--- title: "Source of the Rožnovská Bečva below Vysoká | zPusteven.cz" description: "Where does the Rožnovská Bečva rise? Below Vysoká above Horní Bečva. Find the way to the source and see how the river carries on through Rožnov." url: "https://zpusteven.cz/en/pramen-becvy" lang: "en" latitude: 49.4057061 longitude: 18.3632617 --- ![A wooden roof over the spring on a steep beech hillside, with a wooden trough below it carrying the water away](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pramen-becvy/1280/IMG_9242.avif) River source • Vsetínské vrchy • Horní Bečva • about 950 m a.s.l. # The source of the Bečva A thin trickle runs out of a wooden spout under a little roof. Thirty-eight kilometres on it is the river that gave its name to the region and to three villages. - **Altitude of the source:** about 950 m a.s.l. - **Length of the Rožnovská Bečva:** 38 km to the confluence - **Fall to the mouth at the Morava:** 509 m - **Mouth:** the Morava near Tovačov ## A Bečva that is not called the Bečva yet In a steep beech wood below Vysoká, water runs out of a wooden spout under a roof carved with the words _Pramen Bečvy_, the source of the Bečva. The water flowing from here is, **however, not called the Bečva yet**: for the first 38 kilometres it is the Rožnovská Bečva. It takes the name Bečva only at Valašské Meziříčí, where it meets its sister - the Vsetínská Bečva, which rises a few kilometres away near Bumbálka. ![The face of the wooden roof with the words PRAMEN BEČVY carved into it, a carved wooden head on the left with a porcelain mug hanging from it; water runs from the spout below](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pramen-becvy/1280/IMG_9258.avif) The words are carved into the beam and a mug hangs on a wooden head. A few litres a minute run out below them. Why come here ### The start of a river you know from lower down A thin trickle in the middle of a beech wood - **the first metres of the water** that 38 kilometres on is the river Bečva. You can put your hand in it right at the spout. When to come ### Better outside a dry summer The spring weakens in dry spells: **in August 2013, according to the register of springs, it was not running at all**, and a year later it ran despite the drought. After rain and in spring is the safe bet. What not to miss ### The last few steps to the outflow Do not skip the drop right down to the spout itself, where the water falls into the trough - the last few metres are steep and slippery when wet, and **wooden and rope railings** help. ![The wooden roof over the spring from the front, with the words PRAMEN BEČVY carved into it and a mug, the water running away down the slope in a wooden trough](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pramen-becvy/1280/IMG_9244.avif) ![A close view of the end of the wooden spout, with a trickle of water falling onto the stones and wet wood below](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pramen-becvy/1280/IMG_9248.avif) ![A wooden roof over the spring on a steep beech hillside, with a wooden trough below it carrying the water away](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pramen-becvy/1280/IMG_9242.avif) ## The story of the source of the Bečva The water comes to the surface here - and sets out on a journey of 38 kilometres. Two rivers, one mountain ### The Bečva is born twice. Each time on a different side of Vysoká Vysoká (1,024 m a.s.l.) is the highest summit of the Vsetínské vrchy and a watershed as well: water runs off its slopes to both sides. The neighbouring summit of Trojačka stands close by - and according to the ethnographer Richard Jeřábek both arms of the Bečva rise on the flanks of these two hills: **the Rožnovská Bečva on the northern side, the Vsetínská on the southern**. From there each goes its own way. The Rožnovská heads north-west, through Horní, Prostřední and Dolní Bečva to Rožnov, then on to Zubří and Zašová. The Vsetínská rounds the ridge the other way, through Velké Karlovice and Vsetín. **They meet only at Valašské Meziříčí** - the Rožnovská after **38 kilometres**, the Vsetínská after **59** - and the town's name comes from that land between the rivers. Only there does the river called the Bečva come into being. **The name Bečva itself is older and louder than you might expect:** it is derived from the Old Czech words bek and beč (a cry, a bleating), so it means “the noisy river”. [The river Bečva - the whole story and the course to the Morava](https://zpusteven.cz/en/roznovska-becva) The course in outline The Rožnovská Bečva and the Vsetínská Bečva come down from opposite sides of Vysoká. They meet only at Valašské Meziříčí - and from that moment they carry the common name Bečva. What stands here today ### A