Source: Elke Greiff-Gossen
The Rheinsteig
in the World Heritage
Upper Middle Rhine Valley
leads in 8 stages
from Rüdesheim to Koblenz
passing the legendary Loreley
and many castles and palaces.
For visiting castles
the purchase of the Castle-Ticket
is recommended.
Rheinsteig: Rüdesheim - Lorch
12.18 Miles - 1421 feet in height - 5:15 h
From the famous "Drosselgasse" in
Rüdesheim
you take the chair lift up to the Niederwalddenkmal, the start of the walking tour.
After passing the hunting lodge "Niederwald" you go downhill to the city of
Assmannshausen on
Rhine.
This city is famous for its red wine called "Höllenberg" and for its wonderful half-timbered
buildings. Then the walking tour leads over rocky paths along the slope and through some narrow
side valleys towards the city of
Lorch.
Rheinsteig: Lorch - Kaub
8.33 Miles - 1591 feet in height - 3:45 h
After Lorch the walking tour passes the
castle ruin Nollig
and leads steeply uphill through small forests and vineyards with wonderful
views of the city of
Bacharach with
Stahleck Castle
and
Pfalzgrafenstein Toll Station.
After passing
Gutenfels Castle you walk steeply
downhill to the city of
Kaub.
Rheinsteig: Kaub - St.Goarshausen
13.92 Miles - 2717 feet in height - 6:00 h
Source: Elke Greiff-Gossen
This stage is the
highlight of the whole Rheinsteig walking tour.
!!! You should be absolutely free from giddiness.
The Rheinsteig leads first for a long time steeply uphill
to the plateau above
the
Rhine river to the small city of "Dörscheid".
Here at the latest you should stock up on enough beverages.
From the Rheinsteig trail you get many wonderful views:
from the "Rossstein" you can admire the city of
Oberwesel with
Schönburg Castle
and from the "Spitznack" you have a wonderful view of the Loreley.
Through the vineyards you reach the world-famous Loreley rock.
In the
Loreley visitors' centre on the Loreley plateau
you can gen up on the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage.
On the walking tour to the Loreley city of
St.Goarshausen you pass
Katz Castle,
which cannot be visited unfortunately.
Rheinsteig: St.Goarshausen - Kestert
7.58 Miles - 1801 feet in height - 4:15 h
From the Hasenbachtal in
St.Goarshausen
you walk steeply uphill with wonderful view of the city of
St. Goar with
Rheinfels Fortress till reaching
Maus Castle. There you can visit an Eagles and Falcons Park.
Worth seeing!
Then you walk through the Pulsbachklamm (a gorge) to the city of
Kestert.
Rheinsteig: Kestert - Osterspai
10.38 Miles - 1535 feet in height - 5:15 h
On a steep route to
Liebenstein Castle and
Sterrenberg Castle (the hostile brothers),
then walking downhill to the city of
Osterspai.
On this walking tour you can admire two spectacular close bends of the
Rhine river, as well
as picturesque views of the cities of
Kamp Bornhofen and
Boppard.
Rheinsteig: Osterspai - Braubach
7.08 Miles - 1362 feet in height - 3:30 h
On this fairly short stage you walk along the largest Rhine loop which is located between
the cities of
Osterspai
and
Braubach. Then the walking tour passes
Marksburg Castle, the only hilltop castle that has
never been destroyed (worth seeing!) and leads downhill to
Braubach
with its nice half-timbered buildings.
Rheinsteig: Braubach - Oberlahnstein
5.16 Miles - 1165 feet in height - 2:45 h
A short stage of the Rheinsteig walking tour again with a beautiful view of the
Marksburg Castle leads further away from the Rhine
till finally arriving at the river Lahn. Along the river Lahn you can continue to the
Rhine river till the city of
Lahnstein
(Oberlahnstein) to enjoy the view of
Lahneck Castle and to stop at the famous "Wirtshaus an der Lahn".
Rheinsteig: Oberlahnstein - Koblenz
8.33 Miles - 1325 feet in height - 3:45 h
The highlight of the last stage of the walking tour is the "Rupertsklamm" (a gorge). The rocky ascent
through the wild ravine is strenuous. At the highest point, the "Lichterkopf", you have in clear weather a wonderful panoramic view. The route leads through
the "Bienhorntal" downhill to the
Rhine river. Along the bank of the river to
Koblenz with the mighty
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
and the
Deutsches Eck.
The Rheinsteig walking tour in the
Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage ends here.
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Source: Photo Loreley Felix Koenig, Photo Marksburg Braubach Touristik
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