky is a junction and mountain meadows on the Vsetínské vrchy ridge. See the place where restored care has brought back nine species of orchid." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/en/benesky" lang: "en" latitude: 49.3980303 longitude: 18.3155419 --- ![An aerial view of a ridge meadow with a wooden shelter at the edge of the spruce forest, the wooded ridges of the Beskids behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/DJI_0122.avif) Ridge meadows • Vsetínské vrchy • 855 m a.s.l. # Benešky Mowing and grazing hold the meadows on the ridge. Without them the wood would swallow them in a few years. - **Altitude:** 855 m a.s.l. - **Ridge meadows:** about 7 ha in zone I of the PLA - **Orchids:** 9 species - **What stands here:** a signpost and a shelter ## The meadows the scythe saved On the ridge of the Vsetínské vrchy above Horní Bečva the wood opens out into **a belt of meadows with a view of the Javorníky Mountains**. The meadows were grazed and mown by pasekáři. Once the mowing stopped, they became overgrown. Since 2003 the meadows have been maintained again - and they have repaid it with **nine species of orchid**. ![A mown meadow on the ridge, a bench and a wooden signpost with a yellow plate under a mature tree, a wooden fence rail on the right and a view of wooded ridges](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/IMG_9818.avif) The bench under the tree at the edge of the meadow. From here you can see why people come - and the essential thing as well: the meadow is mown. Why come here ### A view the wood does not allow elsewhere The ridge of the Vsetínské vrchy is wooded for most of its length. **At Benešky it opens out** - across the meadows you can see the Javorníky Mountains opposite and down into the valley. What not to miss ### Orchids right by the path **Nine species of orchid** grow on the meadows, among them the early-purple orchid and the western marsh orchid - right by the path. When to come ### All year, best in spring Best in **May and June**, when the meadows and the orchids are in flower. In winter the Vsetínské vrchy cross-country ski trail runs through Benešky. ![A wooden shelter with a shingled hipped roof and a bench inside, a signpost beside it, spruce forest and a gravel track around](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/IMG_9816.avif) ![A wooden signpost with a small roof, carrying white KČT direction plates reading Benešky (rozc.) 855 m and yellow cycle signs](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/IMG_9810.avif) ![A wooden information panel reading Benešky by a gravel track, a fenced pasture and meadow on the right, wood behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/IMG_9808.avif) A crossroads on the ridge ### A signpost, a shelter and four directions Benešky is a junction. Along the ridge comes [the red ridge route of the Vsetínské vrchy](https://zpusteven.cz/hiking/hrebenovka-solan-benesky-trestik), which runs from [Čarták](https://zpusteven.cz/en/cartak) to Třeštík with a turning to the highest summit, Vysoká. The blue waymarks lead up here from Horní Bečva below. **Cycle routes** cross here as well ([Rožnov](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznov-pod-radhostem) is 24 km away along them, Horní Bečva 8 km). In winter the **Vsetínské vrchy cross-country ski trail** passes through, a groomed track from Vsacký Cáb to Třeštík. When the weather turns, you can take cover in the **wooden shelter with a shingled roof and a bench**. By the track there is also an information panel from the municipality of Horní Bečva, and the **Benešky spring** rises not far from the path. ![A wooden shelter with a shingled hipped roof and a bench inside, a signpost beside it, spruce forest and a gravel track around](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/IMG_9816.avif) The shelter and the signpost stand right beside each other. ## The story of the paseky meadows The meadow on the ridge was made by people, not by nature - and without their work it becomes overgrown again. A meadow as human work ### The pasekáři turned wood into meadows The Vsetínské vrchy were originally wooded from top to bottom. The meadows on the ridge were made by people: **the pasekáři cleared the wood and kept it open by grazing and mowing**. The settlement of Benešky, which the junction is named after, lies lower down the slope - the ridge used to be its pasture and its hay meadow. ![An aerial view of a belt of grassy meadows on the ridge hemmed in by spruce forest, a valley with scattered houses and wooded mountains behind](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/benesky/1280/DJI_0124.avif) Twenty years without a scythe ### When the mowing stopped, the meadows became overgrown **For almost twenty years nobody looked after these meadows.