- for families
- for individual guests
- Pets allowed
- Free admission
The Helletal
Nature conservation area/natural monument
Hike down into the enchanted landscape of the Helletal valley in Winterberg!
Properties:
Dear visitors, please note that sturdy footwear and surefootedness are required in the Helletal.
At the point where the Ruhr-Eder GeoRadroute crosses the K 50 district road in the north-east of Winterberg, you can hike steeply down narrow serpentines on the Rothaarsteig into the Helletal valley. With its bizarre beauty and special vegetation, the gorge-like stream valley is reminiscent of an alpine gorge - and that in the middle of the Rothaargebirge! From the numerous hiking bridges, you can see rocky cliffs in the stream that have been exposed by the water over time. Gorge forests with ancient trees grow on the steep slopes.
At the point where the Ruhr-Eder GeoRadroute crosses the K 50 district road in the north-east of Winterberg, you can hike steeply down narrow serpentines on the Rothaarsteig into the Helletal valley. With its bizarre beauty and special vegetation, the gorge-like stream valley is reminiscent of an alpine gorge - and that in the middle of the Rothaargebirge! From the numerous hiking bridges, you can see rocky cliffs in the stream that have been exposed by the water over time. Gorge forests with ancient trees grow on the steep slopes.
Geology: The rocks in the Helletal consist of clay and siltstone from the Lower Fredeburg strata (Middle Devonian, approx. 390 million years ago) and have a clearly pronounced schistosity. Schistosity is a layered, planar texture in a rock and is formed when the rock is subjected to tectonic processes under high pressure and temperature. In the steep rock next to the path, you can see that the shale surfaces bend along a line. This phenomenon is known as buckling shale or buckling band. It occurs when the schistosity buckles along a zone of weakness due to high constriction pressure during rock formation. In the rock faces next to the path, almost horizontal, approximately 1 m long tubes can be seen in the rock. These were originally boreholes that were drilled to blast the rock for the construction of the path.
Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors