Come on a tour through the wild, natural, unspoilt North Rhine-Westphalia and experience your natural wonder! Encounters with pink flamingos or shaggy wild horses in Münsterland are just as much a part of it as a hike through the lake landscape of the Schwalm-Nette Nature Park on the Lower Rhine and a detour into the cave world of the Sauerland.
Starting point Schwalm-Nette Nature ParkLet's go on the Lower Rhine
The Schwalm-Nette Nature Park on the Lower Rhine is largely made up of water. The rivers Schwalm, Ruhr, Niers and Nette flow through here. But lakes and other wetlands also provide important habitats for animals and plants. Not forgetting the small bays and enchanted places, which are very popular resting places for hikers.
From the Schwalm-Nette Nature Park to the Zwillbrocker VennVisiting wild flamingos
Distance: About 120 kilometres
There may be flamingos in Florida, but not in NRW? You thought wrong! Simply take the direct route from the Schwalm-Nette Nature Park to the Zwillbrocker Venn. And you'll see: It's pink here in the summer months, thanks to the northernmost flamingo breeding colony in the world. The animals feel particularly at home in the region with its forests, moorland and lakes. In March, they start their journey from their wintering grounds on the Dutch coast and spend the summer in Münsterland to raise their young here.
From the Zwillbrocker Venn to DülmenWhere the wild horses graze
Distance: About 50 kilometres
Dülmen is only about an hour away. Here in the Merfelder Bruch in the Hohe Mark Nature Park, around 400 free-roaming horses graze and gallop - the last herd of wild horses in Europe. The particularly robust animals are largely left to their own devices. In spring, summer and autumn, visitors can observe the animals from predetermined paths or on guided tours.
From Dülmen to Bad BerleburgWith the bison in the forest
Distance: About 180 kilometres
You don't have to travel to Central America to see impressive bison, better known as wisents. They also roam the forests of Siegen-Wittgenstein. At Wisent-Welt Wittgenstein, a herd lives fenced in on 20 hectares, right next to the Rothaarsteig hiking trail.
From Bad Berleburg to the Atta CaveUnderground attraction
Distance: About 60 kilometres
Haven't had enough of adventures in the great outdoors? Then take a detour into the underworld and visit the Atta Cave in the Sauerland region. This natural wonder was discovered during a blast during quarry work in 1907 and has been impressing visitors with its glittering stalagmites and stalactites ever since. The cave was later named after Princess Atta, just like the nearby Hanseatic town of Attendorn.
