In its vicinity lies the natural lake called Piburger See.
Originally the lake's hollow was an old valley parallel to the Oetztal valley. After the last ice age a massive rockslide blocked the valley at its south-eastern end and covered its entire bottom. That's why water impounded and formed a lake. Because of its location amidst crystal rock Piburger See lake holds very soft water. In mid-summer surface temperature reaches up to 24 Celsius.



If you want you can walk around the lake, but we opted to continue our walk towards Oetz. Soon you will have to cross the Oetztaler Ache via the Wellerbruecke.
The Wellerbruecke rapids here are regarded as some of the best in Europe for kayaking or wild water rafting.





Finally we reach Oetz. Oetz is very popular with tourists so it is a rather busy village, but despite bustling building activities since WWII and the people's desire for modern housing, many buildings in the old part of Oetz have been preserved. Especially picturesque is the architecturally unspoilt center with its accumulation of old buildings that are built close to each other. Just explore the old town centre by yourself and pick up our GPS trail afterwards.





We leave the busy town behind us and continue our walk along the Oetzaler Ache towards Sautens.



Sautens has a beautiful parish church that was build between 1830-1831.
In 1999 the outside of the church was renovated and in 2007 the interior of this Parish Church has been renovated as well.



As we arrive at our hotel the sun pops out for a few minutes.

Hopy you enjoy this pleasant walk !...hide more

It is a beautiful spot where one can see the peaks of the Dolomites rising above you.
Rosa suddenly looks very tiny in this wilderness.



From here on, you will have to climb up. The track in the beginning is not too difficult but at some point in time becomes rather tricky. Not advisable to go up when it is raining, because the rocks will become very slippery. There is even a robe on some spots to guide you on the stony path, which is progressing rather steeply.



Suddenly you are in the midst of rocky scenery. Take your time now and then to catch your breath and to enjoy this rough terrain.



Finally after a tough struggle we manage to get passed this rocky scenery and upon looking back you'll notice what you have achieved. A climb up from 1603m to 2440m through massive rocks. We are proud that we made it and really enjoy the impressive scenery.




As a reward you can see the Tierser Alpl Hutte (2440m) in the far distance. Our next goal for today. And the view from this hut is absolutely fabulous. Especially when the sun is shining and there is still lots of snow visible. A good spot to have something to drink or eat, but don't forget the time as you will have to catch the bus back to the hotel and it is still about 2 hours from here to the cable car.



The hut is huge; in summer it must be very crowded here.
After a well deserved lemonade, we continue our way towards Kompatsch, which is situated in the valley below at 1844m.



We opt for tracknr. 2, which will cross the Rosszahne (Denti de Terrarossa), a zigzagging descend towards the valley. The surroundings are just awesome and you actually do not know where to look first.
Upon reaching the Rosszahne you will have a lovely view over the Seiseralm.



After the descend from the Rosszahne the track is rather easy-going. Don't forget to look back now and then. When you look at underneath picture you can see the Rosszahne track (the zigzag route on the lefthand side of this picture). It started to rain as were nearing the cable car and had to put on our raingear. We reach Kompatsch and thus the cable car, which will takes us to the bus station down below.



Yessss.....we made it to the bus station on time ! We even had to wait 1 hour before our bus would come to bring us back to the hotel.




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A view small chapels for praying can be found along the track, or one can encounters cattle.

At a crossing (where you have to turn right to continue this walk), you can opt to walk a few hundred meters further to get to the Volser Weiher, a small lake where one is allowed to swim. There is also a restaurant nearby.

After a short peek we turned back and picked up our track again (track nr. 1). There is another lake, Huber Weiher (1096 meters), which we enjoyed more than the Volser Weiher. Most probably because it was somewhat quieter than at the Volser Weiher lake. Even Rosa was enjoying the scenic view. A good place to drink somewhat before one has to go up to the Tuffalm, which is at 1274 meter altitude.

One can decide to take the steep climb up through the forest (track 1) or follow the paved road which slowly gains elevation. We opted for the paved road. Both tracks lead to the Tuffalm, a very beautiful hut with a huge terrace.

After enjoying a lunch at the Tuffalm we continue our track. We tried to find Track nr. 1 (but then the lower track) that goes directly towards the Hofer Alpl (1340m) but somehow were not able to find it. So we ended up following a track (also numbered 1) higher up on the hill. The first few hundreds meters are really not easy. Not because of a difficult track but because it goes up rather steep over a short distance. We did not have the time to go to the Hofer Alpl which can be reached by taking a detour over Track 3, but continued on Track nr. 1. Now and then you have a great view over de surrounding area. Via the so-called Hammerwand we end up at Track nr. 7, leading to Restaurant Schonblick.

We follow the paved road for only a short period, before we turn right into the forest again (Track nr. 0).  Although Ums does not look that far away, the descent still takes about 30 - 45 minutes. And guess what ....... the last kilometer it started to rain and we arrived at our car soaking wet (despite the raingear we quickly had put on in the forest). How nice !!

Nevertheless a pleasant walk which we can recommend to anyone.

