The E4 European long distance path or E4 path is one of the European long-distance paths. Starting in Cabo de San Vicente in Portugal, located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco, it continues through Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece to end in Cyprus. It also visits the Greek island of Crete.

It is more than long, but the route through Romania and part of Bulgaria is not yet completely defined. An alternative route through Serbia, instead of Romania, has been defined.

Spain (2267 km)

Andalucia, Murcia and Valencia: From Tarifa, the southernmost point of continental Europe, the E4 follows the GR 7 through Ronda, Alhama de Granada, Moratalla, Alcoi, Elda, Morella. Catalonia: GR 7 to Bellprat, then GR 172 to Montserrat and finally GR 4 into the Pyrenees. The E4 crosses the border to France east of Andorra. Last city in Spain is Puigcerda.

France (1374 km)

Occitania: First city in France is Bourg-Madame. The E4 follows the GR 36 to the Montagne Noire via Carcassonne. After the Pic de Nore along the GR 7 through the Cévennes over Mont Aigoual and along the GR 68 to Villefort. From there along GR 44 and GR 4 to Pont-Saint-Esprit. Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur: After crossing the Rhône climb Mont Ventoux and change to GR 9. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: GR 9 through Vercors and Chartreuse Mountains. Largest city on the way is Grenoble. From the Plateau de Retord the E4 follows the Grand Tour de la Valserine (red-yellow markings) to Lelex. From there again GR 9 and finally GR 5 to the Swiss border at La Cure.

Switzerland Follows the Jura ridgeway through the north of the country ending at village Dielsdorf (300 km).

From Dielsdorf, the E4 continues along the southern shores of Lake Constance via the following settlements to the village of Rheineck on the German border (150 km):

Niederglatt – Bülach – Freienstein-Teufen – Irchel – Buch am Irchel – Dorf – Andelfingen – Truttikon – Oberstammheim – Stein am Rhein – Mammern – Steckborn – Berlingen – Mannebach – Ermatingen – Gottlieben – Kreuzlingen – Münsterlingen – Güttingen – Uttwil – Romanshorn – Egnach – Arbon – Steinach – Tübach – Goldach – Rorschacherberg – Buchberg – Rheineck

Germany/Austria

Alternative 1: On the route of Nordalpine Weitwanderweg 01 (Nordalpine route 01) are exposed stretches - for experienced mountain walkers only

1. Western section of the route – 495 km through Bregenzer Wald, Lechquellengebirge, Lechtaler Alps, Wetterstein-gebirge, Karwendelgebirge and Rofangebirge:

Bregenz (440 m) – Lustenauer Hut (1250 m) – 22 km, moderately difficult Lustenauer Hut (1250 m) – Damüls (1428 m) – 33 km, difficult Damüls (1428 m) – Biberacher Hut (1846 m) – 18 km, very difficult Biberacher Hut (1846 m) – Göppinger Hut (2245 m) – 16 km, difficult Göppinger Hut (2245 m) – Ravensburger Hut (2234 m) – 31 km, very difficult Ravensburger Hut (2234 m) – Stuttgarter Hut (2303 m) – 20 km, difficult Stuttgarter Hut (2303 m) – Ansbacher Hut (2376 m) – 28 km, very difficult Ansbacher Hut (2376 m) – Memminger Hut (2242 m), 25 km, very difficult Memminger Hut (2242 m) – Steinsee Hut (2040 m) – 20 km, very difficult Steinsee Hut (2040 m) – Anhalter Hut (2040 m) – 25 km, difficult Anhalter Hut (2040 m) – Fernpass (1209 m) – 35 km, difficult Fernpass (1209 m) – Ehrwald (994 m) – 20 km, moderately difficult Ehrwald (994 m) – Meiler Hut (2366 m) – 39 km, difficult Meiler Hut (2366 m) – Scharnitz (964 m) – 30 km, moderately difficult Scharnitz (964 m) – Falken Hut (1846 m) – 30 km, moderately difficult Falken Hut (1846 m) – Maurach am Achensee (958 m) – 35 km, moderately difficult Maurach am Achsensee (958 m) – Steinberg am Rofan (1010 m) – 25 km, difficult Steinberg am Rofan (1010 m) – Kufstein (504 m) – 43 km, easy

2. Middle section of the route – 441 km through Kaisergebirge, Chiemgau Alps, Loferer Steingebirge, Hochkönig and Steinernes Meer, Tennengebirge, Dachstein Mountains and Totes Gebirge:

