Rhön Biosphere Reserve

Volcanic upland biosphere reserve with moorland, basalt peaks, and excellent hiking

The Rhön biosphere reserve begins almost at the edge of Fulda and covers a volcanic upland landscape — the remains of ancient lava flows that created a plateau of basalt peaks, high moorland, and beech forests unlike anything in the surrounding lowlands. The Wasserkuppe (950 m), about 40 km from Fulda, is the highest point of the Rhön and the highest peak in Hesse, with views on a clear day to the Taunus hills and beyond.

The landscape is particularly good for gliding — the updrafts off the basalt ridges are reliable, and the Wasserkuppe has been a centre of gliding sport since the 1920s. For hikers, the Rhön offers well-marked trails through moorland and forest, including sections of the former inner-German border that are being gradually rewilded. The area is known for dark skies (it is a UNESCO-certified dark sky area), dark and hearty Rhön cuisine, and the distinctive black-faced Rhön sheep that graze the high meadows.

things to do nature
A story
The Rhön was one of the most strategically sensitive landscapes in Cold War Europe. The highlands straddle what was the inner German border between West Germany and East Germany, and NATO and Warsaw Pact forces faced each other across the ridgeline for decades. The hilltop of Wasserkuppe, the highest peak in the Rhön at 950 metres, hosted NATO radar installations. Since reunification, the area has been quietly healing and the iron curtain trail through the former border zone is now a hiking route.