More stunning walks can be found in this booklet which unfortunately only is available in German, but which we can certainly recommend.

And don’t forget to buy a map of the region. Despite the GPS it is always a good idea to have a map with you as well.

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Alp cows and also horses where lying or standing there, just enjoying the sun or grazing the grass. The sound of cow bells was actually rather joyful.

After going up for quiet some time, one reaches a kind of plateau where your legs can relax somewhat. Unfortunately the trail is horizontal only for a short period. Follow the sign for the Tschafon Hutte. You will encounter a cement road, which is the fastest way to get to the hut but presumably also the toughest way as that road is so steep, it is barely doable (that road is used to supply the hut). Luckily there is another track that goes to the hut as well.

The Tschafon Hutte is situated at 1737m. We made it!
After a huge glass of lemonade and an omelette with speck and salad, we have to take the same route back.

One is rewarded with beautiful views over the mountain ranges in the vicinity. The Rosengarten mountain range (Gruppo del Catinaccio) can be seen in the background on the right picture.

Be sure to take exactly the same route back (so don’t follow Track 4A to Wuhnleger) but return the way you came until you reach a road again. Turn left here towards a pool of water. This piece of land is called the Wuhnleger. You will have an amazing view towards the Rosengarten. Especially on a clear and sunny day the view must be thrilling.

As to show how enormous this landscape is, just have a look at this picture.

After having enjoyed that view make your way forward (track 4A) to St. Zyprian.
The trail is steep but goes downhill. It gives a tremendous view over the area. Deep down in the valley you can see Hotel Dosses, but don’t let this image fool you (like it did to us). It is still about 45 minutes to 1 hour back to the hotel.

At the Tschamin Schwaige our GPS stopped working due to empty batteries, so from that point either take the route to the Cyprianerhof or follow the track into the forest (the fitness trail) or you could opt to follow the paved road but that is the longest route to get back to the hotel.

Upon entering the hotelroom we noticed that Elgar was still asleep.

More stunning walks can be found in this booklet which unfortunately only is available in German, but which we can certainly recommend.

And don’t forget to buy a map of the region. Despite the GPS it is always a good idea to have a map with you as well.

...hide more

Everywhere you look you will see beautiful butterflies and small insects and of course hear lots of birds. While we were enjoying this nice view towards the township Tires (Tiers) with its eye-catching church tower, we also saw two small salamanders. Cute creatures trying to escape our digital camera, but luckily one picture turned out to be rather good.

Then the track goes into the forests where you can escape the sun and your muscles can relax somewhat as the path is going horizontally for quite a while. Near the Volsegger Bild (a small chapel) Elgar decided it was time for something to drink. And that gave us the time to take a look at the map once more.
We decide to keep on following track 6U till Schonblick (a small cafe/restaurant). Along the way there are some nice viewing points a.o. towards Bolzano (Bolzen).

At reaching Schonblick we continue by following track 7. It climbs steeply for the first few hundred meters, but after that the track becomes easier and you will reach the so-called Hammerwand. Track 7 goes along the foot of a mountain (this part is more or less horizontal) and takes you all the way to the Teufelsschlucht (free translation: Devil gorge). We are at 1490 m altitude and have to climb up to 1940m. (Do remember that we started from the hotel at 1080m !). The climb in the beginning is very very steep. Along the track wood carvings try to cheer you up and are good spots to catch one’s breath again.

Suddenly the rocky ground changes into a small wooden bridge (not really a bridge but not sure how to explain it better) which is build in the gorge itself as to cross the water coming down the mountains. There is even a small chapel carved into the rocks, which can be reached via a ladder.

After this so-called bridge the path is becoming rocky again and still goes up rather steeply, until finally......................we arrive at the Sesselschwaige. A hut at 1940m and luckily for us it had just opened up for the season. We drank a huge glass of lemonade (more than 1/2 a liter).

Now all we had to do was going down the Baerenfalle, at least that is what we thought. But it turned out we indeed first had to go down, but only to discover later on that we had to go up again to 2070m (oh No !) before we reached the Baerenfalle, an enormous steep descend of more than 900 meters.
Elgar was eager to go down immediately but we took some time to enjoy the surroundings and its peacefulness. A pity that meanwhile it had become clouded but nevertheless a nice spot for a short break.

Via small bridges and wooden stairs we slowly make our descend back into the real world. The track is steep and can be slippery as it is a rocky path and is strenuous for the knees. We heard some thunders and therefore just kept on moving because this is certainly not the place to be when it starts to rain. The last picture is taking somewhere halfway on the track.

We survived the Baerenfalle and finally arrive at the Tschaminschwaige, a restaurant/cafe at the base of the mountains. Now it is only about 15 to 20 minutes back to our hotel. Tired but proud on what we achieved today we reach our hotel room. oooh.....a hot shower can be such a reward, although Elgar does not agree to that.

More stunning walks can be found in this booklet which unfortunately only is available in German, but which we can certainly recommend.

And don’t forget to buy a map of the region. Despite the GPS it is always a good idea to have a map with you as well.

...hide more