Anita Ericson
As a term, hiking is a little out of fashion - including hiking tours in Austria. But not as a leisure activity in itself. With all the trends that avid researchers call back to nature, it's no wonder: walking through mountains and valleys is the most natural form of movement for humans. As is the case today, it is better to give the whole thing a fancy name and talk about “touring” or hiking tours. No matter what you call it, the health effects of walking are hard to overestimate, especially when you are out in the mountains. Hiking strengthens the cardiovascular system, has a positive effect on the metabolism and promotes the immune system, but it is also a good remedy for Stress and depression. In short: Anyone who hikes saves on the gym, wellness vacation and doctor's visit. To put it even more briefly: hiking makes you healthy and happy.
The best hiking tours in Austria
The hike has a particularly lasting effect, pardon: the tour, if you shoulder the backpack en suite for several days and set off for the trekking tour, previously a long hike. You don't have to travel far to hike far, the offer in Austria is just great. Basically, you can choose between a classic mountain adventure and a rather simple but long and particularly varied trekking route.
Hiking tour through the Schladminger Tauern
The classic is that Schladminger Tauern High Trail, which runs at lofty heights over the saddles, carriages, kettles and niches of the water-rich mountains here. The peaks, in the shade of which you can move, are up to 2900 meters high.The highlight of the tour is the crossing of the high-alpine Klafferkessel: over XNUMX large and small mountain lakes reflect the rugged rocks all around, as soon as the last ice floes are defrosted in midsummer, they load even for a swim. The arctic-looking lake district is a relic from the last ice age, a northern alpine flora, rare mosses and lichens are characteristic of this pristine landscape. The tour on the Schladminger Tauern Höhenweg usually lasts five days, during which you spend the night in huts high up, but you can also shorten or extend it well. Mountain experience, sure-footedness and appropriate condition are prerequisites for venturing on this tour.
Hiking tour in Austria: Carnic high trail
The scene is similar in the scenery Carnic high trail on the border with Italy and Slovenia. You hike here on the main ridge between Austria and Italy and thus on historic ground: Here in the First World War thousands of Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers faced each other. Today you meet peacefully, the former front line has been expanded to the Karischen Höhenweg KHW 403, which is also called Friedensweg. Summits, ridges and mountain lakes as well as wide alpine landscapes are the companions on this 155-kilometer tour, which can be divided into two sections: the high alpine first part from Vierschach in South Tyrol via Sillian to the mountaineering village of Mauthen, where there are wild rock breaks, magnificent mountain panoramas and There are still mountain lakes to experience - as well as the gentler but longer part east of the Plöcken Pass, which as an easy hiking trail mainly leads over resilient alpine pastures. Eight to eleven days are estimated for the complete tour.
Hiking tour in Austria: The Salz-Alpen-Steig
The is also cross-border, but clearly different in character Salt Alps trail, which connects the Chiemsee in Bavaria with the Hallstätter See in the Salzkammergut and also takes the Königssee in between. If you walk it, you don't need heavy mountain shoes, but you need plenty of stamina - in 18 stages, 230 kilometers have to be covered on moderate low mountain trails. The scenic dramaturgy between the foothills of the Alps and the alpine highlands is unique; rugged peaks, gentle alpine pastures, sunny valleys, dark forests, deep moors, narrow gorges and wild gorges line up in incredible diversity. The topic of salt is always present, show mines, old salt pans and the remains of the brine pipeline are reminiscent of the salt production of yesteryear, nostalgic health resorts still invite you to refuel today.
Hiking tour in Austria: Tyrolean Lechweg
The heart of the Tyrolean Lechwegs in turn is the incredible wild river landscape in the Tiroler Lech Nature Park. Here you can hardly understand your own word, the loud roar of the turquoise floods roaring in your ears, rolling past your feet as a lech towards the foothills of the Alps. The huge mountain ranges that flank the valley, which is up to 300 meters wide on both sides, reflect the imposing noise and amplify it even more. This section of the river was exemplary renatured a few years ago, and a colorful kaleidoscope of habitats - from the permanent swamp to the Trockenau - has already been created. Completely speechless because of the forces of nature, you stand here in the second third of the 125-kilometer route, which in six to eight days leads from the high alpine origins of the Lech in the Arlberg region to the Lechfall in the German Alpine foothills. On this long-distance hike you experience the Alps from a completely different perspective than usual among mountaineers, the trails are also designed as simple routes in the valley or at medium altitude.
Hiking tour in Austria: Wachau World Heritage Trail
As is well known, Austria is not only the country of the mountains, but also the river. The most beautiful section on the Danube can be seen on the Wachau World Heritage Trail wander through. It connects the 13 municipalities of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wachau and thus stands for cultural and natural experiences alike. Castles, palaces and ruins, ancient wine-growing villages and the historic Krems are on the program, in between there is touring through vineyards and over steep stone terraces, always with a magnificent view of the glittering band of the Danube. The route runs along the north bank
from Krems to the Danube power value Melk and then back to Mautern on the south bank. In total, the World Heritage Trail comprises 14 stages with a total length of 180 kilometers.
Hiking 2.0 - tips for hiking tours in Austria
Maps on hiking tours were yesterday, GPS is today. The Mercedes among the navigation devices is Garmin - there is also a large selection of models and maps for those who are on foot. If you want to save a piece of luggage and the quite high expenses for it, you can also download an app on your smartphone. They have also proven their worth for hiking tours in Austria bergfex, ortovox, alpenvereinaktiv or komoot. Depending on the app, the range of included features ranges from planning tools, to pre-prepared route suggestions, various map perspectives, synchronization between mobile phones and laptops, to an integrated altimeter and compass. The crux of the matter, however, is that the maps can be downloaded to the device offline beforehand, as there is rarely any reception in the mountains.
The great advantage of a GPS device or app on a smartphone over the bulky map is obvious: you can see where you are at a glance. Nevertheless, we strongly advise you to take the analog part with you - not that you run out of juice just when you need it most! A weather app that more or less reliably predicts sun and rain (e.g. bergfex, wetter.team, warning weather) is also very practical when planning hiking tours in Austria. If you still have space on your cell phone: The peakfinder-App names all mountains in the field of view with one click, it also works offline.
Tips: eco outfit for hiking tours in Austria
Outdoor athletes, to whom we absolutely count as hikers, are generally very close to nature and also ready to dig deep into their pockets for proper equipment. So it is not surprising that some of the big outdoor brands add functionality Sustainability pin on the flags.
The German supplier Vaude is considered to be the top of the class, they rely on the best available technologies in an ecological sense, are always on the lookout for innovative solutions and also keep an eye on fair production conditions (www.vaude.com). Other manufacturers that we would like to ask in front of the "green curtain": Ortovox (e.g. merino wool without mulesing, www.ortovox.com), Jack Wolfskin (e.g. PFC exit until 2020, www.jack-wolfskin.com), Fjällräven (e.g. down without live plucking, www.fjallraven.de) and Northland (e.g. ethical sourcing, www.northland-pro.com).
For high quality but sustainable mountain boots we recommend the Lowa brand (e.g. cowhide from Europe, www.lowa.de), Meindl (e.g. leather and regional production, meindl.de) or Hanwag (for example: eco-shell footwear, www.hanwag.de).
Photo / Video: Shutterstock.
