Every year, the Heinz Sielmann Foundation and the German Hiking Institute call for a vote on natural wonders. The award is given to natural phenomena that can be reached on foot and impress visitors with their particular beauty or uniqueness. And Germany has a lot to offer in this respect!

Langwarder Groden: plenty of wildlife in the Wadden Sea

Butjadingen: Hiking trail Langwarder Groden Butjadingen: Hiking trail Langwarder Groden ©Adobe Stock (fotografci)

At the '2024 Natural Wonder', located on the Butjadingen peninsula in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site, the journey is the reward. More precisely: the boardwalk! This leads into a salt marsh development area whose 140 hectares were exposed to the tides again a few years ago. The result – an increased diversity in the animal and plant kingdom – can be clearly seen from observation stands, footbridges and a bridge leading onto the foreshore.


Eternal ice in the Westerwald: where Hessen is super cool

Basalt cone Druidenstein with cross in the autumnal Westerwald

Germany can do permafrost too! The 'eternal ice' in Westerwald, the '2023 Natural Wonder', is proof. How did this rare phenomenon come to be? Air sucked in through basalt blocks cools massively through evaporation and leads to the formation of ice in deeper layers of the loose basalt rock. The foot of Dornburg remains cold from winter to midsummer, which can be visited on a circular walk, as can the Hildegardisfelsen rock with its stunning views.


Heligoland: drama on the guillemot rock

Helgoland: Kegelrobbe Helgoland: Kegelrobbe ©Pixabay.com (the3cats)

Small but mighty! The North Sea island may 'only' measure 1.7 square kilometres, but it is home to two nature reserves – and offers exciting nature experiences all year round. For example, in the winter months, when grey seals give birth to their pups on Heligoland's dunes. In spring and autumn, this '2012 Natural Wonder' becomes a mecca for bird lovers. The highlight is the guillemot leap, when the still-flightless young guillemots jump from high cliffs into the sea.


Flower meadow in Melle: blooming insect paradise

Observation tower in the TERRA.vita Nature and Geopark Observation tower in the TERRA.vita Nature and Geopark ©Natur- und UNESCO Geopark TERRA.vita

Located in the Nature and Geopark TERRA.vita, the '2018 Natural Wonder' is a project with exemplary character. What the environmental protection group in the town of Melle achieved with the active help of primary school pupils, goats and ponies may also be possible elsewhere: the transformation of a barren 600 square metre meadow into a flower-rich landscape – with lots of food for insects. A particularly endangered species of sand bee, the Andrena argentata, has already moved in...


Harz National Park: fabulously beautiful

Thale: View from the Hexentanzplatz Thale: View from the Hexentanzplatz ©DZT (Florian Trykowski)

When a candidate wins the natural wonder vote twice, it carries special weight: in 2010 and 2011, the Harz National Park succeeded in doing just that. Germany's unique low mountain range landscape effortlessly captivates visitors with its extraordinary diversity and natural beauty. In addition to winter sports enthusiasts and hikers, numerous animal and plant species that have become rare elsewhere, such as the black stork, wildcat and others, feel at home around the legendary Brocken mountain.

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