Drachenschlucht and the Wartburg from Mariental

The walk starts from the car park at Mariental, on the southern edge of Eisenach, about 100 m from the Drachenschlucht / Mariental bus stops. Woodland paths climb past the Wartburg-Blick viewpoint and the Friedenseiche to the gate of the Wartburg, the castle above Eisenach, said by legend to have been founded in 1067 and first recorded in writing in 1080, where Martin Luther stayed in 1521 and 1522, and a World Heritage Site since 1999. The line goes to the gate and no further; the castle's interior is a separate visit. It then drops to the Sängerwiese meadow and enters the Drachenschlucht at the Waldhaus Sängerwiese.

The gorge is about 2.5 km long (the tourist office's figure from Mariental to the Hohe Sonne) and only 68 cm wide at its narrowest. A walkway of gratings follows the stream between mossy walls, first through the gorge and then up the Annatal, to the steps at the Hohe Sonne. From there the Weinstraße, a forest track, leads to the Marienblick viewpoint and the Großer Drachenstein at 471 m, and the path drops past the Wolfslöcher into the Landgrafenschlucht and along the Wichmannpromenade back to the car park.

It is 12.4 km with 353 m of ascent; allow about 4 hours. The grade is Moderate. The Eisenach tourist office's leaflet describes the loop without the Wartburg and the Sängerwiese as 11 km and about 3½ hours, and says it is not suitable for bikes, pushchairs or wheelchairs. The gratings and the paths in the gorge are wet and slippery, and the gorge is in a nature reserve, so keep to the paths.

The same leaflet says the Drachenschlucht can be closed at short notice, in any season, after storms or heavy rain or when ice forms, and asks walkers to check with the Eisenach Tourist-Information or the forest office in case of doubt. The car park is mapped in OpenStreetMap as free of charge. Buses stop at Mariental, at the stop called Eisenach, Drachenschlucht / Mariental: line 3 from the central bus station (ZOB) to the Wartburg and line 190 from the ZOB via the Hohe Sonne towards Bad Liebenstein, both through Drachenschlucht (Mariental), with timetables valid from 16 August 2026; check the timetable before you go. The walk can also be started at the Hohe Sonne.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.