Objevte krásy Vinschgau

The castle of the Noblemen of Senales once stood where the parish church of Monte Santa Caterina/Katharinaberg now stands with its tower reaching for the heavens was once. However, the Carthusians had it destroyed in 1350. In earlier times, there was a proto-historic human settlement here. A Bronze Age sickle element with silica and Iron Age ceramic artefacts are proof that this area has been used for thousands of years. It would appear that a pre-historic trail ran along here coming up from Vinschgau.

The archaeological trail A4 begins in Maso Corto/Kurzras, passes a number of idyllic mountain lakes and drops down into the Vinschgau Valley. Having descended along a gentle forest path, past an old timber mill, you arrive in the small, picturesque village of Corces/Kortsch.

The untouched Lagauntal Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in South Tyrol. The trail up to the former Heilbronn hut and the Tascheljöchl provide a breathtaking long-distance view of numerous 3000m-peaks. On the way to Berglalm Mountain Hut, we pass through idyllic high mountain terrain with expansive larch forests.

A hike with amazing views of probably the oldest meadows in South Tyrol

Section of the Archaeological Trail A 7 - The Archaeological Hiking Map with additional information is available free of charge at the archeoParc Schnalstal or at the Tourism Office Schnalstal Valley

The archaeological trail from Vent to Maso Corto/Kurzras leads through captivating mountain landscape that was already used many centuries ago by shepherds with their flocks.

This high-Alpine trail presents the hiker with dramatic views and scenic highlights.

Archaeological trail A5 begins in the village of Certosa/Karthaus where you can visit the cloister of the former Carthusian monastery. It then leads into the Penaud valley as far as the area known as “Karl Sumperer”. From here, you can view virtually the entire valley, with a panoramic view to the summits of the Similaun group of mountains. Arriving at Niederjöchl shortly after, you will have a magnificent view of Vinschgau valley, of the ice-capped peaks of the Cevedale and of the Martelltal valley. This is followed by the long descent to Sankt Martin am Kofel and its pilgrimage church. From here, it’s only a few minutes by cable car to Laces/Latsch.

This unglaciated peak on the southern edge of the Ötztal Alps is on the border between Italy and Austria and is one of the easiest 3000 m-peaks to climb in the mountain range. It offers a wonderful panorama view towards the southern Schnalstal Valley and the Weißkugel (3,739 m a.s.l.).

The archaeological trail rises from Vernago/Vernagt to Giogo Basso/Niederjoch with its spectacular views and on to Tisenjoch, a reminder of the discovery site of Ötzi the Iceman, crosses the border and continues on to the village of Vent (A).

Hiking trail through the untouched Lagauntal high valley to the former Heilbronner refuge lodge

This challenging glacier tour for experienced Alpinists, featuring magnificent views of the Ötztal Alps, begins in the Vernago/Vernagt car park with limited parking spaces.

The Crodarotta summit rises high over the Vernagt reservoir at the centre of the picturesque Schnalstal Valley in South Tyrol. The dramatic views across the reservoir and the rest of the valley will stay with you forever.

Finailspitze (often spelt Fineilspitze) is a fascinating tour in the Schnalstal Valley offering landscape and archaeological treasures. There is a spectacular view from the summit to the glacier world of the Ötztal Alps: in the east to the Niederjoch glacier with Similaun, Marzellspitze, and to the Hintere Schwärze, in the south towards the Tisental Valley, Schnalstal Valley with the Schlandrauner Mountains opposite, to the Hochjochferner glacier with a view of the Weißkugel. We are following in the footsteps of Ötzi, the Iceman.

The ski lift is situated in the valley, next to the valley station of the cable car. It brings you up to two easy ski runs (blue) - ideal for beginners.

This tour, that can be done from early spring to late autumn, depending on the weather, takes us along the highest grain farm in Europe. Grain was cultivated at this altitude right up to the second half of the last century, when the construction of the dam and reservoir also changed the climate of the Schnalstal Valley. There are archaic structures along this trail that have only changed slightly during the development of mountain farming over thousands of years.

The Nockspitze is the main viewing mountain in the Schnalstal Valley. The view from the summit, high over the Vernagt reservoir, across the entire Schnalstal Valley is breathtaking. The descent can be combined with an interesting hike through Alpine pastures.

Alpine hike to the one-time highest grain farm in Europe the Finailhof farm (1,973 m).

An extremely interesting and beautiful trail through Pfossental valley, part of the Texelgruppe Nature Park. This is the largest nature park in South Tyrol and if you’re lucky, you’ll see some of the fauna that lives here.

This archaeological trail begins with a ride on the glacier train from Maso Corto/Kurzras to the summit station, then there’s a short climb to Grawand and its imposing summit cross; it passes over the ridge and drops down to the small Finailsee lake, goes on to the Finailhof farm, once the highest grain farm in the region, passes unhurriedly by Raffeinhof farm to Tisenhof farm and then into the village of Vernago/Vernagt with its wonderful dam and reservoir.

The two to ten kilometer long high-altitude cross-country ski track on the Schnalstal Glacier is located at about 3,000 meters above sea level. Open from early October to December, it offers athletes from various national teams ideal conditions for the high-altitude training for the preparation of the next racing season. Also a lot of amateur cross-country skiers choose the Hochjoch track to do their season warm-up.

For centuries now, the inhabitants of St. Martin im Kofel, located above Laces/Latsch, have been making the pilgrimage over the Niederjöchl pass (2,662 m a.s.l) to the pilgrimage site of Madonna di Senales/Unser Frau, in order to pray together with the people of Senales for a good harvest.

Easy and magnificent path from the mountain hut Vorderkas/ inn Jägerrast to the mountain pasture Eishof, also suitable for children and elderly people. In the further course more and more surefootedness is required. 
Tips: the informational boards along the Alpine Pasture Experience Trail (Almerlebnisweg) are interesting. Not far from mountain pasture Rableid, there is a lime kiln, in which the limestone from the Hohe Weiße mountain was fired to make building lime, which was also presumably used to construct the monastery in Certosa/Karthaus.

The chairlift with four seats brings pedestrians and skiers up to 3.212m to the mountain station of the glacier cable car.