Thale and the Bode Gorge

The Bode cuts through hard granite here in a gorge up to about two hundred and eighty metres deep, generally described as the deepest rock gorge north of the Alps, with a path running about ten kilometres along the water from Thale to Treseburg on ledges and bridges. Above it stand two plateaus: the Hexentanzplatz, the witches' dancing floor, reached by cable car, and the Rosstrappe, reached by a chairlift, where a hoofprint-shaped hollow in the rock is explained by a legend of a princess leaping the gorge on horseback. Goethe set the Walpurgis Night scene of Faust in these hills, and a festival is held on 30 April.

What you actually see

• The gorge path - ten kilometres along the water on ledges and bridges.
• The Hexentanzplatz - a plateau reached by cable car with an open-air theatre.
• The Rosstrappe - a rock hollow explained by a leaping-horse legend.
• The Walpurgis festival - a 30 April event drawing on the Faust connection.

When to go

April to October; the gorge path is slippery and partly closed in winter and after storms. Walpurgis Night on 30 April fills the town and the plateaus.

Honest expectations

The gorge walk is long with an awkward return; buses run from Treseburg but are limited. Lifts close in wind. Walpurgis is very crowded.

Nearby

Quedlinburg lies north; the Teufelsmauer is northeast.