The Hohe Acht: the highest mountain in the Eifel at 747 m

The Hohe Acht: location and key facts

The Hohe Acht rises to 747 metres. It lies in the Hocheifel, right next to the Nürburgring. The mountain is often also known as the Hohe Acht Nürburgring, simply to pin down where it is. The landscape here is shaped by what are called volcanic cones — cone-shaped volcanic hills, and the Hohe Acht is one of them.

The mountain is wooded and ranks among the most popular walking and outdoor sports areas in the Eifel. If you spend your holiday in a timber chalet in the Eifel, you are perfectly placed to make the most of the setting and everything the region has to offer. The mountain marks the boundary between the districts of Mayen-Koblenz and Ahrweiler. Geologically, the Hohe Acht consists of a volcanic basalt rock called basanite. The rock is more than 36 million years old. The mountain as a whole now counts as a volcanic ruin: all that is left of the original volcano is the vent, and the rest has been worn away over time.

The mountain with the resonant name is considered the roof of the Eifel. It can be seen from far off, not least because of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm tower on its summit. The Hohe Acht offers more than a magnificent view: there is plenty here to fill a holiday, from walking trails to mountain bike routes. A log cabin with a sauna in the Eifel makes a fitting base, and from there you can enjoy the Hohe Acht under snow just as much as on a warm midsummer day.

The Hohe Acht is a walkers’ paradise in the truest sense. Conditions are excellent and, above all, the trails are well established and clearly waymarked. You will find plenty of route descriptions online, complete with first-hand reports and, in most cases, GPS data to download free of charge. Longer walks usually start from the walkers’ car park of the same name at the foot of the mountain. One particularly lovely and very popular route is the Eifelleiter, graded as moderate. Its 53 kilometres will fill a whole weekend and take you through three quite different landscapes. The usual starting point is Bad Breisig in the Rhine valley; from there the Eifelleiter leads into the Brohltal valley and finally over the summit of the Hohe Acht to the small town of Adenau. There are viewpoints all along the way, and with them the best photo opportunities.

The long view in good weather

As with any walk in the hills, a great deal depends on the weather. Dry conditions are only half the story: for a really long view you want the clearest sky possible, ideally with no more than a few small clouds. If you are out in the Hocheifel, it is always worth checking the forecast before you set off on a particular route. It would be a shame to make your way up the Hohe Acht and miss that magnificent view. The most impressive view of all, a full panorama across the whole Eifel landscape, is the one from the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm viewing tower on the summit of the Hohe Acht. The tower is freely accessible all year round. If you are walking in winter, please bear in mind that there can be a lot of snow and that the viewpoint is not cleared. The tower is 16.3 metres high, with walls about one metre thick at the base. The internal staircase has now been restored, so you can climb to the viewing platform.

What to see in the area

The view is sensational and reaches far across the Hocheifel. The panorama picks out the long ridges rising one behind the other and the seemingly endless expanse of forest. From the top of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm your eye travels over the broad plain of the Rhine and, on the best days, as far as the Hunsrück. The Westerwald is visible too, and even the Siebengebirge 50 kilometres away. Below you lie the regions and the picturesque patchwork of the Eifel, with countless castles, towns and small villages that give you a real sense of just how vast the Eifel is. On some days you can even make out Cologne Cathedral in the distance, tiny but unmistakable. Bring a pair of binoculars if you want to enjoy this glorious panorama to the full.

You can climb the Hohe Acht as part of one of the many rewarding walks, or go straight up without a longer route. If all you want is the summit, you can drive or cycle to the walkers’ car park directly below the mountain. From there it takes about 30 minutes to reach the summit. Much depends, of course, on the pace you set. At the top you come to the highlight of the mountain, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm, built in 1908 and 1909 and named after the German emperor Wilhelm I. Because of its condition it was closed to walkers again and again for safety reasons, and regular major restoration work was needed to make the internal steps up to the parapet safe. The last closure was in 2015; since then the tower has been open without restriction.

Places to visit nearby

The area around the mountain offers plenty of scope for days out and sightseeing. Whether you prefer walking or cycling, there is a wide choice of routes, all of them safe and properly signposted.

The Löwenburg is a castle ruin with a fine view over Monreal, and it is also known as Burg Monreal. A guided tour of the Monrealer Weinberg vineyard is well worth doing.

