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The Devil's Canyon near Irrel

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Trail stats

Distance
5.52 mi
Elevation gain
1,070 ft
Technical difficulty
Moderate
Elevation loss
1,070 ft
Max elevation
1,040 ft
TrailRank 
60 3.9
Min elevation
534 ft
Trail type
Loop
Time
4 hours 3 minutes
Coordinates
769
Uploaded
September 8, 2015
Recorded
September 2015
  • Rating

  •   3.9 3 Reviews
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near Irrel, Rheinland-Pfalz (Deutschland)

Viewed 8349 times, downloaded 247 times

Trail photos

Photo ofThe Devil's Canyon near Irrel Photo ofThe Devil's Canyon near Irrel Photo ofThe Devil's Canyon near Irrel

Itinerary description

The Devil’s Canyon (Teufelsschlucht) is a great hiking destination because of its narrow canyons, deep cracks, precipitous walls and bizarre rock formations.

This trail is equivalent to tour 24 of the Rother Eifel Wanderführer (3rd edition, 2000). Much has changed since it was published. Perhaps more recent editions have done away with some puzzles. In the digital age, ‘left at the telephone booth’ is no longer a good description. Even the trail itself has seen its best. The roof of the shelter at waypoint 10 rests on the ground, and forks and crossing are not always marked.

Notwithstanding, this is a hugely recommended trip, which is perhaps a little more demanding than the standard visit to the Teufelsschlucht that begins at the new Tourist and Information center. But then you may savor the quiet, move away from the hustle and bustle, and get an expanded view into this unique rock landscape. If you can afford it, try the trail on any other day than on a summer weekend,

The Devil’s Canyon proper is between waypoints 14 and 16.

The Canyon is not at the level of the river Prüm, but considerably higher up. That is why you should calculate about 370 meters each in cumulative ascent and descent.

Some more details:

When leaving the parking, it is worthwhile to make a short excursion to the bridge across the Prüm and to follow the somewhat indistinct path for a while. Eventually, the path is blocked and you will have to use a concrete path higher up. This path is still nice to walk; it follows the Prüm upstream until Prümzurlay.

Later on, the trail follows a formerly-well-maintained path below impressive rock formations. Nowadays, the path is in bad repair, and not always easy to find. Steps are often slippery, have moved off, or are covered in soil and leaves. Take sturdy boots.
Worthwhile is a short sidetrip to the viewpoint 15, the only place from which to see Irrel on this hike.

The path through the Devil’s Canyon proper is well secured and safe, but may require some acrobatics and can be very narrow.

The bridge across the Prüm is a highlight in itself.

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Waypoints

PictographIntersection Altitude 572 ft

TS 01-Gabel

PictographBridge Altitude 805 ft

TS 02-Brücke

PictographIntersection Altitude 580 ft

TS 03-Gabel

PictographWaypoint Altitude 566 ft
Photo ofTS 04-Prümzurlay Photo ofTS 04-Prümzurlay

TS 04-Prümzurlay

PictographBridge Altitude 574 ft

TS 05-Brücke

PictographIntersection Altitude 584 ft

TS 06-Gabel

PictographFountain Altitude 721 ft
Photo ofTS 07-Quelle

TS 07-Quelle

PictographIntersection Altitude 809 ft

TS 08-Kreuzung

PictographWaypoint Altitude 924 ft
Photo ofTS 09-Stufen

TS 09-Stufen

PictographWaypoint Altitude 1,039 ft
Photo ofTS 10-Hütte (verfallen) Photo ofTS 10-Hütte (verfallen) Photo ofTS 10-Hütte (verfallen)

TS 10-Hütte (verfallen)

PictographIntersection Altitude 901 ft

TS 11-Gabel

PictographIntersection Altitude 933 ft

TS 12-Gabel

PictographBridge Altitude 976 ft
Photo ofTS 13-Brücke Photo ofTS 13-Brücke Photo ofTS 13-Brücke

TS 13-Brücke

PictographIntersection Altitude 979 ft

TS 14-Kreuzung

PictographPanorama Altitude 949 ft
Photo ofTS 15-Aussichts Kanzel Photo ofTS 15-Aussichts Kanzel Photo ofTS 15-Aussichts Kanzel

TS 15-Aussichts Kanzel

PictographIntersection Altitude 1,010 ft

TS 16-Gabel

PictographIntersection Altitude 984 ft

TS 17-Gabel

PictographIntersection Altitude 872 ft

TS 18-Gabel

PictographIntersection Altitude 825 ft

TS 19-Gabel

PictographMountain hut Altitude 718 ft

TS 20-Hütte Waldesruh

PictographIntersection Altitude 685 ft

TS 21-Gabel

PictographWaypoint Altitude 614 ft
Photo ofTS 22-Köhlerhütten Photo ofTS 22-Köhlerhütten

TS 22-Köhlerhütten

PictographIntersection Altitude 568 ft
Photo ofTS 23-Gabel Photo ofTS 23-Gabel

TS 23-Gabel

Comments  (3)

  • Photo of Tawnee
    Tawnee Jul 20, 2016

    I have followed this trail  View more

    I am new to the whole hiking thing and this was definetely a great one to start with. A friend and I did this a couple of weeks ago and it was beautiful. Lots of stairs and hills both up and down but surprisingly not too difficulty for a beginner and totally worth it. It was hard to figure out where to park but we ended up going to the Naturparkzentrum Teufelsschlucht, which, turns out, is where you are suppose to start. Once you park there will be a train entrance. Just follow that and then it will take you to the welcome center where you can purchase a map for 10 cents. They have other trail options if you want to do a smaller hike but the 5.8km that we did was great. Happy hiking!

  • Photo of Dennis Kuepers
    Dennis Kuepers Nov 20, 2017

    I have followed this trail  verified  View more

    Hele mooie route
    wel moeilijk te volgen op sommige punten

  • Photo of Ronin72
    Ronin72 Aug 2, 2022

    I have followed this trail  verified  View more

    Nice hike but the start of this hike is closed due to the floods in july 2021, the nice bridge is also gone :( . I followed the road for a while instead of the marked path so it went fine. But at the end, to cross the river you’ll need to improvise: or go through Irrel and use the bridge there (what I did) or take off your walking shoes and cross the river (at your own risk). Today there was little water in the river and so you could cross it at some points.

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