2020-03-01_Wanderlust

114 wanderlust.co.ukMarch 2020

TheZillertalValleymaybegin

gentlyslopingfromthesmall

townofStrasstoMayrhofen,

butkeepclimbingsouth,higher

throughthenarrowZemmtal

andontotheHintertuxglacier,

andyou’llquicklylearnwhy

thisregionisconsidered

tobethecradleofalpine

mountaineering;withplenty

ofoutdooradventurestobe

enjoyedinunspoilednature.

ZillertalAlpsNaturePark

takestheheadlineinthis

respect.Extendingfromthe

mountaineeringvillage

ofGinzlinguptoitshighest

peakofHochfeiler(at3,509m),

thepark’spristinelandscapes

andrangeinaltitudelevels

makesitperfectforhikingand

rockclimbing.Inthepark,

plungingravineshavegiven

shapetofivetributaryvalleys,

locallyknownasGründe,with

thesummitsoftheZillertal

Alps’mainridgeloomingabove.

Togetherwithotherreserves

inTirolitformsoneofthe

largestassociationsofnature

reservesintheAlpsandhas

extraordinarilyhighlevels

ofbiodiversity,soit’sworth

trekkingwithoneofthepark’s

experiencedguidestofindthe

manyanimalsandspeciesof

plantsthatcallthisparkhome.

Aspecialsummerprogramme

ofthesehikestakeplace

betweenMayandOctober,and

with 30 diversethemesthere’s

boundtobeatrekthatcan

piqueyourinterest:fromherbal

trailstowildlifewalkstoeven

headingoutwithaccomplished

Austrianmountaineer,Peter

Habeler,tothesummitofthe

Ahornspitzemountain.

TheHintertuxGlaciermakes

foraninterestingspot.Not

onlyisthissomewherewhere

youcanskiyear-round,but

thereareplentyofother

activitiestoo,suchasguided

glaciertours,aSpannagel

Cavesexpedition,orscaling

theOlpererMountainthat

towersoverthepistes

(daredevilclimbershavethe

optionofabseilingbackdown).

Iflongdistancehikesare

moreyourpace,thenZillertal

hasmanymulti-stageand

challengingascentstotry.

‘AroundtheReichenspitze’

isonethat’sbestattempted

frommid-Junetoearly

Septemberasamulti-day,

four-stagehikewithlakes,

cosyhuts,andruggedterrain

stretchingbeforeyou.

WithZillertalsolarge,e-bikes

canhelpyougettothose

remotesummitsandhutsthat

mightotherwisebeout

ofreachandwithmostofthe

region’shotelsfamily-owned

youcanexpectservicewith

apersonaltouch.Allthat’sleft

isforyoutogetoutthere,

exploreandenjoy.

ZILLERTAL

Get back to nature

On the trail

(clockwise from this)

Hiking in the Zillertal;

take on the challenge of

an elevated multi-day

trek; or stroll in low lying

alpine meadows

Find out more at zillertal.at

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Shutterstock; Zillertal Tourismus, Bernd Ritschel