Long-Distance Hiking Via Alpina through Styria - Touren-Impression #1 | © Südsteiermark Long-Distance Hiking Via Alpina through Styria - Touren-Impression #1 | © Südsteiermark

Via Alpina through Styria

Open
The purple trail of the Via Alpina leads through the eastern regions of the Alps, from the Karawanken through the mountains of Slovenia, the provinces of Carinthia, Styria, Upper Austria, Salzburg and Tyrol to Bavaria and the Allgäu. The section of the trail through Styria takes us from the gentle mountains of Schilcherland on the Slovenian-Styrian border to the rugged peaks of the north in the Gesäuse national park. It is a hike through a diverse landscape with equally diverse stories.
Over 5,000 Kilometres and 341 daily stages through all eight Alpine countries: Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France and Monaco - that is the Via Alpina. The Via Alpina is an international long-distance hiking trail from Trieste to Monaco. It shows off the entire beauty and diversity of the Alpine arc. In addition to being the largest continuous natural area in Europe, the Alps are also the living space for about 13 million people. Their centuries-old traditions bear witness to the extraordinary demands that the rugged nature of the mountain world places on its inhabitants, and at the same time bear witness to the inventiveness and tenacity of the population. Incidentally, no new paths were created for the Via Alpina, but the existing network of paths was used and connected.

Characteristics

Skill
Fitness
Experience
Scenery

Best season

January
February
March
April
November
December

The tour in numbers

challenging
Level of difficulty
221,5 km
Route
76:00 h
Time
7727 hm
Uphill
8125 hm
Downhill
2139 m
Highest point
368 m
Lowest point

Map & downloads

More information

Detaillierte Informationen zur Anreise finden Sie hier.

We start in the hiking village of Soboth in the southwest of Styria on the border with Carinthia. The Via Alpina comes up from Lavamünd to the hiking village with its pass location. From here, the trail descends to Eibiswald, which is considered the Austrian long-distance hiking centre. In addition to the Via Alpina, the Mariazellerweg, the European long-distance hiking trail E 6 (goes from Kilpisjärvi in northwestern Finland to the Dardanelles in Turkey) also meet here. In Eibiswald, we also meet the hiking route "From the Glacier to the Wine", which leads on a north and a south route from the Dachstein Glacier to the Styrian wine country.

From Eibiswald on the Schilcher Wine Road, the route leads through vineyards, meadows, forests and gentle alpine pastures along the border between the provinces of Carinthia and Styria to the Koralpenhaus. The trail leads over the Weinebene and the Hebalm to the pretty little village of Pack. Then it goes over alpine pastures of the Hirscheggeralm to the Stubalpe. Here, you cross over the Gaberl into the Murtal valley with your destination Knittelfeld, a town that is closely associated with the construction of the railway in the Murtal valley. Construction began in 1861 and the town is still a railway town today - a museum is proof of this. Before that we reach the Rachau. Here - time permitting - the Wipfelwanderweg awaits us, one of the most exciting and impressive staged hiking trails in the Eastern Alps.

On the Tremmelberg, we reach a huge observation tower with 220 wooden steps, modelled on the two towers of the Benedictine Abbey of Seckau, which opens up wonderful views of the Gleinalm, Stubalpe and the Seckau Alps. Incidentally, the mighty Seckau Abbey is considered one of the outstanding landmarks of Styria. The crossing of the Seckau Alps brings us to the Ingeringsee. As we continue our ascent, we are accompanied by alpine roses and, depending on the season, the blueberry bushes along the way colour the slopes pink, green or deep red. The next destination is Admont with its world-famous monastery library. Along the salt trail with the fantastic mountain backdrop of the Haller Mauern, we reach Spital am Pyhrn via the Rohrauerhaus and the Bosruckhütte.

Details of the Via Alpina in English can be found at www.via-alpina.org.

Accessible by train and bus.

Detailed information about arriving by ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways) can be found at www.oebb.at or on the Verbundlinie Steiermark website www.busbahnbim.at

With Verbundlinie’s BusBahnBim route planner app, planning your journey has never been easier: simply enter towns and/or addresses, stop names or points of interest to check all bus, train and tram connections in Austria. The app is available free of charge for smartphones – on Google Play and in the App Store

Beim zentralen Wanderausgangspunkt Soboth-Ort stehen genügend Parkplätze zur Verfügung.

Steiermark Tourismus

Tel. +43 316 4003

info@steiermark.com

www.steiermark.com/en

If you would like to hire a  tour operator, simply book with Steiermark Touristik, the official travel agency of Steiermark Tourismus:

Tel. +43 316 4003 450, 

www.steiermark-touristik.com

The Steiermark Touren app, available free of charge on Google Play and the App Store  (Android, iOS), offers detailed first-hand information: brief facts (length, duration, difficulty, ascent and descent/elevation gain, ratings), map, route descriptions, altimeter, compass, peak finder, navigation along the tour. You can also create your own personal lists of favourite tours and sites, store tours and destinations offline, use social media channels, and much more.

Gallery

What the weather will be like

Rottenmann (672m)

Morning
slightly cloudy
3°C
5%
5 km/h
Noon
cloudy
16°C
0%
15 km/h
Night
weather.icon.04
13°C
0%
5 km/h
Mostly cloudy through the day with a chance of occasional sunny spells.
Morning
cloudy
8°C
0%
5 km/h
Noon
slightly cloudy
20°C
0%
15 km/h
Night
sunny
15°C
0%
10 km/h
Morning clouds will clear gradually. Then frequent sunny periods.
31.03.2024
slightly cloudy
6°C 19°C
01.04.2024
cloudy
4°C 18°C
02.04.2024
sunny
2°C 12°C

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