Tour for little cave explorers

Immediately after the "Zur Hoffnung" restaurant, turn left off the village road and follow the "Roter Strich" signposts in the direction of Kleinhennersdorf, passing the fallow deer enclosure and the "Brennesseleck" rest area. After the "Brennesseleck", leave this hiking trail after approx. 200 metres, branch off to the left and follow the signpost "Kleinhennersdorfer Stein/Höhlen". From here, you can also follow the forest trail markings - there is a yellow vertical line on the trees. After the last steps, turn slightly to the right and you can discover the Hampelhöhle cave behind the large boulders.

The Hempel family from Königstein (which later became Hampel) extracted sand here for over 40 years (until 1918). This fine sand was sold as cleaning and scouring sand. Packed in sacks, it was transported to the villages of Saxon Switzerland and as far as Dresden. In 1918, a tragic accident occurred: Friedrich Hermann Hempel was killed by a falling sandstone block while working. With him, the trade of scrubbing sand production died out.

Back on the Forststeig trail, the route leads directly to the Lichterhöhle cave (Forststeig trail marker). When you return to the small forecourt after visiting the Lichterhöhle, keep left and circle the rock massif in a clockwise direction. After approx. 100 metres, on the north side, is the entrance (narrow gap) to the ice cave. After exploring the last cave, continue until you reach the steps of the ascent again after a few metres and descend them again. Now all you have to do is follow the "Roter Punkt/ Malerweg" markings to the Papststein. Once you reach the mountain restaurant, you will find the view of the Hunskirchen on the same level on the right.

The Hunskirchen are climbing peaks whose name is derived from Middle High German and means "high peak". However, if you climb up the metal steps on the left, you will reach the summit of the Papststein with further viewpoints and the tower (currently not accessible). From here you also have a view of the Kleinhennersdorfer Stein, the Schrammsteine and the Lilienstein. From the summit of the Papststein (452m), you can see the village of Papstdorf lying at your feet. Directly opposite you can see the Gohrisch and behind it the Pfaffenstein. Further away you can see the Hoher Schneeberg with its viewing tower, the Zschirnsteine, Zirkelstein and Kaiserkrone, the Großer Winterberg and, in Bohemia, the striking basalt cones of the Rosenberg and Kaltenberg.

The descent to the saddle/car park is marked with the "Roter Punkt/ Malerweg" signpost. If you have come by hiking bus, you can also get on bus 244 at the "Papstdorf/Papststein" bus stop or walk back to the starting point along the Hans-Förster-Weg (Weinleite), marked with the "Roter Punkt/ Malerweg" signpost.