Echternach E1 – The Mullerthal Classic

Absolutely gorgeous 14km loop with multiple highlights, including the imposing Gorges du Loup and the photogenic Hohllay caves.
Starts at the Basilica in the centre of Echternach.
Parking available at e.g. “Campus Gare” multi-storey. Numerous bus options.
Certain level of physical fitness and good hiking boots strongly recommended.

There are, of course, many wonderful hikes in the Mullerthal region. But, honestly? This might be my favourite of them all.

The Echternach E1 trail has everything. Starting right in the centre of the Mullerthal’s cultural capital, the trail passes the Basilica and historic market square before heading for the hills. Use this time in Luxembourg’s oldest city wisely: stock up on snacks and drinks because you have a physically challenging – but oh so rewarding! – hike ahead of you.

There is no messing about with suburbs on this hike: once the trail reaches the end of Echternach’s main street, it almost immediately starts to rise up on crooked, rough cobbles through scrub-like forest. You get the feeling that people have trodden this path for hundreds of years and it’s a surprisingly tough climb. But you soon get rewarded for your efforts with the first viewpoint of the day at the Trooskneppchen.

From here, you’re in true Mullerthal territory. If you prefer shade, a nearby pavilion tucked beneath the beech canopy offers the perfect breather, because for the next 12 km, the forest is your home. Speaking of shade, your next stop is about as dark and dramatic as it gets: the Gorges du Loup (Wollefsschlucht, or Wolf’s Canyon).

With high rock faces on three sides and a chaos of boulders and moss, this is one of the Grand Duchy’s “WOW!”” spots, a place of such imposing scale that it is difficult to believe that it’s in humble little Luxembourg. Narrow staircases that lead off the main rocky path invite you to explore vantage points on the very top of the rocks. Of these, the Paulsplatte (reachable via the steep stone staircase on the left) is a great place to rest for a while, with loads of benches and magnificent views back down over the gorge itself.

The trail continues through the picturesque Aesbaach Valley. This sublimely beautiful stretch – between the Wollefschlucht and Berdorf – is well-known by tourists and can get busy at times. This may become tiresome to those more used to solitude and serenity, but is entirely understandable since the scenery just keeps on getting better and better.

Eventually you arrive at the “Hohllay” (“Hollow cave”). It’s a darling of the Mullerthal tourism industry, frequently adorning brochures and guide books in the shops from Echternach to Beaufort… and its striking beauty makes it easy to see why. Unlike many other caves in the region, the Hohllay is not (completely) natural, and can appear outright bizarre to many first-time visitors. As Atlas Obscura explains, tourists:

might be forgiven for thinking that it was once home to an order of druids or some other ancient sect thanks to strange markings covering the cave walls. But really it’s just mining scars.”

Yes, you read that right: mining scars. “Mullerthal” translates as “Millers’ Valley”, and the Hohllay has been almost entirely artificially created by the quarrying of millstones, clefted from the rock here since the middle ages (and perhaps even from Roman times). But the old quarriers appear to have been artists as well as workmen: what they left behind them is undoubtedly extraordinarily beautiful.

There’s something of a lull in the dramatic scenery immediately after the Hohllay, which brings with it the advantage of more peaceful footpaths and a return to the natural serenity of the forest. Indeed, the next highlight can be easily missed as it is not directly on the main E1 path at all, but a (signposted) 50m each-way diversion from it. But please don’t skip it: a visit to the Wëlkeschkummer is comfortably the best 100 metre investment you will ever make:

Exiting the Wëlkeschkummer, you have completed just over half of the hike, but almost all of the dramatic rock scenery is now behind you. From here, the trail calms down somewhat, passing through tranquil forest landscapes as you wind your way back towards Echternach. There are far fewer tourists on this section of the trail, but still the occasional highlight such as a pretty pond and the wonderful Geierslay viewpoint over the Sauer valley and Echternach.

Then, just when you think there’s nothing left to see, the E1 surprises you with perhaps my favourite section of the entire trail. For a kilometre or more, a small man-made stream (“Mühlenkanal“) clings tightly to the main path. It is not entirely sure to me why this little curiosity was ever made, nor how – in several places – it seems to impossibly flow uphill. But it is absolutely unique and delightful, a wonderfully whimsical and cute ending to what, on the whole, is quite simply a spectacular hike through the Mullerthal.