Eifelsteig Stage 09

The ninth stage of the Eifelsteig runs from Hillesheim to Gerolstein, home of the Gerolsteiner Brunnen.
At the start of your hike in the crime novel capital of Hillesheim, you will already feel somewhat elevated because you are standing on the historical town walls of Hillesheim. From there, you have a wonderful view of the town and the Eifel landscape. A little later, you are greeted by the idyllic Bolsdorf valley with its lake, limestone cliffs and the Hillesheimer Bach, which winds through meadows. You hike on through the open landscape until you cross the Kyll river and then wind your way uphill step by step. A handrail in the sparse forest catches your eye - where does the flight of steps lead to? You are curious and climb the steps. A cold gust of air passes you by and it starts to get dark around you. You find yourself in one of the millstone caves near Roth. They were created by the excavation of millstones from inside the Rother Kopf volcano. In the forest outside the cave, you can even discover an unfinished millstone. Having reached the summit, a view down into the volcano opens up before you: you are looking into a lava mine. From Rother Kopf, you have a broad view of the hilly Eifel, perfect for a break before you go gently downhill again to the Gerolstein reservoir. You resist the temptation to turn off to the stage destination of Gerolstein here. Now it gets really exciting: after the volcanic landscape, the impressive cliffs of the Gerolstein Dolomites lie before you. This was once a sea (approx. 390 million years ago in the Lower Devonian)! Would you have thought that? The dolomites are a former coral reef. Allow you imagination to run wild and you will see it.
After the steep cliffs, you can delve into the impressive Buchenlochhöhle cave. A little later, volcanic activity comes into play again. The strange "Papenkaule” recess was supposed to be a volcanic cone but the lava stream allowed itself to be diverted through cavities and preferred to flow downhill to the valley of the Kyll. And you finally set off down the steep path to the valley too and gladly reach you destination, Gerolstein.