Runde von Ilsenburg

The Ilse Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Harz Mountains - the primeval beech forests and the beautiful rock scenery characterise the gorge section of the Ilse Valley from Ilsenburg up to the Ilse Falls. This is exactly where our hiking trail leads: from Ilsenburg along the Ilse with a hiking time of 04:30 h and a distance of about 15 kilometres past a wide variety of highlights such as the Heinrich Heine Trail, the Ilse Falls and the Ilse Stone.

The first of our hiking highlights on the route is 2.2 km after the start of the hike (from the Ilsenburg bus stop): the footbridge over the Ilse. From the idyllically situated little bridge, you can watch the Ilse flowing below up close - a quiet place that invites you to relax.

Shortly afterwards, the well-known Heinrich Heine Trail follows the Ilse. The rustic and partly rocky path is much nicer than the developed gravel paths and the splashing of the stream surrounded by trees and rocks makes the hike along the Ilse even more enjoyable! If you can hardly get enough of the babbling brook, you will love the next highlight of the hike. The Ilse Falls are reached after about 5 kilometres of hiking and are probably the most beautiful part of the Ilse Valley - wildly romantic and always a little different depending on the water level.

After the Ilse Falls, the route continues along an extensive eastern loop to the Paternoster Cliff near Ilsenburg. According to legend, the name of the cliff derives from the last Lord's Prayer, which was prayed here by a group of nuns before they plunged to their deaths fleeing from robber barons. The interesting rock formation offers a wide view and even a beautiful view of the Brocken.

Still about three kilometres from the original starting point in Ilsenburg, the legendary Ilsestein finally rises high above the Ilse valley. The cast-iron cross marks the summit at an altitude of 474 metres, which Heinrich Heine already raved about. Once at the top, however, caution is advised, as the cliff down to the valley is not secured with a railing or the like. The route then leads back down into the Ilse valley, from where it heads back in the direction of Ilsenburg.