Kufstein (504 m) – Stripsenjoch Haus (1580 m) – 19 km, moderately difficult Stripsenjoch Haus (1580 m) – Straubinger Haus (1598 m) – 35 km, moderately difficult Straubinger Haus (1598 m) – Schmidt-Zabierow Hut (1966 m) – 39 km, difficult Schmidt-Zabierow Hut (1966 m) – Lofer (626 m) – 16 km, moderately difficult Lofer (626 m) – Ingolstatter Haus (2199 m) – 31 km, moderately difficult Ingolstatter Haus (2199 m) – Riemann Haus (2177 m) – 8 km, moderately difficult Riemann Haus (2177 m) – Franz-Eduard-Matras Haus (2941 m) – 25 km, very difficult, on glacier Franz-Eduard-Matras Haus (2941 m) – Werfen (548 m) – 27 km, difficult, on glacier Werfen (548 m) – Lungötz (828 m) – 33 km, moderately difficult Lungötz (828 m) – Adamek Hut (2196 m) – 29 km, very difficult Adamek Hut (2196 m) – Simony Hut (2206 m) – 12 km, very difficult, on glacier Simony Hut (2206 m) – Bad Goisern (500 m) – 32 km, moderately difficult Bad Goisern (500 m) – Loser Hut (1497 m) – 34 km, moderately difficult Loser Hut (1497 m) – Pühringer Hut (1638 m) – 25 km, moderately difficult Pühringer Hut (1638 m) – Priel Refuge Hut (1422 m) – 20 km, difficult Priel Refuge Hut (1422 m) – Vorderstoder (660 m) – 18 km, moderately difficult Vorderstoder (660 m) – Spital am Pyhrn (647 m) – 38 km, moderately difficult

3. Eastern section of the route – 478 km Through Rax, Semmeringgebiet, Bucklige Welt and Rosaliengebirge

Spital am Pyhrn (647 m) – Admont (641 m) – 24 km, moderately difficult Admont (641 m) – Hess Hut (1699 m) – 35 km, moderately difficult Hess Hut (1699 m) – Radmer an der Stube (702 m) – 20 km, difficult Radmer an der Stube (702 m) – Eisenerz (769 m) – 20 km, moderately difficult Eisenerz (769 m) – Sonnschien Hut (1525 m) – 25 km, moderately difficult Sonnschien Hut (1525 m) – Voisthaler Hut (1660 m) – 17 km, moderately difficult Voisthaler Hut (1660 m) – Turnaueralm (1570 m) – 25 km, moderately difficult Turnaueralm (1570 m) – Neuberg, Krampen im Mürztal (756 m) – 31 km, moderately difficult Neuberg, Krampen im Mürztal (756 m) – Schneealpen Haus (1788 m) – 31 km, moderately difficult Schneealpen Haus (1788 m) – Karl-Ludwig Haus (1803 m) – 21 km, difficult Karl-Ludwig Haus (1803 m) – Waxriegel Haus (1361 m) – 12 km, moderately difficult Waxriegel Haus (1361 m) – Maria Schutz (760 m) – 30 km, moderately difficult Maria Schutz (760 m) – Hochwolkersdorf (625 m) – 48 km, easy Hochwolkersdorf (625 m) – Mattersburg (256 m) – 17 km, easy

After town Mattersburg the route of the E4 leaves the Nordalpine Weitwanderweg 01, and goes on other paths further.

Mattersburg (256 m) – Rust (123 m) – 32 km, easy Rust (123 m) – Drassburg (234 m) – 20 km, easy Drassburg (234 m) – Kobersdorf (320 m) – 28 km, easy Kobersdorf (320 m) – Hochstrass (421 m) – 25 km, easy Hochstrass (421 m) – Köszeg (271 m, border crossing point in Hungary) – 17 km, easy

Remark: Generally there are detours on the route of E4 to avoid the very difficult sections. You can find map sketches and description about the whole route in the book „Vom Neusiedler See zum Bodensee – Nordalpiner Weitwanderweg 01” in German.

Continue 2:

Subalpine route to: Salzburg Through Allgäu and Upper Bavaria via Neuschwanstein, Unterammergau, Bavarian Lakes (04) 550 km to: Wienerwald via Salzkammergut (04) 550 km to: Hainburg an der Donau E Austrian border path (07) 150 km

Hungary

On the route of the Országos Kéktúra (National Blue Trail) – 1118 km Through the Little Hungarian Plain and along the Transdanubian Mountains and the North Hungarian Mountains.

