The protected area Čertova Stěna (Devil's Wall - 10 ha) is one of the best known and frequented rocky localities in the Czech Republic. The rugged precipice strewn with stones lies below the deep valley of the Vltava river.
The territory is situated 4 km west of the small town Vyšší Brod near the road to the village Loučovice.

The rock face and the sea of stones are protected here. Under the rock the Vltava river runs through the stony bed called the Čertovy Proudy (Devil's Streams). The erosion of water formed hollows in stones, which are called "the Giant Pots".
Nowadays the river has not too much water in this part. Water from the Lipno Dam is brought to the power station via an underground tunnel. Only at the time of water sports events more water runs here (usually in summer, the Czech Cup of canoeing).
Near the parking-lot not far from the Čertova Stěna there is a huge 30 m high rock formation called the Čertova Kazatelna (Devil's Pulpit) with a nice view of the valley.

A lot of legends float around the Čertova Stěna. The best known is about the Devil, who wanted to stop the construction of the monastery in Vyšší Brod and to flood it by water and so he built the stony dam across the river. The dam was not finished in the right time and at midnight it fell down into the river bed and slopes of the valley. This legend became the topic of the opera Čertova Stěna (Devil's Wall - 1882) by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana.

About 1 km to the west above the valley there is a hill Luč (933 m) with a nice view of the valley of the Vltava river, Čertova Stěna and a part of the Lipno Dam. A tunnel with water from the power station in the Lipno Dam leads through the hill.
The peak is accessible from the village Lipno by the blue marked path (about 4 km).

The protected area Čertova Stěna was established in 1956 near the older reserve Luč, which protects the peak of the hill of the same name, from 1934. Both the reserves were merged in 1995 to the nature reserve Čertova Stěna - Luč with the area about 104 ha.

Access to the Čertova Stěna is possible from the small town Vyšší Brod along the road towards Loučovice (about 200 m from the parking-lot) or by the red marked path from Vyšší Brod (about 3 km). The admittance to the Čertovy Proudy is possible by train as well (the railway station Čertova Stěna) or green marked path from Loučovice (3 km).