As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park plays in the top league.

Let nature be nature. People can be guests and watch.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Parts of Hesse's only national park were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011. Old beech forests and primeval beech forests in the Carpathians and other regions of Europe are on a par with the Galapagos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef and Yellowstone National Park. They are creations worthy of protection and of exceptional value and outstanding global importance. This huge, ancient forest area is located in the middle of Germany. Young plants grow under centuries-old oak and beech trees. It is up to nature to decide who will prevail and survive. People don't intervene, they just observe.

With exciting interactive productions and a 4D sensory film, the Kellerwald National Park Center provides playful insights into the wilderness. The Kellerwald Clock highlights the history of man's relationship with our forest from the Ice Age to the present day. The beech house at the Wildlife Park is an exciting experience space in which people take on the perspective of the forest dwellers. The wildlife park itself is a magical attraction for young and old.

The wilderness of tomorrow is being created here

"Humans don't intervene in a national park. It's paradoxical, but there is hardly more life than in dead wood. Beetles and insects live in it, moss and fungi live on it, woodpeckers build their burrows in the trunk.

There is often the expectation that a jungle is dark and wild. But the canopy actually shines in lush green and the forest appears friendly. As rangers, we observe and explain to our guests how slowly beech trees grow in the primeval forest and that their childhood and youth last 200-300 years. It is now clear at the latest: we are not actually protecting nature. It regenerates again and again. It may take her several hundred years to do this. Humans don't have this time - so we protect ourselves because we need nature.

The national park holds numerous events for kindergarten groups, school classes, families and nature enthusiasts. My favorite hike is the Morning Dew Tour."

"The Edersee is and will remain in my heart."

by Bernd Schenk, National Park Ranger

Experience pure nature

in the facilities of the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature and National Park.

Circular hiking trails in the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park

The Kellerwald-Edersee National Park presents itself to the viewer from a bird's eye view like a sea of beech trees. Hikers are repeatedly presented with breathtaking views of the winding Edersee and its bays that extend far into the beech forests and seem almost fjord-like. With over 20 circular hiking trails, enchanted beeches and clear springs await you. You will experience silence in the endless meadow valleys and along the steep slopes you will experience the awe that Mother Nature teaches us. As a reward, they lead you to the most beautiful viewpoints and down to the Edersee. And they all lead you into the fascinating wilderness of the national park.

Well over 500 guided hikes and events

take place every year in the nature and national park Kellerwald-Edersee and make every nature heart beat faster. Whether flora, fauna, world heritage or geology - with the nature park guides or rangers of the national park you get to know the local flora and fauna and learn interesting facts about the geological features of the region and the protected areas. Many of these guided tours and excursions can also be booked individually for groups.

Registration is currently required for each event. Please inform yourself on the website of the nature and national park whether a guided tour will actually take place.