** They became overgrown with self-seeded growth, and with them went the rare flora the meadows are protected for. Had that been left to continue, they would have ended like the meadows [Pod Tanečnicí](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pod-tanecnici). There the salašnictví sheep farming declined and the pastures are gradually becoming overgrown with trees. > Doing nothing does not protect the nature here. Without regular care the meadow would grow into wood and lose the variety it is protected for. For another place where intervention helps nature, see [Pod Juráškou](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pod-juraskou). Since 2003 the meadows have been maintained by conservationists under the **Program péče o krajinu**, the landscape care programme. First the ground had to be **cleared of self-seeded growth**. All that was left of it are copses of birch and spruce and a few junipers scattered across the meadow. The meadows cover roughly seven hectares and lie in zone I of the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area. - **area of the ridge meadows:** about 7 ha - **regular upkeep of the meadows:** since 2003 - **species of orchid:** 9 #### What was at stake The ground flora. Orchids and the other plants are the first to go from an unmown meadow - had the restoration waited another twenty years, there would be nothing here to admire today. What the mowing brought back ### Nine species of orchid grow here today The orchids flower here from May into early summer. You can see them right by the path. - ![A western marsh orchid - a dense purple orchid spike on a wet meadow](https://d.zpusteven.cz/ccmedia/1280/dactylorhiza-majalis.avif) #### Western marsh orchid Dactylorhiza majalis The most striking orchid here - a dense, deep purple spike, with leaves usually darkly spotted. It flowers from May; come in May and June for the best chance of catching it. Foto: [Jörg Hempel, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dactylorhiza%5Fmajalis%5FLC0269.jpg), [CC BY-SA 3.0 DE](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.cs) - ![A lesser butterfly-orchid - a loose spike of white orchid flowers with long spurs](https://d.zpusteven.cz/ccmedia/1280/platanthera-bifolia.avif) #### Lesser butterfly-orchid Platanthera bifolia White flowers with a long spur on a loose spike, and two large opposite leaves at the ground. It is most fragrant towards evening - it draws the night moths that pollinate it. Foto: [Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platanthera%5Fbifolia%5F%28flower%5Fspike%29.jpg), [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) - ![An early-purple orchid - three crimson orchid spikes in the grass](https://d.zpusteven.cz/ccmedia/1280/orchis-mascula.avif) #### Early-purple orchid Orchis mascula A crimson spike on the mown meadows, with leaves often darkly spotted. It flowers early, in May and June; later nothing is left of it but a leaf. Foto: [Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orchis%5Fmascula%5F%28trio%29.jpg), [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) - ![A round-headed orchid - a pink globe of small flowers on a slender stem](https://d.zpusteven.cz/ccmedia/1024/traunsteinera-globosa.avif) #### Round-headed orchid Traunsteinera globosa You will know it by its shape: the flowers are packed into a pink globe on a slender stem. A mountain orchid - it flowers on the meadows in June and July. Foto: [Bernd Haynold, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traunsteinera%5Fglobosa%5F250704.jpg), [CC BY 2.5](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/) - ![A common twayblade - an orchid with greenish flowers and two large oval leaves](https://d.zpusteven.cz/ccmedia/1280/neottia-ovata.avif) #### Common twayblade Neottia ovata An inconspicuous orchid with greenish flowers - you will walk past it unless you know what to look for. The pair of large oval leaves facing each other low on the stem gives it away. Foto: [Rob Hille, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neottia%5Fovata%5FR.H.%5F%2814%29.jpg), [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) - ![A broad-leaved helleborine - an orchid with green and pink flowers on a one-sided raceme](https://d.zpusteven.cz/ccmedia/1280/epipactis-helleborine.avif) #### Helleborines Epipactis sp. A genus of orchids with inconspicuous green and pink flowers on a one-sided raceme. They flower later than the others - in summer, when the most colourful wave on the meadow is over. The photograph shows the broad-leaved helleborine, the commonest member of the genus; the source for Benešky names only the genus. Foto: [Alex Abair, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Epipactis%5Fhelleborine%5F543677123.jpg), [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) The photographs of individual species are taken from Wikimedia Commons (author and licence given with the photo) - they show the species, not a particular plant from Benešky. Timeline ## From pasture to mown meadows 1. in the past ### The ridge as pasture The meadows on the ridge are kept by the **grazing and mowing** of the pasekáři from the settlement of Benešky. The open country is a by-product of farming. 2. 1973 ### The Beskydy PLA is declared The ridge becomes part of the protected landscape area. The meadows at Benešky are among the most valuable ground and fall within **zone I**. 3. before 2003 ### Almost twenty years without upkeep **Nobody mows** the meadows. They become overgrown with self-seeded woody plants and lose their openness - and the rare flora goes with it. 4. 