Hiking route E4 - Wandelroute E4

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E4
Map of the European Long Distance Path E4.png
tKBHFaGibraltar
BORDERGibraltar/Spain
HSTAntequera
HSTPuigcerdà
BORDERSpain/France
HSTBourg-Madame
HSTcarcassonne
KRZE7, Lodeve
HSTVillefort
HSTLes Vans
HSTSaint-Martin-d'Ardeche
HSTViviers
BORDERFrance/Switzerland
KRZE2, Saint-Cergue
BORDERSwitzerland/Austria
HSTBregenz
BS2 lBS2 r
STRBORDER
STRSTRAlpine routeGermany
STRBORDER
STRSTRAustria
BS2lBS2rEisenstadt
BORDER
STRHungary
BORDERHungary/Romania
HSTOradea
tGRENZERomania/Bulgaria
HSTSofia
BORDERBulgaria/Greece
STRPeloponnese
HSTGithion
ROUTE
HSTkissamos
HSTCrete
KBHFeCyprus

The European walking route E4 runs from Spain to the Greek part of the island Cyprus[1].The E4 is made up of several long-distance routes at national and regional level. Part of the route is under construction. The route part through Romania and part of Bulgaria is still under development. When completed, the E4 will run from Gibraltar through the countries of Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece (including Crete) and Cyprus.

The E4 does not pass through the Netherlands and Belgium. The closest is the route through Switzerland, where it intersects near Geneva with the popular hiking route E2, which does run through Belgium and the Netherlands.

The European walking routes are plotted and managed by the European Walking Association, where the Long Distance Walking Paths Foundation is represented from the Netherlands.

Character

To prepare

Safety

The E4 is a dangerous walking route. It passes through a large number of European high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees, the AustrianAlps and the Rilacmountain range in Bulgaria, and goes over the highest peaks on the Greek mainland and on Crete. Large parts of the E4 can only be walked in summer, or at least not in winter, and require experience with mountain hiking. Some parts of the alpine variant in Austria and some tops in Greece are even only feasible for alpinists. In addition, in some regions, such as the Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees, the vercors and very Greece accommodation and dining are scarce. That means: carrying a bivouac bag and meals.

A tick is smaller than the head of a match

Another great danger lurks in an almost invisible small animal: the tick. Ticks can (to varying degrees; in some regions almost 100% of ticks are infected) be carriers of two life-threatening parasites. Lyme disease, which is spread by tick bites, occurs throughout the E9 region. It is not possible to vaccinate against this disease, but one must check every evening for the presence of ticks. Once infected, a course of antibiotics is necessary. The other tick parasite comes in Austria, Hungary and the Balkan states and causes the disease FSME, a form of meningitis. This disease cannot be controlled with drugs; therefore one should be vaccinated with three injections before the trip.

Other dangers along the route are minor: wild boars and other large game are generally shy and hardly live along the coast. Rabies (rabies) occurs among forest animals, but is rare. There are no indications of high crime along the E4. Earthquakes occasionally occur in Greece; you don't have to be afraid of eruptions of volcanoes.

To the start

Route

Spain (2750 km)

  • In Andalusia from Tarifa the GR 7.
  • In Murcia the GR 7 to Morella.
  • In Cataluña the GR 8 to Ulldecona, the GR 92 to Tarragona, the GR 172 to Montserrat and finally the GR 4 to the French border in the Pyrenees.

France (1100 km)[2]

The Vercors is a very water-poor area; one can walk for days without seeing a source. Up-to-date information about sources and their location (with coordinates accurate to the meter) can be found on a website.[8]

Switzerland (500 km)

  • Chemin des Crêtes du Jura = Jurahöhenweg to Brügg.
  • from Brügg to Stein am Rhein.
  • Rheinuferweg from Stein am Rhein to Rheineck near Bregenz.

Austria (and Germany) (1500 km)

  • two variants from Bregenz:
    • Nordalpenweg (in Tyrol also partly Adlerweg) to the Neusiedlersee;
    • Maximiliansweg and Voralpenweg via Salzburg and Vienna to the Neusiedlersee;
  • parts of the Ostösterreichischer Grenzlandweg and a connection to kőszeg.

Hungary (1300 km)

Bulgaria (250 km)

  • mountain routes from Sofia through the Rila and Pirin Mountains to Petrovo on the Greek border.

Greece (2000 km)

  • via the towns of Florina and Edessa, Mount Olympos, the monasteries of Kalambaka, the Pindus Mountains, Mount Parnassos, Delphi, Tripoli and Sparta to Kastellon in the south of the Peloponnese;
  • across Crete in two variants.

Cyprus (640km)

  • from Pafos in pretzel form to Larnaka.

all around

Footnotes and References

  1. ↑ Freytag & Berndt commissioned by the European Hiking Association: European Footpaths (2001), map and route description. ISBN 3-7079-0100-9
  2. ↑ IGN map 903 "France Grande Randonnee" (fr) . Global map France with GRs. (fr)
  3. ↑ 3,03,13,2 Top-Guide Ref. 1092 (2002) "Pyrenees-Orientales". ISBN 2-85699-812-7 . Description of the part that runs via the GR36 (partly together with GR10) from the Spanish border at Bourge-Madame to the border between the departments Pyrenees-Orientales and Aude. (fr)
  4. ↑ 4,04,1 Top-Guide Ref. 716 (2006) "Traversée Du Haut Languedoc". ISBN 978-2-7514-0170-1 . Description of the part that runs via the GR71 (partly together with GR36) and GR7 of the border between the departments of Aude and Tarn (Montagne Noire) to l'Esperou. (fr)
  5. ↑ Top-Guide Ref. 716 (2006) "Traversée Du Haut Languedoc". ISBN 978-2-7514-0170-1 Description of the part that runs via the GR71 (partly together with GR36) and GR7 of the border between the departments of Aude and Tarn (Montagne Noire) to l'Esperou. (fr)
  6. ↑ Top-Guide Ref. 704 (2001) "Traversée Du Haut Languedoc". ISBN 2-85699-863-1 . Description of the part that runs via the GR72 from the Tarne to Villefort. (fr)
  7. ↑ 7,07,1 Top-Guide Ref. 407 (2003) "Des Gorges de l'Ardeche à la Margeride". ISBN 2-85699-971-9 . Description of the part that runs via GR44 and GR4. (fr)
  8. ↑www.Vercors-gtv.com/PDF/info_sources.pdf
  9. ↑ Top-Guide Ref. 904 (2006) "Travesee du Vercours, Diois et Baronnies". ISBN ?. Description of the part that runs via GR9 from Dieulefit (GR429) to Grenoble. (fr)
  10. ↑ Top-Guide Ref. PN02 (2003) "Tours Et Traversees De Chartreuse". ISBN 2-85699-967-0 . Description of the part that runs via GR9 from Grenoble to Culoz. (fr)

external links


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