Circular route Bad Neuenahr No. 2 - The great Walporzheim round

A hike in the Ahr Valley could hardly be more varied! The Great Walporzheim Round offers impressions of everything that makes this small pleasure and hiking region so charming. Hikers discover romantic vineyards, the legendary rock of the Bunte Kuh, enchanting distant views up to the Siebengebirge, a rustic tower in the Silberwald, the newly built flood chapel, and a secret bunker. In addition, a winery in medieval walls invites you to stop for refreshments.

From the hiking car park at the foot of the Walporzheim vineyards, which is directly opposite the Walporzheim train station, the route leads uphill on a section of the viticulture educational trail. The first stop is at the flood chapel built in memory of the flood of 2021, an open wooden structure on a plateau with a beautiful view. Immediately behind the chapel, you must climb a narrow mountain path. Once at the top, the Bunte Kuh viewpoint invites you to enjoy a panoramic 360-degree view. The route then continues comfortably along the Red Wine Hiking Trail through the vineyard slopes, where the next viewpoint already beckons: the Fischley with a shelter hut. From here, you look out over a sea of trees and the distinctive rock nose of the Bunte Kuh.

Following the Red Wine Hiking Trail, the path continues to the Kloster Marienthal winery. Amid the picturesque backdrop of the former Augustinian convent, hikers enjoy regional specialties matched with wines from the winery's own cellar. Above all, the courtyard surrounded by medieval walls delights and invites you to rest.

The route then leads past fruit trees, vineyards, and fish ponds into the forest. After a stop at the Holzweiler Cross with views over vast fields to the Siebengebirge, the next destination is the EVA Tower on the Silberberg. From there, the route descends again towards Bad Neuenahr. Under the vineyards there lies a unique Cold War relic: the Government Bunker Documentation Site, once the most secret structure of the Bonn Republic. As a gigantic city in the mountain nearly 20 kilometers long, the nuclear-proof bunker was supposed to provide shelter in an emergency for 3,000 government members to keep the government functioning. A section is preserved in its original state and has been revealing its strictly secret history since 2008.

After this exciting excursion, the route returns via the viticulture educational trail, full of interesting facts about Ahr wine, back to the hiking car park in Walporzheim.

The detailed route description with information on places to rest, beautiful views, and elevation profiles can be found in the hiking book: "Around Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. The 15 most beautiful hiking trails" published by J.P. Bachem Verlag (ISBN 978-3-7616-2844-7).