Orchid paradise Wasserliesch

Those travelling by train will start this botanical walk at the station. All others do this at the nearby market square in Wasserliesch. At the railway station, pass under the tracks and follow the ‘Heidegarten’ road uphill until it turns into the Stationenweg and leads to the edge of the forest, accompanied by field crosses. The hiking trails separate here. The station trail continues straight uphill, while the theme trail first takes a turn towards the Granadenkmal. The trail continues slightly downhill through beautiful mixed forest until a signpost indicates the way to the monument. If you want to get there, also because of the view of the Moselle valley, you have to allow for a few metres of elevation loss.

Back at the signpost, the route now begins to climb significantly again. A forest path climbs steeply through dense forest up to the plateau of the Liescher Berg. At the top, do not go straight ahead, but take a sharp right turn along the edge of the mountain to the Löschem Chapel. This is the ideal place to rest and watch the boats on the Moselle and let time pass by. You could sit here forever!

Walking between meadows and pine forest, it is not far to the orchid trail in the ‘Perfeist’ nature reserve. An information board at the small hiking car park provides information about the orchid paradise, and signs clearly warn you to ‘stay on the path’. This is important, as nature is extremely sensitive here. A narrow meadow path runs as a circular route through the calcareous grassland area, which is one of the most important refuges for rare orchids in Germany. Small name boards indicate which plants can be seen. There are 28 orchid species along the way, ranging from marsh orchids and goat's tongues to spurges, pyramidal orchids, hollow tongues and wood violets. The visual stars, however, are the magnificent Turk's cap lilies, which belong to the lily family. The yellow gentian is also not to be overlooked. The way back to Wasserliesch follows the tarmac access road that leads straight downhill from the hikers' car park. Views of beautiful orchards and the village of Igel sweeten the descent.

Good to walk in sturdy trainers. Take provisions with you or stop off in Wasserliesch.

Take binoculars with you, as some orchids are not directly on the path. Possibly carry an identification book (e.g. ‘Orchideen Europas’, Ulmer Verlag or Kosmos Naturführer ‘Was blüht denn da?’) or take part in a guided hike.

Wasserliesch can be reached via the B419.

We recommend the free car park behind the church of St. Aper (Hauptstr. 58-60, 54332 Wasserliesch). From there, the starting point on the market square is a 2-minute walk away. There is another car park on the market square (there are only a few spaces available here).

You can also reach the hiking car park on Löschemer Berg via Löschemer Straße.

We recommend travelling by train. Wasserliesch can be reached via the Wittlich-Trier-Perl railway line. The starting point at the market square is in the immediate vicinity of the railway station in Wasserliesch.

Information on current public transport timetables can be found at www.bahn.de or www.vrt-info.de.

The free leisure map of the Saar-Obermosel holiday region is available from Saar-Obermosel-Touristik with the tourist information offices in Konz (Tel. 06501-6018040) and Saarburg (Tel. 06581-995980).

Or order the map directly from our online brochure shop.

Saar-Obermosel-Touristik, Tourist-Information Saarburg, Graf-Siegfried-Str. 32, 54439 Saarburg, Tel. 06581-995980

Saar-Obermosel-Touristik, Tourist-Information Konz, Saarstr. 1, 54329 Konz, Tel. 06501-6018040

E-mail: info@saar-obermosel.de 

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