Top 18 Gorges around Terlan - Terlano

Just a few minutes' walk from the center of Lana, a completely different world opens up: the Gaul Gorge at the foot of the castle hill of Braunsberg Castle. Steep rocky slopes rise up on both sides, the river Falschauer babbles over the stony stream bed and even in midsummer the temperatures between the cool rock walls are pleasantly cool. Completely different types of rock come together here: between the quartz porphyry and the primary rock of the Old Gneisse, there is also a narrow strip of granite. Only a narrow strip of land between the massive rocks leads over the unspoiled mountain stream. From the Gaulwiese, a well-secured path leads over suspension bridges, past a roaring waterfall, further into the wildly romantic and increasingly narrow gorge; or up to Braunsberg Castle with a beautiful view over Lana.

A splendid natural monument, the earth pyramids of Renon have very few equals in Europe for their state of conservation and height. They are located in the Sarntal Alps and are the remnant of the retreat of some moraine glaciers.

A remnant from the Ice Age - the earth pyramids on Ritten

THE CREATION OF THE EARTH PYRAMIDS Earth pyramids consist of clay piled up in a cone shape and the boulders lying on top and often form bizarre landscape shapes. They can arise in soils made from late Ice Age moraine clay, which remains here on the Ritten from the Eisacktal main glacier and some local secondary glaciers. These soils are rock hard when dry, but as soon as it rains they turn into a soft paste and slide away, forming steep slopes 10 to 15 meters high. Further rainfall washes out these slopes, but if there are boulders in the softer earth material, the clay under these rocks is protected from the rain and while the surrounding material is eroded further and further by the weather, the majestic earth pyramids literally grow out of the ground. It is difficult to say how long it takes for an earth pyramid to form because there are too many components working together. It is also impossible to determine exactly how old an earth pyramid is or can become. However, it is clear that the largest and most beautiful pyramids can be formed over a period of up to thousands of years. An earth pyramid is over very quickly once the capstone falls from the top of the pyramid: the material is exposed to the rain without any protection and the column becomes smaller with every rain. And while one earth pyramid disappears as a result of this process, the next one is already being created further up the slope. https://www.ritten.com/de/1201-erdpyramiden/74-die-entstehung-der-erdpyramiden

These are the earth pyramids in the Rivellone gorge. This natural phenomenon is as beautiful as it is impressive. The material from which the earth pyramids are made is approximately 25,000 years old. These are cone-shaped clay pyramids with boulders on top. These soils are rock hard when dry, but as soon as it rains, they turn into a soft mush, slide off and form steep slopes 10 to 15 meters high. However, the clay beneath these rocks is protected from rain, and as the surrounding material is eroded away by the climate, the majestic earth pyramids literally grow out of the earth. The largest and most beautiful pyramids can last thousands of years. The views from the trail are breathtaking and the variety of colors are astonishing.

Very nice walk, children also have fun here.

The path leads us over two suspension bridges to the end of the part of the Gaul Gorge that is open to visitors.

Between steep cliffs, you always walk along the False Auer to the end of the gorge. Especially worthwhile in midsummer, when there is a refreshing coolness between the rock faces.