Gillenfeld’s historic railway bridge dates from 1908 and now spans the Maare-Mosel Cycle Route. Cyclists and walkers encounter a historic structure along a modern route. Vulkanhof is also located in Gillenfeld: as a goat cheese dairy with a farm shop, it offers a different perspective on the town from the bridge and the landscape around the maars.
Maars and local attractions
Pulvermaar is a maar with steep, funnel-shaped walls and is considered Germany’s deepest natural lake. Activities at the maar include swimming, fishing, hiking and boating. This offers a range of activities alongside the striking landscape, without requiring the same kind of visit.
Holzmaar is a protected natural area. Visitors can walk around the maar and fish there. Birds live in the reed beds, and there are benches around the water. A comparison with Pulvermaar shows two distinct features: the steep walls define the scenery there, while at Holzmaar the reeds, birdlife and places to rest add to the experience.
At Vulkanhof in Gillenfeld, the offerings include a farm shop and a goat cheese dairy. Visitors can also book farm tours, cheese-making classes, goat hikes and farm-based educational activities. Anyone wishing to take part in one of these activities should check registration requirements and opening hours in advance; booking packages and times may change.
The Volcanic Eifel in a broader context
For geological context, it is worth looking at the Volcanic Eifel as a whole. So far, 77 maars have been identified in the region. In addition, 350 eruption centres have been counted, about 270 of them from the more recent phase. Ulmener Maar marks the most recent volcanic eruption in the Volcanic Eifel, which took place approximately 10,900 years ago. These regional facts help place individual maar and volcano topics in a broader context.
Hiking and cycling in the region
The Volcanic Eifel trails are marked and signposted, and include half-day hikes, day hikes and multi-day hikes. The eleventh stage of the Eifelsteig runs from Daun to Manderscheid and is 23.4 kilometres long. The Vulcano Trail follows a different route: it is a 26.2-kilometre circular trail east of Schalkenmehren. The information on the stage, circular route and trail length provides useful points of comparison for planning. Route conditions may change; check them before setting out on a specific hike.
Museums and geological evidence
Visitors wishing to explore the landscapes of the Volcanic Eifel in more depth will find a range of museums in the region. The Eifel Volcano Museum in Daun displays three-dimensional landscape models of cinder cones, maars and mineral springs, as well as exhibits on West Eifel volcanism. Vulkanhaus Strohn is an interactive museum; its geological exhibits include a lava fissure wall approximately 30,000 years old, around six metres long and four metres high. The Gerolstein Natural History Museum is considered the largest and oldest geological museum in the Eifel and displays stone evidence of the region’s geological history across three floors.
Historic monuments also form part of the region’s character: Ulmen Castle Ruins rise above the steep shore of Ulmener Maar, and parts of the upper castle remain. This makes it possible to explore the Volcanic Eifel not only through its maar and volcanic landscapes, but also through its historic buildings.
Discover more destinations: Dreis-BrĂĽck, Bleckhausen, Nerdlen, Wallenborn, StrotzbĂĽsch, Steiningen, Hinterweiler, Schalkenmehren
For the overview of the wider region: Daun.