spout, a roof and a mug on a carved head The outflow is covered today by **a wooden shelter with a pitched roof** on four posts. Water runs from it away down the slope in **a wooden trough**. The words “Pramen Bečvy” are carved into the beam, and beside them a carved wooden head holds a hanging porcelain mug. Two patrons look after the spring: **Lesy ČR and Klub českých turistů Valašsko - Chřiby**. The water is no certainty, though. The register of springs recorded in **August 2013** that the spring was giving no water at all; in the dry summer that followed it ran again. The last steps down to it go along a steep hillside. **Wooden and rope railings** help - the descent is slippery when wet. ![The wooden roof over the spring in a wide view of the light-filled beech hillside with tall straight trunks](https://d.zpusteven.cz/place/pramen-becvy/1280/IMG_9273.avif) The shelter on the beech hillside below Vysoká. From here it is 38 km to Valašské Meziříčí and another 62 km to the Morava. Visit ## How to reach the source ### Where exactly it is #### A beech hillside below the summit of Vysoká The source lies in the cadastre of Horní Bečva, on the flank of Vysoká (1,024 m a.s.l.) in the Vsetínské vrchy. A waymarked turning leads to it off the red route; the last few metres drop into a cut in the hillside with a railing. ##### Otevřít v mapách [Mapy.com](https://mapy.com/en/zakladni?x=18.3632617&y=49.4057061&z=17&source=coor&id=18.3632617,49.4057061) · [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=49.4057061,18.3632617) ##### Nearby [Šorštýn](https://zpusteven.cz/en/sorstyn) · [The Tripoint](https://zpusteven.cz/en/trojmezi) · [The lookouts above the quarry](https://zpusteven.cz/viewpoints-above-the-quarry) · [Benešky](https://zpusteven.cz/en/benesky) · [The Horní Bečva dam](https://zpusteven.cz/horni-becva-reservoir) · [Kudlačena](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kudlacena) · [The Partisan](https://zpusteven.cz/partisan-memorial-makov) · [Kotlová and the settlement of Jezerné](https://zpusteven.cz/en/kotlova) Map of the area ### How to get here The usual approach is from **Třeštík** along the red waymarks towards Vysoká. By bus you reach the **Horní Bečva, Hlavatá, rozcestí** stop, from where the yellow waymarks lead to Třeštík; check both your arrival and your return service in [IDOS](https://idos.cz/vlakyautobusymhdvse/spojeni/). 1. 1 #### Hlavatá the Horní Bečva, Hlavatá, rozcestí stop • start on the yellow route A stop on the road below the ridge. The yellow waymarks lead up from here to Třeštík. 2. 2 #### Třeštík the saddle • change to the red route From the saddle the red ridge route carries on towards Vysoká. You follow it as far as the turning. 3. #### The source of the Bečva destination • a waymarked turning off the red route The turning is waymarked; the drop to the shelter is short but steep - wooden and rope railings help. You come back the same way. The turning is a short detour from the red route between Třeštík and Soláň - so you can call in on a ridge walk from the other direction too. The whole trip to the source and back is reckoned at roughly two hours. ### What to know before you go #### How long it takes The trip to the source and back comes to roughly **two hours**. #### The ground The last stretch is **steep and slippery when wet** - there are wooden and rope railings. Stout footwear pays off. #### The water The spring weakens in dry spells - **in August 2013 it gave no water at all**. #### Nearest facilities Refreshments and toilets are at the **Třeštík saddle**. Na závěr ## Doplňující info a test znalostí ### Rychlá rekapitulace **Where does the Rožnovská Bečva rise?** On the northern flank of Vysoká, at about 950 m above sea level. **Is the source the same as the river Bečva?** No, what flows from here is the Rožnovská Bečva. The river Bečva comes into being only at Valašské Meziříčí, where the Rožnovská Bečva (38 km) meets the longer Vsetínská Bečva (59 km). **How many kilometres does the Rožnovská Bečva run through the Rožnov area?** About 38 kilometres, before it joins the Vsetínská Bečva at Valašské Meziříčí and the two make the river Bečva. **How do I get to the source of the Bečva?** By public transport to the “Horní Bečva, Hlavatá, rozcestí” stop, then on the yellow waymarks to Třeštík and on the red route to the turning down to the source - the walk takes around two hours. Check both your arrival and your return service in IDOS. **Where does the Bečva go from there?** From the confluence at Valašské Meziříčí it carries on all the way to the Morava. --- Source: [Source of the Rožnovská Bečva below Vysoká | zPusteven.cz](https://zpusteven.cz/en/pramen-becvy) - zPusteven.cz. When citing, please link to the page.