If the Genovevahöhle cave looks familiar, there is probably a good reason. The German broadcaster ARD filmed its version of the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin here. You usually reach the cave on a walk along the Römerpfad or the Eifelsteig. Above it there is a small viewing platform looking out over the Kyll valley.

The Eifelturm Boos is a 25-metre timber tower with a viewing platform at 21.5 metres. Please note: the tower has been closed since October 2024 because it is at acute risk of collapse, and the ground around it may not be entered either (as at August 2026).

The Strohner Lavabombe is a gigantic natural sphere of stone weighing around 120 tonnes and measuring about five metres across. It counts as a geological rarity and is a favourite photo subject.

The ruins of the Philippsburg, also known as “das Reh”, can be visited inside, although you cannot climb the tower. It was built by Count Philipp zu Virneburg. The climb up is steep and takes about 15 minutes from the car park below the ruins.

A holiday home with real character is one of the loveliest ways to spend a holiday in the Eifel. Whether it is a romantic cabin in the Eifel or a timber chalet in the Eifel that welcomes your dog, they all give you everything you need for a relaxed stay. Right beside the Waldsee Rieden you will find a private log cabin holiday park in the Eifel with some very handsome houses. Surrounded by forest, the setting is idyllic and quiet, yet still easy to reach. Your timber chalet in the Eifel stands in a holiday park laid out in terraces and is fitted out to a first-class standard. The pick of them are the three homes Susi, Tommy and Annika. They come with a long list of comforts, including:

• Wood-burning stove with firewood (October to April)
• modern bathrooms with rainfall showers
• the house’s own EV charging point for your electric car

Because the houses are privately owned, each one has its own individual character and furnishings. If you rent a timber chalet in the Eifel, or stay in a holiday flat within one, the holiday park at the Riedener Waldsee makes an excellent starting point for any number of days out and tours. There are also some excellent and notably dog-friendly restaurants close by.

The Waldsee Rieden is one of the most popular bathing lakes in the region. The reservoir covers about four hectares and lies in the district of Mayen-Koblenz. The water quality is particularly good, which makes all the difference when you swim. Two bathing jetties give you an easy way in. Around the lake there are various lawns to stretch out on, boats to hire and designated spots for a barbecue. If you are travelling with children, you will find playgrounds by the Waldsee.

The Vulkaneifel, the volcanic Eifel, is a region that rises to just under 700 metres above sea level. Its geology is shaped throughout by volcanic activity, and the landscape is volcanically active to this day. Volcanic gases are one typical sign of that, rising for example in the Laacher See. Most of the Vulkaneifel is both a nature park and a geopark. It is one of Germany’s National Geoparks, which make the earth’s history visible and easy to follow, and it also belongs to the UNESCO Global Geoparks, a designation that underlines the international significance of the region’s geology. The Vulkaneifel has a great many sights you can take in during your holiday. A few examples:

• the fairy-tale Bürresheim Castle
• the steep-slope vineyards of the Moselle

The Eifel as a whole gives you a great many walking trails of every length and level of difficulty. The finest of them are known throughout the region as the “Traumpfade”, the dream paths. A dense network of these trails and their shorter counterparts links the Eifel, the Moselle valley and the Rhine. If you fancy a full day out, there are 27 Traumpfade to choose from, all of them circular routes. For shorter walks there are 14 routes known as Traumpfädchen. Every one of them is designed to show off as much of this remarkable landscape as possible and to take in plenty of panoramic viewpoints. The Traumpfade have earned their name. They are widely regarded as a paradise for anyone who loves nature and walking. The scenery is unique, covering the whole variety of the volcanic landscape and the dense forest. You pass castles and palaces from the Middle Ages, and at the many viewpoints you can take in the sweep of the countryside. If you like, the Traumpfade can be combined with events of various kinds: meditative walking, themed walks of all sorts and guided walks that go deeper into the history of the region. And if you would rather walk alone or with friends, nothing is stopping you.

The Hohe Acht is in the Hocheifel. It lies right next to the Nürburgring, east of Adenau.

The name “Acht” goes back to the Gaulish word acaunum, meaning rock or stone. The mountain first appears in documents in the Middle Ages, listed as Accha in 922 and as Mons Achon in 943.

There are several webcams for the region. This one gives you a good view of the Hohe Acht: https://www.skigebiete-test.de/webcam/wettermast-weisser-stein-blick-richtung-hohe-acht.htm