TARGET 120530

Baumwipfelpfad
(Treetop walkway)

^{All pictures (except the Wikimedia one) by Flickr User Frank Hamm}

NOTE to viewers: If you're wondering how that top word is pronounced, it is
"Baum - vip - fel - p - faht". Easy, right?

Nestled in the Bavarian forest just outside the small town of Neuschönau, the longest tree top walk in the world is an unexpected and very spectacular sight. It is as if the fantasy of a young child with perhaps too much imagination has suddenly come to life.

The size is enormous

You don't really realize the size of this structure until you get inside it.

The 3 center pine trees have grown all the way to the top (145 ft)

The circular ramp goes to an observation platform at the top is 500 meters (1,640 feet) long.

The tower is only the most spectacular part of the walkway, but not all of it. In fact, it is the smallest part of it.

NOTE TO VIEWERS: I could not find an overall map or aerial view of the entire walkway, so will need to show the various parts of it in separate pictures. Although the tall tower is a strong attractor and is what most of your perceptions will be about, this feedback has to also serve those beginning viewers who will get perceptions of the whole walkway, and those advanced viewers who will almost certainly get such perceptions. If you did not get any of the following, don't worry about it. Simply score what you did get for accuracy.

As you enter the area, there is a very large parking lot that leads to a visitors' center. At the center, there is a set of stairs that lead to the elevated walkway. There is also an elevator for handicapped and wheelchaired visitors.

In order to reach the tower, you must first walk an elevated walkway over the over the forest. The walkway is 1300 meters long (4365 ft. - 4.7 US football fields) and stands an average of 8 meters (24 feet) above the ground. It is level, so there is no climbing involved, nor difficulty for those in wheelchairs. The walkway goes out into the woods and comes around behind the tower. There are resting spots which serve as educational "learning stations" along the way, with educational plaques in several languages.

You may notice in the very top picture of this feedback that the tower's circular ramp does not start at ground level. The walkway reaches the tower at a height of 8 meters (24 feet) above the ground, where the circular walkway to the top begins. The circular walkway is another 500 meters (1,640 feet - 1.8 US football fields) to the top. There is no handicapped access for that part of the ramp.

The walk is situated in the Bavarian Forest National Park, the biggest protected forest area not only in Germany but in Central Europe. It became Germany’s first national park in 1970. It borders the Czech Republic’s Bohemian Forest.

FEEDBACK MAP



If you got impressions for which this feedback is insufficient, more information,
pictures and videos can be found at the following web sites:

Kuriositas
The Baumwipfelpfad official website (lots of info)
Trip Advisor (tourists' personal reviews)
Good Videos (Texts are in German)