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With its sprawling forests, spectacular mountain scenery, winding valleys and white-sand beaches, Germany contains some of Europe’s most stunning natural environmentsGermany may be famous for its wealth of history and culture, but it also houses some of Europe’s most wild and diverse landscapes. Dotted around the country are scores of national parks, conservation zones and nature reserves – each an example of mesmerising natural beauty, and helping to preserve the continent’s most revered environments. Whether hiking, skiing, wildlife-watching or simply sitting quietly on a veranda with a glass of wine – there is a place for everyone …Jasmund national parkLocated on the west coast of the offshore island of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, this Unesco-protected site is the smallest of Germany’s national parks. Powdery-white chalk cliffs tower into cobalt skies while ancient beech forests, dating back 700 years, carpet the Stubnitz plateau – which is just a day trip from the city of Stralsund. It is here that painter Caspar David Friedrich found himself inspired to create one of his masterpieces, Chalk Cliffs on Rügen, in 1818. Light walking tracks coil through beds of lady’s slipper orchids, while longer trails can take you all the way to the Rügen coastline, where white-sand beaches and azure waters await.Jasmund national park’s chalky white cliffs and Unesco-protected beech forests. Photographs: Günther Bayerl/Lookphotos, Francesco Carovillano Continue reading...