Hiking Without Borders on the Southern Side of Alps

People love walking along the shores of a lake. The open space created by the surface of the water, the varying shapes of the mountain backdrop against the horizon, the gentle lapping of the waves, the scent of the flora and fauna that surrounds: this combination creates an atmosphere that can relax yet inspire. The new Slow Trails, within view of six of the loveliest Carinthian lakes, have been designed to clear the head, set spirits free and sustainably wind down. More information

The Carnic High Route in the Nassfeld / Lake Pressegger See / Lesachtal Valley / Lake Weissensee region stretches over 155 kilometres along the border between Carinthia and Italy. Hikers can discover 500 million years of the Earth’s history here and with a little luck, they can even find well-preserved fossils. More information

Lake Millstätter See has continued to expand its hiking trail options under the slogan ‘Time for Two’ (‘Zeit zu Zweit’) with the new ‘Way of Love / Sentiero dell‘ Amore’. Seven places between Alexanderhütte and Granattor inviting visitors to contemplate love and all of its many facets. At each station along the three-hour hiking trail, there is a bench and a book with a question that invites visitors to record their personal thoughts on the topics of love and partnership. The topic is specified, and the hiker contributes a piece of the story of the trail. The guests enter into a sensual and emotional dialogue with nature. More information

Hohe Tauern National Park, the first and largest national park in Austria, is especially popular with hikers. Not only can you hike on your own here, but you can also be accompanied on the trail by an experienced National Park ranger. One of these guided tours leads you to the old Bergstollen mine in the Zirknitztal Valley, a large, high alpine valley with quaint pine forests. You are following in the traces of the gold miners here. The fascination of ‘perpetual ice’ waits on the Pasterze, the largest glacier of the Eastern Alps, at the foot of the highest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner. The tour on the glacier trail is described as fascinating and incomparably spectacular. Other hiking tours are devoted to watching ibex and red deer in the mystical Seebachtal Valley. Hohe Tauern National Park offers a special programme for children and youth to search, discover and have fun. More information

Speik: the all-rounder in the Nockberge Biosphere Park.
There is another natural treasure to discover in the Nockberge Biosphere Park aside from the fragrant Swiss pine. Hikers can search for speik, or Alpine Valerian on their chosen hiking trails. Alpine Valerian has valuable and coveted ingredients that have elevated it to a medicinal and aromatic plant. The fragrance of this outwardly unremarkable plant is particularly intense in July and August. An extended hike over the gentle, fragrant Nockberge Mountains simultaneously invigorates and soothes. There are wooden troughs outside of eleven rustic alpine chalets for relaxing speik foot baths. More information