Hiking at Donon, Alsace’s sacred mountain

My opinion of the Donon in brief

The sacred mountain and the Donon temple

The summit of the Donon is very impressive. The site is known for the sacred nature attributed to it since prehistoric times (no doubt due to its strategic position and the fact that it was thus visible from afar), and was for a long time a place of worship. One of Alsace’s telluric hot spots, it is apparently charged with positive vibratory energy and is still considered a sacred mountain by many.

Gallo-Roman remains can be admired here (just before the summit), as well as an astonishing temple-museum, built in the 19th century in memory of this past history and which has become a kind of emblem of the place. The Donon temple, which imitates a Greco-Roman temple, was built by the Colmar architect Louis-Michel Boltz in 1869, under Napoleon III.

When I first went there, I have to say I was expecting to find a rather uninspiring ruin, but it turns out that the temple-museum is well-preserved and sits majestically on its rocky platform, offering a panoramic view of Lorraine on one side, the Bruche Valley on the other (you can see the Rocher de Mutzig, another notable peak in the valley) and all the beauty of the blue line of the Vosges. The location is superb!

Idea for a hike from the Col du Donon parking lot (with Petit Donon option)

There are many different options for climbing the Donon , and you can choose to start from different villages. Here, for example, is a beautiful circular hiking trail on the Donon massif, a classic whose itinerary is available on Visorando.

It leads from the Col du Donon to the summit of the Donon before descending quietly to Wackenbach via the Col entre les deux Donon, then back to the starting pass where you can stop at theHotel Velleda for a drink and blueberry tart on the terrace. Perfect for restoring your strength after a hike!

It’s a nice walk on nice paths, winding through the forest and leading to the top to a superb view of the surroundings. The climb is worth it! 😉

As an option, after the Col entre les Deux Donon and before going back down to Wackenbach, it is possible to take a path to reach the summit of the Petit Donon: this adds a small loop, and you can decide at the last moment if you want to do it or not.

The itinerary is globally quite easy to follow as long as you pay attention to the Club Vosgien markings: red rectangle during the ascent (where you are on the GR5 hiking trail) and the beginning of the descent, then different markings: look at the map and be vigilant!

Other hiking options

There are several options available to you:

• You can do the beautiful hike I mentioned above to discover the massif.
• If you just want to see the summit of the Donon without doing the whole tour, you can drive to the Col du Donon and then climb to the summit on foot. Then count about 40 minutes of walking on a nice steep path with big rocks. It can be a good option for a walk with children, for example. This part of the path is the most crowded but it is still nice. You can find the route here.
• If you want to go hiking in the Donon without a car, you can make a loop starting from Schirmeck station. You’ll find the itinerary here.