Hiking happiness in the maars

HeimatSpuren are high-quality hiking trails in the Volcanic Eifel that allow you to experience the landscape in a particularly intimate way.
You have to hike there... around the three maars near Daun in the Volcanic Eifel. The circular volcanic lakes lie close together, separated only by their steep crater walls. And yet each of them is unique and unmistakable. They have one thing in common: they inspire romantics. The poet Clara Viebig called them the "eyes of the Eifel". Because the sky is reflected in their unfathomable waters... sometimes bright blue, sometimes as if dabbed with cotton candy, sometimes dramatically cloudy. At the same time, you can look deep into the Eifel's natural soul. Mother Earth has blasted the Daun maars into the mountains with all the temperament she has to offer, glowing magma met water and caused the ground to explode.

On the almost eleven-kilometre circular hike from Schalkenmehren with a medium level of difficulty, the feeling of the people who are now out and about here is completely different: deep peace, pure happiness, being richly endowed by nature. The maars can be found here in all stages of their development: from the lake to the life-spraying fen to the quiet dry maar. Again and again, panoramic views open up that make your heart beat faster... the vastness is overwhelming. In front of or around the massive drone tower, which rises into the sky between Gemündener and Weinfelder Maar, you feel as if you are flying over the Eifel. At the same time, hikers on the certified HeimatSpur route "Maareglück" feel safe and reverent, for example at the Schalkenmehren maar cross or in the Weinfeld chapel. These are real places of power, dating back centuries or even millennia, where the spiritual side of the Eifel comes to light.

The happiness of the maar is made perfect with a hiking break or the end of a blissful day of hiking in Schalkenmehren. The village is famous for its excellent cuisine, for example at the Hotel Schneider am Maar. Regional Eifel home cooking pampers the palate here, with homemade Döppekooche or sauerkraut soup, saddle of lamb or trout, walnut parfait or elderberry pancakes... this is what the Eifel tastes like!