2003 ### Care returns The meadows begin to be maintained under the **Program péče o krajinu**. The self-seeded growth is cleared, and only copses of birch and spruce and a few junipers are left on the ground. 5. today ### Nine species of orchid **Nine species of orchid** grow on seven hectares of mown meadows - among them the early-purple orchid, the western marsh orchid, the round-headed orchid and the lesser butterfly-orchid. Visit ## Plan your climb to Benešky You cannot drive here - and that is just as well. Benešky is the reward for an hour's climb from Horní Bečva or for a stretch of the ridge walk. ### Where exactly it is #### On the ridge between Pálenice and Polana The junction lies at **855 m a.s.l.** on the ridge of the Vsetínské vrchy south-east of Horní Bečva, between the summits of Pálenice (848 m) and Polana (937 m), roughly halfway between Soláň and Třeštík. Along the ridge it is about two kilometres to Kotlová and four to Vysoká, the highest summit of the Vsetínské vrchy. ##### Otevřít v mapách [Mapy.com](https://mapy.com/en/zakladni?x=18.3155419&y=49.3980303&z=17&source=coor&id=18.3155419,49.3980303) · [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=49.3980303,18.3155419) ##### Other places nearby [The lookouts above the quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) · [The Horní Bečva dam](https://zpusteven.cz/horni-becva-reservoir) · [Kotlová and the settlement of Jezerné](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kotlova) · [Šorštýn](https://zpusteven.cz/en/sorstyn) · [The source of the Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pramen-becvy) · [Kudlačena](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kudlacena) · [Čarták](https://zpusteven.cz/en/cartak) · [Pod Juráškou](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pod-juraskou) Map of the area ### How to get here **Three waymarked routes** lead to Benešky - one from the valley below and two along the ridge. Choose where to set out from: 1. 1 #### Horní Bečva start • 505 m a.s.l. Leave the car in the village (no road goes up) and find the blue waymarks. The nearest stop is **Horní Bečva, přehrada**; check the connection in IDOS. 2. 2 #### The climb on the blue route ~3.5 km • 350 m of ascent A steady climb on forest and field tracks from the valley to the ridge. The shortest way up, and the steepest - allow an hour to an hour and a quarter. 3. #### The Benešky junction destination • you are here The wood opens out, the meadows appear and with them the view of the Javorníky Mountains. A wooden shelter with a bench stands by the signpost. [The whole route: from Horní Bečva to Benešky](https://zpusteven.cz/hiking/horni-becva-benesky) **Not by car to the top:** there is no car park at Benešky and no access road. Park at a starting point below (Horní Bečva, Soláň, Třeštík) and walk the last kilometres. ### What to know before you go #### How long it takes From Horní Bečva up, allow **an hour to an hour and a half** of walking. You can carry on along the ridge - 2 km to Kotlová, 4 km to Vysoká. #### Weather on the ridge An open meadow is fine, but unpleasant in a storm. The **wooden shelter by the signpost** is the only refuge for a long way - and the signpost carries the number for the Horská služba mountain rescue. #### Nearest facilities At the junction there is only **a shelter with a bench**. Refreshments and toilets are down in the villages and saddles below the ridge. #### Go gently with the meadows You are in **zone I of the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area**. The orchids grow right by the path - leave them standing, keep out of the mown ground and keep your dog on a lead. Part of the meadow along the path is fenced - stay behind the fence. #### In winter The **Vsetínské vrchy cross-country ski trail** passes through Benešky - a groomed track that runs along the ridge from Vsacký Cáb to Třeštík. Na závěr ## Doplňující info a test znalostí ### Rychlá rekapitulace **Why is there meadow on the ridge at Benešky and not wood?** The Vsetínské vrchy were originally wooded from top to bottom. The pasekáři cleared the wood and kept the open ridge by grazing and mowing - without that work there would be wood here again. **What happened to the meadows when the mowing stopped?** For almost twenty years nobody maintained them and they became overgrown with self-seeded trees. Care came back in 2003 under the Program péče o krajinu. **How many species of orchid grow at Benešky?** Nine species, among them the early-purple orchid, the western marsh orchid, the round-headed orchid and the lesser butterfly-orchid. They flower from May into early summer. **How high is the Benešky junction?** 855 m a.s.l., on the ridge of the Vsetínské vrchy between the summits of Pálenice (848 m) and Polana (937 m). **Can I drive to Benešky?** No - no road and no car park go up there. Three waymarked routes lead here: from Horní Bečva below, or along the ridge from Soláň or from Třeštík. --- Source: [Benešky: mountain meadows and orchids above Horní Bečva](https://zpusteven.cz/en/benesky) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.