Bode Gorge Nature Reserve

With one of the most beautiful regions in the Harz.
From the Roßtrappe you have a great view of the Bodetal and the Bode.

Thale is located on the north-eastern edge of the Harz Mountains, where the Bode emerges from the mountains and has dug a deep gorge between the steep, legendary rocks Hexentanzplatz and Rosstrappe. In this gorge, the wild and romantic Bodetal, exciting myths and legends, fairytale forests, babbling brooks and raging rivers, fascinating rock formations and fantastic views await the visitor.With the impressive Bodetal, the Hexentanzplatz and the Roßtrappe, the beautiful landscape and the entrance to the Harzer-Hexen-Stieg, a 100-kilometer long-distance hiking trail between Thale and Osterode, Thale is a very popular, eventful holiday destination for hikers and nature lovers.The Hexentanzplatz, located on a rock plateau at 454 m above sea level high above the Bodetal, is transformed every year on the night of May 1st, Walpurgis Night, into the festival site of witches and devils, a place of myths and legends.With the remains of a former castle complex, the witch ring with its sculptures and the Walpurgis Hall, the Hexentanzplatz is also a uniquely mystical place on the remaining days of the year. Other attractions of the Hexentanzplatz are the Harzer Bergtheater, the Harzbob and the Thale zoo.No less legendary rises above the left bank of the Bode the Rosstrappe, a 403 meter high granite rock out of the Bodetal. Numerous legends are entwined around the rock, which is considered to be one of the greatest rock formations north of the Alps, due to a depression that resembles a footprint. This story is vividly told in the pavilion of legends high up on the Rosstrappe.With the Thale Erlebniswelt cable car, the Bodetal has another highlight. It is the starting point of the cable car to the Hexentanzplatz and the chairlift to the Roßtrappe and offers a wide range of fun and leisure activities for young and old with various fun parks, a show hydroelectric power station, a downhill track and the witches' cauldron.For rest and relaxation after an eventful day, the Bodetal Therme with thermal baths, sauna world, relaxation and health programs, as well as wellness and massage offers.Source: harzinfo.de/urlaubsorte/thale

Bodetal is called the valley of the warm and cold Bode in the resin. In the narrower sense, only the ten-kilometer, gorge-like valley section of the Bode between Treseburg and Thale is called Bodetal.The Bode, which rises on the Brocken, the highest mountain of the Harz, has cut into the morphologically hard Ramberg granite. The gorge is at Treseburg about 140 meters and at the transition to Harz foothills at Thale about 280 meters deep. The Bodetal was already on 5 March 1937 under protection and later expanded. With currently 473.78 hectares, it is one of the largest nature reserves in Saxony-Anhalt. The Bodetal was included in the list of 77 excellent National Geotopes in 2006.Sources:
de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodetal
bodetal.de/urlaub-im-harz/urlaubsregion-bodetal/orte-im-bodetal/luftkurort-treseburg-im-bodetal-harz/naturschutzgebiet.html
harzregion.de/files/rvh/layout/naturpark/Infotafeln/Bodetal_Tafel%203%20Naturschutzgebiet.pdf