The Glungezer High-Altitude Trail: A walk on the quiet side of the local mountain
We’ve already slowed down, even before we’ve taken a single step. Our heartbeats are already calm and steady, even though we’re not walking along the Zirbenweg…
It was a dream day, last Sunday, in mid-August, on the Glungezer High Trail.
Put simply, you’ll find this stunning trail, with its breathtaking views, on the other side of the mountain, running parallel to the Zirbenweg. It does require a bit more stamina and energy than the Zirbenweg, but it’s well worth it!
We head up on the Glungezerbahn from Tulfes – the leisurely part of this circular high-altitude trail. After getting off at the mountain station, we leave behind the groups of walkers who are out and about on our local mountain today and immediately turn left onto a small path. This leads us over the ridge of the Schartenkogel into an increasingly bizarre landscape, up to the Schartenkogel.
Starting off by walking amongst scattered Swiss stone pines, mountain pines and heather, we find ourselves further up amongst huge boulders, until we reach the Schartenkogel after a good 45 minutes.
From here, we can already see the climb that still lies ahead of us up to the Glungezer. The path is, however, very enjoyable, so you can cover this three-quarter of an hour quite quickly.
On arriving at the Glungezer, we are treated to a breathtaking panorama today. We can see for miles in every direction across the Inn Valley, and even the view to the south and into the Viggartal is unobstructed today.
After a short break at the Glungezerhütte, there is a brief descent down towards the Viggartal valley. Here we come across the Glungezer – Höhenweg, a route that is, unfortunately, far too little known, which runs parallel to the Zirbenweg, but on the other side of the mountain. In stark contrast to the Zirbenweg, we are virtually alone here today and can look for marmots amongst the boulders.
After a good hour and a half of walking with no significant changes in altitude, we reach the turn-off for the Viggarspitze. A further ten minutes on and we’re already at the top, enjoying the view down into the Inn Valley. Up here, it’s definitely time for a good long rest.
The descent from the Viggarspitze is proving difficult for us today. The view and the tranquillity are simply too beautiful, and once we’ve made our way down, we soon come across the Zirbenweg. We head out towards Boscheben and on to the Patscherkofel cable car. Once again, we allow ourselves to slow down and, feeling content, take the gondola down into the valley…
