This scenic hike in the South-Eifel region in the NaturWanderPark delux goes through the valley of the Our river and passes by the castles of Falkenstein and Vianden. It’s a combination of Nat’Our Route 4 and 5.
I also created a video about this hike. Check it out at the bottom of this post.
Description of the Nat’Our Route
Distance: The total distance for this hike is 27 kilometers (loop hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 1200 meters
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 6 hours and 3 minutes.
Difficulty: I would rate this as a hard hike. There’s quite a lot of elevation gain, especially in the end. This hike is only recommended for people that are in good physical condition. The path can be quite slippery so hiking shoes with decent grip are a must.
Address start: Schloss Falkenstein Panorama – at the intersection of Dorfstrasse and Waldstrasse in the municipality of Waldhof-Falkenstein.
Price: Free
This hike passes through the towns of Stolzembourg and Vianden in Luxemburg, here you can buy food or water. Usually I just bring my Grayl Geopress Bottle that filters water from any stream you find on your way. Free water always at your disposal!
Right at the start there’s a viewpoint with some parking. When I went during the week I was the only one there. If this parking would get full, which I highly doubt, there’s space in the surrounding neighborhood.
Use the pinned location below so you can navigate straight to where the hike starts.
How to get to Waldhof-Falkenstein?
To get to the starting point of this hike at Schloss Falkenstein Panorama it is absolutely recommended to use your own transportation.
- Brussels is about 2 hour and 30 minutes driving.
- Luxemburg City is about 50 minutes driving
- Cologne is about 2 hours driving
Hiking the Nat’Our Route in the NaturWanderPark delux could be a perfect activity when you’re staying in the Vianden region in Luxemburg.
How to hike the Nat’Our Route 4 and 5?
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. All the hikes on this blog are being tracked on Strava (sports tracking smartphone application) and Wikiloc (community based hiking smartphone application).
Download the GPX file right here: natour-route-4-and-5.gpx
This hike is a combination of two routes in the South-Eifel region in Germany and Luxemburg, more specifically in the NaturWanderPark delux called Nat’Our Route 4 and Nat’Our Route 5. The links to the official website below will give you more information and also a GPX-file for each hike is available.
- Ourtalschleife – Nat’Our Route 4 (15,2 kilometer)
- Vianden Falkenstein – Nat’Our Route 5 (12,3 kilometer)
Nat’Our Route IN THE NaturWanderPark delux
One of the best viewpoints is immediately at the start of this hike. It’s called the Schloss Falkenstein Panorama. There’s a parking, a small cabin, some toilets and picnic spots. From this viewpoint you can see the Our river meandering through the valley. Sadly enough when I visited the trees on the hill below were blocking the view. Luckily enough I had a drone to capture it in all its beauty. I guarantee you though, that even without a drone, the view is quite spectacular!
The first few kilometers consist of small single trails winding down into the valley of the Our. On the way you pass some smaller water streams that you cross with wooden bridges.
Schloss Falkenstein in germany
At around 1,7 kilometers you can optionally take left at an intersection to go and check out the Falkenstein Castle. It’s a return trip of maximum 1 kilometer. The Falkenstein Castle is privately owned and not accessible to visitors. This basically means that you can catch a glimpse of it from the back gate. What you can see is an older medieval style tower and then a what seems to be a newer tower next to it. Once in a while during this hike in the NaturWanderPark delux you will be able to see this castle in the distance.
Multi-country hike
When reaching the valley of the Our you hike next to the river for a while. Sometimes a bit higher, sometimes a bit lower until you reach the town of Stolzembourg. In this area the Our river forms the natural border between Germany and Luxemburg. In this town you will have to cross the river (via a bridge) which means you walk from Germany to Luxemburg.
Now you can go an brag to your friends that you did a multi-country hike 😉
The ground can get quite slippery, especially when descending into the valley. I wouldn’t say it’s a must to wear hiking boots but some decent hiking shoes with good grip are a necessity! The ones I use are actually trail running shoes but very suitable for hiking as well: Mizuno Men’s Wave Daichi 6 GTX Trail Running Shoe
Views over the town of vianden in luxemburg
After leaving the town of Stolzembourg behind, the trail gets a bit wilder and as you go deeper into the forest trails become a bit overgrown. Pretty soon you will be walking direction Vianden on an asphalted road for a while. But before that you pass by a little picturesque white chapel that is called the Bildchenkapelle. Immediately after this there’s a steep climb towards a hut with a scenic view. If you felt like this climb was steep, it’s nothing to what comes later near the end!
Around the 17 kilometer mark you reach the chairlifts of Vianden. These chairlifts give you a great view over the historic town of Vianden and its beautiful castle. There are some amenities here so if you want you can take a break here while enjoying some great views. After this we descend into the center of Vianden while having lots of nice views over the castle. When you reached the foot of the castle you’ll have to go left again immediately towards the church Sankt Rochus that sits in between the cemetery and the dam. Quite impressive to see!
After reaching the dam you will hike next to the Our river and even walk on the same path for a while in the opposite direction as before until you reach the bridge to cross the river.
- If you like these kind of hikes I would recommend Best hike in Bouillon Belgium is the 14 Panorama route (28 km). It is similar in length and elevation gain, has lots of views over valleys and castles.
- Also very well known in the area is the Mullerthal Trail:
- E1 segment of the Mullerthal trail: How to hike the E1 segment of the Mullerthal trail in Luxemburg?
- Complete route 1 of the Mullerthal trail: MULLERTHAL TRAIL ROUTE 1 FROM ECHTERNACH IN LUXEMBURG
Rocks, sweat and views in NATURWANDERPARK DELUX
Right after the river crossing the real fun starts! A very steep ridge trail with scenic views along the way needs to be climbed. This was my favorite part of this whole hike but also the toughest. Check out the photos and videos to get a better idea of the views from up there.
The higher you get, usually the better views become. It was no exception here in NaturWanderPark delux. While making your way back to the Schloss Falkenstein Panorama you will be treated with a few more stunning views!
I brought almost 4 liters of water for this hike and it wasn’t enough! The last 3 kilometers I ran out and luckily there was a small stream of water where I could refill my bottle with water filter: Grayl Geopress.
I also created a video about my experience on this hike. Check it out below:
The stylish WANRD PRVKE 21l, has been my daily adventure backpack for over 3 years now.
Check out the WANDRD website for their other bags as well.
For multi-day trips I use the WANDRD Fernweh 50l backpack!
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