Saxon Switzerland National Park

Why go

The park is looked after by the Saxon Switzerland National Park and Forest Administration, a regional unit of the state enterprise Sachsenforst based in Bad Schandau, which gives its area as 9,350 hectares and is also the nature conservation authority for the surrounding landscape conservation area. The administration's welcome page describes table mountains, the deeply carved Elbe valley, rock formations, gorges and forests with a marked network of hiking trails, and says the Bohemian Switzerland National Park adjoins it on the Czech side. Its rules page says access is permitted only on existing paths (in the core zone only on marked or signposted paths), that camping is prohibited apart from bivouacking by climbers at official sites in a set season, that climbing is allowed only on official climbing summits under the Saxon climbing rules, and that drones, fires outside designated fireplaces and swimming are prohibited. The Bastei is a rock formation inside the park and a separate record. This record is the park as an area: its pin is a point inside the park, not a visitor centre or an entrance.