Smaller towns and villages such as Bad Schandau or Königstein in the district of Sächsische Schweiz are part of this region.

The status of National Park, which grants the highest natural protection in Germany, was attributed in 1990.

The National Park still hosts some forms of forest without human intervention, which is unusual in central Europe.

Because of the sabulous soil and fissures, many places in this area are drier than normal for the temperate zone.

It represents only a small part of the park area, but due to its beauty and being a well-developed trail, most visitors prefer it for hiking.

The Bastei bridge is the first view of the Valley for many visitors and is extensively photographed and documented Archived 2020-09-30 at the Wayback Machine.

The peculiar form of the sandstone cliffs in Saxon Switzerland national park attracts crowds of climbers every year.

The following rules, introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, are in place to preserve the national park sandstone: