diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 1b1f1cc..1ccd428 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -112,6 +112,9 @@ BUILD_ELEVATION=True
 # MAP_MATCH_MAX_POINTS=10000
 # MAP_MATCH_CONCURRENCY=4
 # VALHALLA_MATCH_TIMEOUT=60000
+# Comma-separated coverage labels for a remote Valhalla whose source files are
+# not mounted into Atlas. This is operator-declared metadata, not a health check.
+# VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS=Germany
 
 # Transit API default; Settings persists the selected engine.
 TRANSIT_BACKEND=motis
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c2444ec..dcaa26f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ All notable changes to Dawarich Atlas are documented here.
 
 The format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/), and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+- External Valhalla deployments can declare their routing and map-matching coverage with `VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS`, so API clients do not lose regional metadata when Valhalla's source files live outside Atlas.
+
 ## [0.6.1] - 2026-09-22
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/app-phoenix/lib/atlas/control/service_coverage.ex b/app-phoenix/lib/atlas/control/service_coverage.ex
index 2b5ea1f..38391eb 100644
--- a/app-phoenix/lib/atlas/control/service_coverage.ex
+++ b/app-phoenix/lib/atlas/control/service_coverage.ex
@@ -13,13 +13,16 @@ defmodule Atlas.Control.ServiceCoverage do
 
     read_opts =
       opts
-      |> Keyword.drop([:health, :transit_backend])
+      |> Keyword.drop([:health, :transit_backend, :valhalla_regions])
       |> Keyword.put_new(:catalog, [])
       |> Keyword.put(:probe, &skip_header_probe/1)
 
     statuses = Map.get(health, :capabilities, %{})
 
-    routing = capability("valhalla", Map.get(statuses, "routing", "down"), read_opts)
+    routing =
+      "valhalla"
+      |> capability(Map.get(statuses, "routing", "down"), read_opts)
+      |> use_declared_regions(valhalla_regions(opts), "VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS")
 
     %{
       capabilities: %{
@@ -89,6 +92,54 @@ defmodule Atlas.Control.ServiceCoverage do
     }
   end
 
+  defp valhalla_regions(opts) do
+    opts
+    |> Keyword.get_lazy(:valhalla_regions, fn -> System.get_env("VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS") end)
+    |> normalize_regions()
+  end
+
+  defp normalize_regions(regions) when is_binary(regions) do
+    regions
+    |> String.split(",")
+    |> normalize_regions()
+  end
+
+  defp normalize_regions(regions) when is_list(regions) do
+    regions
+    |> Enum.map(&present_string/1)
+    |> Enum.reject(&is_nil/1)
+    |> Enum.uniq()
+  end
+
+  defp normalize_regions(_regions), do: []
+
+  defp use_declared_regions(%{regions: [_ | _]} = capability, _regions, _source),
+    do: capability
+
+  defp use_declared_regions(capability, [], _source), do: capability
+
+  defp use_declared_regions(capability, regions, source) do
+    datasets =
+      Enum.map(regions, fn region ->
+        %{
+          label: region,
+          kind: "Declared service coverage",
+          evidence: "Declared by the Atlas operator; not inspected from the remote service",
+          source: source
+        }
+      end)
+
+    %{
+      capability
+      | coverage_status: "known",
+        datasets: capability.datasets ++ datasets,
+        note:
+          capability.note <>
+            " Region coverage is declared by the operator via #{source}.",
+        regions: regions
+    }
+  end
+
   defp inspect_service("libpostal", _dir, _catalog, _probe) do
     %{
       entries: [],
diff --git a/app-phoenix/lib/atlas_web/controllers/api/v1/coverage_controller.ex b/app-phoenix/lib/atlas_web/controllers/api/v1/coverage_controller.ex
index 0f9a102..8d09753 100644
--- a/app-phoenix/lib/atlas_web/controllers/api/v1/coverage_controller.ex
+++ b/app-phoenix/lib/atlas_web/controllers/api/v1/coverage_controller.ex
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@ defmodule AtlasWeb.Api.V1.CoverageController do
     an empty list with `coverage_status=unknown` does not prove that the service
     has no coverage. Map matching inherits routing's Valhalla coverage. Transit
     timetable coverage is reported separately in `transit_feeds` because it can
-    differ from the walking-network regions.
+    differ from the walking-network regions. An external Valhalla whose files
+    are not mounted into Atlas can declare its regions with
+    `VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS`.
     """,
     responses: %{
       200 => response("Capability coverage", "application/json", Schemas.CoverageResponse)
diff --git a/app-phoenix/test/atlas/control/service_coverage_test.exs b/app-phoenix/test/atlas/control/service_coverage_test.exs
index 4140e01..3cd40ae 100644
--- a/app-phoenix/test/atlas/control/service_coverage_test.exs
+++ b/app-phoenix/test/atlas/control/service_coverage_test.exs
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ defmodule Atlas.Control.ServiceCoverageTest do
       ServiceCoverage.summary(
         data_dir: dir,
         catalog: [@berlin],
+        valhalla_regions: "Germany",
         transit_backend: "otp",
         health: %{
           capabilities: %{
@@ -202,6 +203,33 @@ defmodule Atlas.Control.ServiceCoverageTest do
            ]
   end
 
