Carnic Peace Trail Via Alpina

Hotels in Lienz

  

The Via Alpina is a network of trails traversing the Alps all the way from Trieste on the Adriatic to Monaco on the Mediterranean. It was established in 2005 to create a single cohesive route out of the countless existing trans-Alpine paths. The main artery, known as the Red Trail, is some 2400 km (1500 mi) long, broken down into 161 manageable stages as itt weaves its way back and forth across the borders of all the Alpine countries. 

 

The summit trail along ridge of the Carnic Alps in eastern Austria has been integrated into the Red Trail. It was the front-line between the Austrians and Italians in World War I and, in the 1970s the supply paths used by the troops were linked up and given the symbolic name of the "Carnic Peace Trail" in remembrance of the devastating loss of life here - as many soldiers died from freezing weather conditions as were killed by the enemy. Easily as beautiful as anywhere else in the Alps, the Carnic Peace Trail is one of the less touristy sections of the Via Alpina. 

 

You enter a timeless country of traditional villages and flower-strewn pastures, make hair-raising 750m (2500 ft) ascents and scramble across the valleys, wash in sparkling mountain water and wake each morning in a different mountain hut but to the same inevitable tinkling of cowbells and chorus of moos. A hike through the Austrian Alps really is the perfect way of getting away from it all - walking through some of the world's most beautiful scenery, spending the night in the shelter of spartan but adequate mountain huts, and living on th staple alpine diet of cured ham and un-pasteurised cheese, you cannot fail to be satisfied.

 

HOW

On foot

WHEN TO GO

June to September

TIME IT TAKES

A week (four months for the whole Via Alpina)

HIGHLIGHTS

Lienz - beautiful historic town.

Traces of trenches, battery positions and bivouacs rom World War I.

Medieval villages.

Outstanding natural scenery.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Carnic Peace Path is not technically difficult and requires no climbing equipment, merely sure-footedness and a good level of fitness. In July and August you will be hard to put to find yourself walking completely alone. Hordes of trekkers flock to the Alps at this time of year.

Hotels in Lienz

 

The Brine Trail

Hotels in Salzkammergut

  

The Salzkammergut, the old salt-mining region of Austria, is one of those rare parts of the world where mankind has managed to leave its mark without blighting the natural environment. Now designated as a World Heritage Cultural Landscape, the region is not only scenically breathtaking but also architecturally beautiful. Historic palatial buildings and picturesque villages nestle around clear-watered lakes under the silver crags and green forested slopes of the Dachstein Mountains as though they belonged naturally as an integral part of the landscape.

 

Of all the many charming villages, the old salt-mining town of Hallstatt is the most enchanting - a cobble-stoned lakeside town straight out of the pages of a picture book.

Its fairytale 16th and 17th Century houses are squeezed into every square inch of space on a precipitous mountainside, expanding upwards on terraces and outwards into Lake Hallstatter, on piles driven into the lakebed.

 

The 10 km (6 mi) walk from Hallstatt to the quaint market town of Bad Goisern follows the course of a historic pipeline used for transporting brine from the salt-mine to the trading to the trading town of Ebensee on Lake Traunsee, 40 km (25 mi) away. The path, known as the Soleweg (Brine Trail), is cut into the rock face 200 m (650 ft) above the western bank of the lake. As you amble through romantic countryside of woods and pastures, spotting wildlife and breathing pure mountain air, you are accompanied by a heart-stopping view of the opposite shore - the towering crags of the Sarstein Ridge mirrored in the water. The beauty of the pastoral surrounding induces a sensation of mild euphoria and by the time you reach Bad Goisern you will be completely smitten with this glorious part of Austria.

 

HOW

On foot

WHEN TO GO

June to September

TIME IT TAKES

Three hours

HIGHLIGHTS

A tour of Hallstatt salt mine.

Gosauzwang Bridge - impressive 38 m (125 ft) bridge built on enormous stone piles over the rushing torrent of the Gosau River.

Breathtaking views of the Dachstein Mountains.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

This is a straightforward family walk for young and old. The Salzkammergut is wonderful hiking and cycling country. There are hundreds of trails of all lenghts and levels of difficulty leading around and between the lakes and up into the Dachstein Mountains.

Hotels in Salzkammergut