The first stage of the Eifelsteig is ideal for breaking in, as the route is relatively short at 14 km and the terrain is still relatively flat. The start is in Kornelimünster, an old pilgrimage site with an abbey and provost church. This is also where the three important relics that are displayed every seven years during the pilgrimage to the shrine are kept: The apron cloth, the sweat cloth and the Lord's shroud. From Kornelimünster, the route starts with easy to moderate climbs through the Inde valley. Here you will see several lime kilns and a preserved quarry, where numerous information boards invite you to stop.

The second section takes you up into the forest to the impressive Struffelt Heath. This biotope is characterized by moors, moorland and swamp forest, marshes, dwarf shrub heaths and natural bodies of water. You can walk through this area on dry feet. A few hundred footbridges built into the landscape by the Rott local history association make hiking across the Struffelt easier.

Past the Dreilägerbach dam (the biggest challenge of the route awaits hikers here), you finally enter the "Gateway to the Eifel", as the town of Roetgen is often called. Don't miss the view of the hump line of the Westwall at Grölisbach. And when you see the hiking station at the horse pond, you still have enough time to enjoy the Eifel specialties in the numerous restaurants.

Highlights along the way

• Abbey church on the market square
• Lime kilns
• Friesenrath leisure area
• Hump line of the Westerwall
• Struffelt nature reserve
• Dreilägerbach dam
• Distant view of the district of Roetgen