Top 11 Gorges around Nufringen

The Kochhartgraben and Ammertalhänge area is a nature reserve designated by the Tübingen Regional Council on December 21, 1995, and a European bird sanctuary designated by the state of Baden-Württemberg on February 5, 2010, in the Tübingen district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The nature reserve covers an area of 103 hectares and is located between Hailfingen and Poltringen in the Kochhartgraben and Ammertal valleys. It consists of eight sub-areas. The area belongs to the Neckar and Tauber Plateau natural region and is located in the geological unit of the Upper Muschelkalk. The bird sanctuary "Kochhartgraben und Ammertalhänge", with a total area of around 54 hectares (ha), lies entirely within the nature reserve of the same name. Its two sub-areas are located east and west of Reusten, a district of the municipality of Ammerbuch, and are distributed over 50.42 ha (= 94.11%) in the Ammerbuch area and 3.15 ha (= 5.89%) in the Rottenburg area. The area "Kochhartgraben und Ammertalhänge" is described as a "diverse cultural landscape with dry and semi-dry grassland complexes, fringe communities, sheep pastures, hedges, scattered orchards, abandoned quarries, fallow land, and alluvial meadows". The area with dry and semi-dry grasslands, abandoned quarries, and scattered orchards forms a characteristic section of the Muschelkalk landscape in the Upper Gäu natural region and has regular breeding populations of peregrine falcons. According to the protected area ordinance, the purpose of the nature reserve is "the preservation of the diverse cultural landscape of the Kochhartgraben and Ammertalhänge in its special character and beauty [...]" as well as "the preservation of a richly structured ecosystem as a habitat for a species-rich flora and fauna. [...]" Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochhartgraben_und_Ammertalh%C3%A4nge

Nobody would have expected that.

The route is very hilly with a few steeper sections where you have to push briefly. The surface has seen better days - hence a bumpy and often dirty affair - and the last section is finely gravelled, but still rideable. The scenery is pretty, so everyone has to weigh things up for themselves. Since mid-December 2024, Aidlinger Str. under the Ehningen viaduct has been open again after two years, but the Haldenweg remains closed. So coming from the gravel path at the scout house, you still have to climb very steeply (20% gradient) after a sharp hairpin bend to get to the path parallel to the road on the viaduct. Update: Still closed in March '25. In the meantime, the curve has been narrowed even further during the closure, which makes the detour all the more annoying.

From the Altdorf water tower you have a great view of the Maurenertal and the Hofgut Mauren.

Up and down: a dream!

Coming from Reusten, the Kochartgraben is “wildly romantic” especially in the area of the motorway bridge.

The Kachhartgraben - an exciting nature reserve

An interesting nature reserve. A narrow hiking trail leads through.