South Tyrolean Wine and Alpine Path

After a warm welcome on site by our colleague Sebastian, we start the first day of our hiking trip from Merano via the Marlinger Waalweg to the apple metropolis of Lana. After a short climb we are rewarded with breathtaking views of the entire Burggrafenamt. Vineyards, apple trees and mountains as far as the eye can see! After a short rest, we continue up through forests to Tisens.

The village church greets you from afar and the village fountain invites you for a short refreshment. Now comes the descent to Nals, after which we are warmly greeted at our first accommodation. We end our first successful day with a fine wine from the region. A really impressive start to our hiking trip!

Strengthened from breakfast and wonderful autumn weather, we continue through the narrow streets of Nals and through dense forests to Andrian. On the way, a local farmer invites us to taste his homemade apple and grape juice. He also offers us home-grown fruit – of course we can’t resist! With fresh fruit in tow, we continue through the forest.

After a slight Alpine section, we are rewarded with a breathtaking view of Bolzano. Motivated by the view, we decide to take the option to climb up to Hocheppan Castle. After a steep climb we are again rewarded with wonderful panoramic views far over the Dolomites! The castle turns out to be an absolute highlight with a great atmosphere – you shouldn’t miss it!

Before we start our hike to Mölten, we visit our station in Bolzano. After a short tour of the premises by station manager Johannes, we go by bus to the Jenesien cable car. Once again we marvel at the wonderful panorama to Kaltern, which we glimpse from the cable car. Once in Jenesien we hike along blooming meadows and forests until we finally arrive at the Sagen weg.

It travels across alpine pastures on gravel paths over the Salten, surrounded by an impressive mountain backdrop. After petting one or two animals on the pasture, we arrive in Langfenn. A short detour to the St. Jakob church follows before we reward ourselves with a refreshment in the alpine hut next to it. Then we head down through the dense forest to Mölten.

We start our hike towards the Leadneralm early in the morning. The trail first leads through forests then continues along numerous mountain farms under bright sunshine. Enthusiastic about the view, we follow the path through various alpine pastures until final reach a hut at lunchtime. In the morning our accommodation hosts in Möten had recommended Kaiserschmarrn (chopped up pancakes with compote) so we just had to enjoy this regional delicacy.

Under the warm sun we continue through the forests along fragrant alpine meadows to the famous ‘Knottnkino’ in Vöran. The short climb to the ‘Knottn’ is more than rewarded by the wonderful panorama of the ‘kino’ (cinema). Take a seat on one of the cinema chairs and enjoy this grandiose highlight! Still impressed by the view, we continue towards the valley until we arrive in our starting point once again.