Friesland

Friesland is a sparsely populated province. In and around the Wadden sea, a wildlife area of internationally recognised importance, you will find many water birds. Enormous large dikes protect the land from the sea. The cyclist passes beautiful old villages like the small port of Harlingen. Furthermore, you will see vast polders and terps - man-made mounds, on which people used to live in order to protect themselves from floods. The 8.8 meter high terp of Hogebeintum is the highest one in the Netherlands.

In Friesland there are two places along the route that offer connections to the attractive Wadden islands. There is a ferry from Holwerd to the island of Ameland. From Harlingen you can take the ferry to Terschelling or Vlieland - which is car-free, except for the inhabitants' own vehicles. The port of Harlingen is the place where the two alternative sections of the route rejoin, as explained under North-Holland.