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    Český les Protected Landscape Area (Czech: Chráněná krajinná oblast Český les, usually abbreviated as CHKO Český les, the name can be translated as Czech Forest) is a Protected Landscape Area in the Czech Republic. It lies in the western part of the Pilsen Region along the border with the German state of Bavaria. It protects the most valuable parts of the he range of the same name, the Český les, which bears the name Oberpfälzerwald Wald in Germany.

    CHKO Český les was declared in 2005 as the 25th Protected Landscape Area of the Czech Republic. Most of the area was vacated after the forced expulsion of the predominantly German inhabitants after the World War II. Until the fall of the Communist regime in 1989 it was part of the Western border zone, virtually uninhabited. Due to this development it is today an area little affected by human activities, a mosaic of deep forests, meadows and forests. There are many valuable well-preserved habitats of the beech and mixed fir-beech forests (though replaced by spruce plantations in a large part of the origibnal area), bog spruce forests and bog Mountain Pine forests. Geologically the area is not much varied, with the nutrient deficient rocks of the so called Moldanubicum pluton of Paleozoic to Proterozoic origin (granites, gneiss, schists, slates). CHKO Český les covers an area of 473.42 km² (182.79 sq mi).

    There are no permanent settlements in the area, rather a few restored hamlets and many of the meadows and patures are now used for cattle raising. The protected area is divided in two parts separated by the D5 highway connecting the Czech Republic and Germany. The zone close to the highway was not included in the protected area.

Nature Reserves

As of February 2007 there were following Nature Reserves and other smaller protected areas within the CHKO Český les:

Name	Type	Area	Reason for protection
Broumovská bučina	Nature Reserve	26.17 ha (64.67 acres)	herb-rich beech forest
Bučina u Žďáru	Nature Reserve	6.77 ha (16.73 acres)	acidophilous montane beech forest
Bystřice	Nature Reserve	43.61 ha (107.76 acres)	mixed montane forest
Čerchov forests	National Nature Reserve	326.93 ha (807.86 acres)	primal mixed beech forest
Diana	Nature Reserve	20.41 ha (50.43 acres)	primeval herb-rich forest
Dlouhý vrch	Nature Reserve	21.00 ha (52 acres)	montane sycamore-beech forest
Farské bažiny	Nature Reserve	66.00 ha (163 acres)	bog spruce forest
Hvožďanská louka	Nature Monument	6.70 ha (16.6 acres)	managed meadow
Jezírka u Rozvadova	Nature Reserve	6.23 ha (15.39 acres)	peat bog
Křížový kámen	Nature Reserve	19.23 ha (47.52 acres)	raised bog forest with peat lakes
Louka u Staré Huti	Nature Monument	2.07 ha (5.12 acres)	managed bog meadow
Malý Zvon	Nature Reserve	8.00 ha (20 acres)	autochthonous beech forest
Milov	Nature Monument	0.74 ha (1.83 acres)	sloped spring peat bog
Na požárech	National Nature Monument	78.60 ha (194.22 acres)	transitional bog (originally declared for grouse protection)
Nad Hutí	Nature Reserve	14.04 ha (34.69 acres)	autochthonous beech forest
Ostrůvek	Nature Reserve	5.51 ha (13.62 acres)	raised bog forest
Pavlova Huť	Nature Reserve	35.82 ha (88.51 acres)	bog spruce forest
Pleš	Nature Reserve	27.69 ha (68.42 acres)	ravine sycamore and sloped beech forest
Podkovák	Nature Reserve	5.63 ha (13.91 acres)	raised bog forest
Skalky na Sádku	Nature Monument	3.89 ha (9.61 acres)	spruce-beach forest
Starý Hirštejn	Nature Reserve	37.15 ha (91.8 acres)	autochthonous mixed forest
Tišina	Nature Reserve	10.35 ha (25.58 acres)	acidophilous montane beech forest
Tři Znaky	Nature Reserve	289.86 ha (716.26 acres)	declaration pending
Veský mlýn	Nature Monument	32.04 ha (79.17 acres)	transitional bog

Map of NP and PLA in the Czech Republic.

 

Map Protected Landscape Area Czech Forest Mountain.

 

 
CHKO Cesky les - PLA Czech Forest Mountain - OKFF-012.

 

 
Mt. Čerchov - highest peak of PLA Czech Forest Mountain.

 

 
Mt. Čerchov - 1042m a.s l.