Ranges of hills rising up to 1000 meters, gentle mountain ridges and rounded hilltops characterize the landscape of the Swabian Alb. Hikers and nature enthusiasts will discover juniper-covered heaths, paddocks, meadows full of flowers, beech woods, limestone rocks, former volcanic lakes, stalactite caves, waterfalls, thermal springs and quaint old towns. Many travellers long for the silence and beauty of this wide stretching, peaceful and unspoilt landscape; although transport and motoring facilities are excellent, the Swabian Alb retains its unimpaired, intact landscape; as the German poet Eduard Mörike aptly remarked, it is a "wild paradise".