The Fauna-Flora Habitat area “Wupper von Leverkusen bis Solingen”

The steep slopes of the narrow western Wupper Valley rise imposingly on both sides of the river. Thin riverine forests of alder and ash line the Wupper and the many brooks that feed it. The slopes are characterised by craggy rock formations and largely covered in deciduous forest. The woodrush-beech forest the flourishes here is a particular treasure.

A large portion of the Fauna-Flora Habitat (FFH) “Wupper von Leverkusen bis Solingen”, which covers 556 hectares, lies between Müngsten and Burg. A part of the Europe-wide network Natura 2000, it serves to preserve and protect valuable biotopes and their rare fauna and flora, such as the kingfisher, which nests on the Wupper’s steep banks, or the luxuriant Killarney fern, a hidden dweller in rocky crevasses.