Everything you need to know about the Mullerthal Trail Route 1 in Little Switzerland in Luxemburg. Where to start? How long does it take? Can you hike the route 1 in 1 day? All your questions answered in this article.
Mullerthal Trail Route 1 Details
Distance: The total distance for this hike is 38,3 kilometers (loop hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 1056 meters
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 7 hours and 36 minutes. Total time was 9 hours.
Difficulty: I would rate this as a hard hike. The only reason I rate this trail as hard is because of the distance.
Address start: Rte de Diekirch 1, 6430 Echternach, Luxembourg
Price: Free
The best parking area when doing the Mullerthail trail route 1 is at Rte de Diekirch in front of the Texaco Petrol station in Echternach.
Use the pinned location below so you can navigate straight to the parking.
How to reach the start of Mullerthal trail in Echternach?
In order to get to Echternach there are several options. Below I will describe the options with your own car and with the bus:
If you’re coming from Belgium, the driving time from Brussels to Echternach is about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Driving from Luxemburg City to Echternach takes about 35 minutes.
Another option is to take the bus from Luxemburg City and this will take around 1 hour and 20 minutes. This involves a bus to Kirchberg and then another one to Echternach.
Hiking the Mullerthal Trail Route 1 in 1 day will take about 9 – 12 hours so you will have to start really early and come back pretty late. It is recommended to stay for 1 – 2 nights in the Echternach region.
How to hike Mullerthal Trail Route 1 in Luxemburg?
Generally speaking for all hikes, the easiest way is to download a GPX file that you can view on a gps device, a smartphone or smartwatch. It will tell you step-by-step how to walk. It also includes an elevation profile of the hike which can help you to decide if this hike is for you or not. Most hikes on this blog are tracked on Strava (sports tracking smartphone application) and Wikiloc (community based hiking smartphone application).
Download the GPX file for Mullerthal Trail Route 1 right here: Luxemburg-Mullerthal-Route-1-from-Echternach.gpx
Shorter alternative to the Mullerthal Trail
A few years back I had hiked already on the Mullerthal trail but then I did the shorter alternative called the Mullerthal E1 trail. This circular hike is 13 kilometers and takes you along some of the highlights of the Mullerthal region. Read all about it here:
Where to start Mullerthal Trail Route 1?
When I hiked Route of the Mullerthal trail I started in Echternach. Now, as you can see on the map a bit higher in this post, this route is circular which means you can start wherever you want along the loop. Echternach is probably the most popular starting point for the Mullerthal Trail Route 1 but you’re free to choose.
There are several villages along the road that could serve as alternative starting points (or to sleepover):
- Rosport: About 8 kilometer walking from Echernach.
- Metzdorf / Moersdorf: Metzdorf is about halfway into the hike if you start in Echternach. It could be a great alternative start as there are some campings and hotels in this village. If you prefer to hike the Mullerthal route 1 in 2 days you could stay 1 night here. Also if you didn’t bring a packed lunch you could have one here.
- Herborn: About 27 kilometer hiking on the Mullerthal trail route 1 from Echternach.
The villages mentioned above could also serve to refill your waterbottle or buy some drinks/food along the way.
Hike Mullerthal Trail Route 1 in 1 day
When asking around and researching the Mullerthal trail I found that most people split this route in 2 days and sleep over in one of villages. I thought I’d challenge myself and do it in one day instead. I thought if I leave early in the morning it should be totally feasible.
When calculating how much time I need to complete a hike with limited elevation gain like this one, I usually count that I would hike about 4 km/h and have about 1h30 of breaks in total. Obviously that is not exact science but it gives me a rough idea of the time needed to complete a hike.
Especially during the darker seasons when the days get short it’s important to know if it’s possible to make it back before dark.
I’d say you need about 9 – 12 hours to complete route 1 of the Mullerthal trail. It took me 9 hours but I really rushed it to make it back before it got dark. I made it just on time but with a few blisters as a reward, to be honest I could barely walk after this .
Another great hike in Luxemburg: HIKE IN NATURWANDERPARK FROM GERMANY TO LUXEMBURG (27 KM)
How is hiking Mullerthal Trail Route 1?
This hike starts in the center of Echternach and almost immediately you will walk next to the river called Sure. In this region the river Sure serves as a natural border between Germany and The Grand Duchy of Luxemburg.
After about 2,5 kilometers the route continues into a dense forest where you will witness for the first time the typical rock formations of the Mullerthal region or also often called the Little Switzerland of Luxemburg. Without much doubt this was my favorite part to hike in that day.
Eight kilometer into this hike you reach Rosport, a small town that also lies along the Sure river. It might still be a bit early but if you feel so inclined I noticed there was an ice-cream shop along the way 😉 The next town is only in about 10 kilometers, just saying.
You will leave the valley of the Sure river which means a bit of climbing. Do not worry, it’s a slow ascent most of the time. Through the meadows and fields you will make your way to the next town called Metzdorf.
From kilometer 19 up to around 27 this hike becomes a bit monotonous. There’s quite some asphalted road that you will walk on and this takes away a bit of the magic for me but you’re still walking in a region that is considered one of the most beautiful of Luxemburg, so even though you’re walking on asphalt, the landscapes are still very beautiful. In this section there are 2 more towns that you will pass: Mompach and Herborn. In Mombach at the church there’s free potable water available. Very handy to cover the last 15 kilometers of this hike.
Around 27 kilometers you will enter a forest and after doing one of the last ascents of the day you will reach the viewpoint over the lake of Echternach (Lac d’Echternach). To reach the viewpoint you’ll have to do a small detour from the trail but it was a nice spot to take one last break before getting back into the Sure valley and eventually make your way back into the city of Echternach.
By the time I made it back to Echternach it was getting pretty dark already. I changed my shoes at my car and went for a quick dinner in the city center. Because of the many blisters I could barely walk but I was satisified nonetheless.
Conclusion
The route 1 from the Mullerthal trail was definitely worth it in my opinion. Yes, there were some monotonous sections but overall I would recommend this trail to anyone that loves a bit of a challenge. Also it is completely possible to split this hike up in a 2- day trek which makes it even more accesible to many people.
According to most people Mullerthal Trail Route 2 is the most beautiful section of the complete trail that stretches 112 kilometer in the region called Little Switzerland of Luxemburg. To know this for sure I have route 2 on my agenda in Spring of this year. Stay tuned for my blog post about that one!
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