ZweiTälerSteig - Stage 1

At Waldkirch station, you get off the Breisgau S-Bahn and tighten your boots. The adventure begins. You feel respect as soon as you enter Waldkirch's marketplace. Your gaze immediately wanders up to the Kandel, which towers almost 1,000 meters above the town with its mighty Kandel rock. Along the sensory path beside the Black Forest Zoo, you leave Waldkirch and climb toward the treetop walk. How nice it would be now to slide back down into the valley on Europe's longest tube slide, measuring 190 meters.

Over the first paths and past the Schwarzenberghütte (tip: detour to the Schwarzenburg ruins), you reach the long ridge between Elztal and Glottertal. You have now completed more than half of the ascent. The path becomes a trail again and follows the ridge through the varied forest. Like an eagle's nest, the Thomashütte clings to the rock, which drops more than 50 meters overhanging beneath you. At Hoschgetkreuz, the summit ascent begins. 500 meters above, a short detour to the Hessfelsen offers a view of Waldkirch.

Finally, the distinctive summit pyramid of the Kandel rises before you at 1,241 meters. Are you really already at the top? Over four hours ago, you were still 1,000 meters lower among the tiny houses at the marketplace, where your incredulous gaze floats—like the hang gliders and paragliders who take off near the Kandelhotel. In the primeval summit landscape of the Kandel, there is still much to discover—and at night, the stars twinkle like diamonds.