+  test "uses declared Valhalla coverage when remote dataset provenance is unavailable", %{
+    dir: dir
+  } do
+    result =
+      ServiceCoverage.summary(
+        data_dir: dir,
+        valhalla_regions: " Germany, Europe, Germany,  ",
+        transit_backend: "motis",
+        health: %{capabilities: %{"routing" => "up"}}
+      )
+
+    assert result.capabilities.routing.regions == ["Germany", "Europe"]
+    assert result.capabilities.routing.coverage_status == "known"
+    assert result.capabilities.routing.available
+    assert result.capabilities.map_matching.regions == ["Germany", "Europe"]
+    assert result.capabilities.map_matching.inherits == "routing"
+
+    assert Enum.map(result.capabilities.routing.datasets, & &1.label) == ["Germany", "Europe"]
+
+    assert Enum.all?(
+             result.capabilities.routing.datasets,
+             &(&1.source == "VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS")
+           )
+
+    assert result.capabilities.routing.note =~ "declared by the operator"
+  end
+
   test "public summary does not launch header probes for missing manifests", %{dir: dir} do
     for path <- ~w(valhalla/region.osm.pbf otp/region.osm.pbf osm/current.osm.pbf),
         do: put(dir, path, "not a real pbf")
diff --git a/compose.compare.yml b/compose.compare.yml
index 9ed72b9..a455539 100644
--- a/compose.compare.yml
+++ b/compose.compare.yml
@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@ services:
       PLACEHOLDER_URL: http://placeholder:3000
       LIBPOSTAL_URL:   http://libpostal:4400
       VALHALLA_URL:    http://valhalla:8002
+      VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS: ${VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS:-}
       OVERPASS_URL:    http://overpass:80
       OTP_URL:         http://otp:8080
       TILES_URL:    ${TILES_URL:-}
diff --git a/compose.dev.yml b/compose.dev.yml
index 12f7bb5..c48bda6 100644
--- a/compose.dev.yml
+++ b/compose.dev.yml
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ services:
       PLACEHOLDER_URL: http://placeholder:3000
       LIBPOSTAL_URL: http://libpostal:4400
       VALHALLA_URL: http://valhalla:8002
+      VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS: ${VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS:-}
       # Map matching knobs. Declared here so a value set in .env actually
       # reaches the app — this service passes an explicit allowlist, not
       # env_file, so an undeclared variable is silently dropped.
diff --git a/compose.dokploy.yml b/compose.dokploy.yml
index e18633e..cf8ec53 100644
--- a/compose.dokploy.yml
+++ b/compose.dokploy.yml
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ services:
       PHOTON_URL: ${PHOTON_URL:-http://photon:2322}
       # Internal names — resolve once you uncomment the services at the bottom.
       VALHALLA_URL: http://valhalla:8002
+      VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS: ${VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS:-}
       # Map matching knobs. Declared here so a value set in .env actually
       # reaches the app — this service passes an explicit allowlist, not
       # env_file, so an undeclared variable is silently dropped.
diff --git a/compose.yml b/compose.yml
index ed8d9e4..4f07fd5 100644
--- a/compose.yml
+++ b/compose.yml
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ services:
       PLACEHOLDER_URL: http://placeholder:3000
       LIBPOSTAL_URL: http://libpostal:4400
       VALHALLA_URL: http://valhalla:8002
+      VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS: ${VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS:-}
       # Map matching knobs. Declared here so a value set in .env actually
       # reaches the app — this service passes an explicit allowlist, not
       # env_file, so an undeclared variable is silently dropped.
diff --git a/test/deployment_config.test.mjs b/test/deployment_config.test.mjs
index f0fdccb..4f4fd2d 100644
--- a/test/deployment_config.test.mjs
+++ b/test/deployment_config.test.mjs
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ test('Valhalla has a safe worker cap and nofile limit by default', () => {
   assert.match(compose, /ulimits:\n\s+nofile:\n\s+soft:\s+1048576\n\s+hard:\s+1048576/);
 });
 
+test('Valhalla coverage metadata reaches the app in standard and Dokploy Compose', () => {
+  for (const file of ['compose.yml', 'compose.dokploy.yml']) {
+    const compose = readFileSync(new URL(`../${file}`, import.meta.url), 'utf8');
+    assert.match(compose, /VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS:\s+\$\{VALHALLA_COVERAGE_REGIONS:-\}/);
+  }
+});
+
 test('Overpass diff updates are opt-in by default', () => {
   const compose = readFileSync(new URL('../compose.yml', import.meta.url), 'utf8');