In the middle of a landscape of FOREST and WATER, you can experience the fascination of WILDNESS up close in the Eifel National Park. Because in this large protected area 65 kilometers southwest of Cologne, nature is finding its way back into its own cycle of growth and decay. Over a large part of the total area of around 110 square kilometers, the motto is "Let nature be nature", as in all national parks worldwide. Discover the primeval forests of tomorrow. Wild cats, black storks and over 1,600 other endangered animal and plant species that researchers have already identified in the national park live here. Enjoy unique views of the Rur-, Ober- and Urftsee reservoirs.

The T3 tour shown here leads through the area of Wüstebach and Püngelbach south of Erkehnsruhr/Hirschrott. One theme of the tour is the slate found here, which can be found on the roofs of many houses in the Monschau region. Right at the start of the tour, you will find some old slate tunnels near the Wüstebach stream, which have now been reclaimed by nature and provide an excellent shelter for bats. After leaving the Wüstebach valley, wet meadows, oak and spruce forests characterize the section up to the Rothes Kreuz forester's lodge, an old half-timbered house with surrounding beech hedges and a low-pitched roof as a windbreak, which represents the typical building style in the Monschau region. After passing the imposing Wächterbuche, an overgrown deadwood deciduous tree surrounded by spruce trees, the trail turns left after a few hundred meters into the Püngelbach valley and through near-natural ravine forests back to the starting point in Hirschrott.