Caves and Gorges in the Eifel

A natural monument of extraordinary fascination: a narrow gorge with metre-high rock faces, cool and dark. Cracks and crevices, weathered and overgrown with mosses and lichens. Anyone walking through this eye of a needle in the sandstone is walking through a 200-million-year-old seabed that harbours many secrets.

The rapids of the Prüm, known as the "Irrel Waterfalls", remain a fascinating natural spectacle even after the flood disaster of 2021. Crossing the river is once again possible via the new suspension bridge.

The rocks “Hustley”, “Munterley”, “Drohende Ley”, “Große Kanzel” and “Auberg” shape the cityscape from afar and form Gerolstein’s landmark. The most famous peak of the Gerolstein Dolomites is the "Munterley" - with an altitude of 482 meters.

At the "Roter Puhl", the red sandstone slope on the Enz, the natural landscape presents itself in particularly impressive orange-glowing colours.

A ravine called the "pigsty"? A strange name. But you can actually meet cheerful pigs here - and a mysterious, possibly millennia-old inscription!

In the "Mechernich Forest", which extends from the eastern city limits of Mechernich to Satzvey, the Katzensteine rise on the border with the Veybachaue near Katzvey.

Until far into the 19th century millstone were carved out in the caves. But the caves also were used as natural "refrigerators". In the winter time they were equipped with ice and snow so that cooling conditions kept the cold far into the summer.

This ''Eiskeller'' served as a refrigerator for the Hillesheimer beer breweries.  

Discover a small natural monument of a special kind on the outskirts of Bad Bertrich: the “Elfengrotte”, also called “Käsegrotte”. It originated a thousand years ago, when hot basalt currents flowed through the Üssbach valley and gave the valley a new shape. Located not far from the rushing Elbesbach waterfall, the Elfengrotte has a fairy-tale magic that you should explore.

The 563m high mountain makes the heart of every nature lover beat faster. Below the summit you can find the legendary Genoveva Cave.

Traces of settlement at the prehistoric Kakushöhle between Eiserfey and Weyer date back to 80,000 BC.                                                                  Hunter-gatherer groups of the Neanderthals left behind numerous stone implements of the Middle Palaeolithic epochs and animal bones.

The Ernstberg cave is a testimony to volcanism in the Eifel region

There are many steps leading deep down below the town of Mendig: Here in the lava cellars, in the middle of the cooled volcanic rock, it is consistently cold even in the hottest summers, there is a mysterious dim light, there is the smell of moisture. Up to 28 Mendig breweries used the 32-metre-high, cathedral-like halls in the basalt rock to store fresh beer. Mighty pillars, left standing during centuries of basalt and lava mining, support the gigantic cellars. A guided tour through the cellars is an unforgettable aha experience. The Vulkan Brewery in Mendig, which is located above the cellars, still uses this unique cold storage facility today. The Lava Dome as a multimedia museum shows many more exciting facets of volcanism.

The three caves are located at Mühlenberg, north of Hohenfels-Essingen.

The millstone caves are located northwest of Gerolstein, between the districts Müllenborn and Roth. For those who want to get really deep insights into the interior of the volcano Eifel, a visit to the Mühlstein caves is a must.

The sky in the Brohl valley darkened when the Laacher See volcano erupted just five kilometers away. The once loose materials from the glowing avalanche have caked over time to form a rock that is called “trass” in our region.