Town Kőszeg (border crossing point) – peak of Irottkő – town Sárvár through the Mountains of Kőszeg and the Little Hungarian Plain – 70 km Town Sárvár – town Sümeg through the Little Hungarian Plain – 70 km Town Sümeg – town Keszthely and Lake Balaton through the Highland of Balaton – 47 km Town Keszthely – town Tapolca – village Nagyvázsony through the Basin of Tapolca and the Highland of Balaton. On the basin the path climbs almost every spent volcano: Badacsony, Gulács, Csobánc and Szent György Mountain – 83 km Village Nagyvázsony – village Városlőd – town Zirc – village Bodajk through the Bakony Mountains – 118 km Village Bodajk – village Szárliget through the Vértes Mountains – 48 km Village Szárliget – town Dorog through the Hilly Country of Gerecse – 67 km Town Dorog – Budapest through the Pilis Mountains and Mountains of Buda – 40 km Budapest – peak of Dobogókö (700 m) – village Visegrád, Danube Bend through the Buda and Pilis Mountains – 61 km Village Visegrád – village Nagymaros – with ferry across the Danube Village Nagymaros – peak of Hegyes-kö (centre mountain of Danube Bend) – village Kóspallag – peak of Csóványos (938 m) – village Nógrád through the Börzsöny Mountains – 38 km Village Nógrád – village Becske – village Hollókő, it is a World Heritage Site – village Mátraverebély through the Hilly Country of Cserhát – 119 km Village Mátraverebély – peak of Galyatetö – peak of Kékestető, 1014 m, the highest point of Hungary – village Sirok – village Szarvaskő through the Mátra Mountains – 65 km Village Szarvaskő – village Bélapátfalva – village Bánkút – village Putnok – through the Bükk Mountains – 55 km Village Putnok – village Aggtelek, its stalactite cave is a World Heritage Site – village Bódvaszilas through the Hilly Country of Aggtelek – 62 km Village Bódvaszilas – village Boldogkőváralja through the Hilly Country of Cserehát – 65 km Village Boldogkőváralja – town Sátoraljaújhely through the Zemplén Mountains – 55 km

In Sátoraljaújhely the route of the E4 leaves the path of the National Blue Trail and goes further on the route of Blue Tour of the Plain

On the route of Alföldi Kéktúra (Blue Tour of the Plain) – 262 km Through the Great Hungarian Plain

Town Sátoraljaujhely – town Kisvárda – 63 km Town Kisvárda – town Nyirbátor – 46 km Town Nyirbátor – town Bánk – 75 km Town Bánk – village Nagykereki – 78 km

After village Nagykereki the E4 leaves the path of Alföldi Kéktúra and goes to village Ártánd (border crossing point) – appr. 6 km

Remark: You can find detailed hiker maps and travelogues about the section of the Országos Kéktúra in Hungarian in the following books: Az Országos Kéktúra Írottkötöl Budapest, Hüvösvölgyig Az Országos Kéktúra Budapest, Hüvösvölgytöl Hollóházáig

There are websites of Hungarian hikers about the completion of the Országos Kéktúra: Hörpölin&son’s website about the Blue Tour – in English with travelogues and more than 1000 photos

Romania The route of the E4 through Romania is not yet clearly defined. No organization is responsible for the trail's upkeep in Romania.

Serbia As an alternative to Romania a route for the E4 through Serbia has been described by the Serbian Mountain Association (Planinarski Savez Srbije)."Rambling through Serbia at a Slow Pace" published by the Mountaineering Association of Serbia (Planinarski Savez Srbije) This starts from border post from Hungary at the Serbian village of Dala. To reach this point in Hungary the route continues along the Alföldi Kéktúra from Nagykereki to Szeged. In Serbia the E4 crosses Vojvodina to reach Belgrade then follows the River Danube and various mountain ranges to the Bulgarian border at Dimitrovgrad, Serbia. The E4 has not been defined between the Serbian border and Sofia but the Sultans Trail route can be followed. The trail in Serbia is not waymarked and the published booklet does not describe the route in detail.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the marked trail begins on the village square of the Sofia suburb of Dragalevtsi. It passes the terminals of the Dragalevtsi chairlift, the ski resort Aleko and the highest peak of the Vitosha mountains, Cherni Vrah, and then leads down the other side of Vitosha, through the Verila hills to Rila.