Aifner Alm
Start point: Schnadinger pond 1620 m
The ultimate goal: Aifner Alm 1.974 m
Time: about 3 hours – there and back is the same route!
Best Hiking time: from May to November!

Aifner Alm (offering products produced at the farm hut) is only open during the summer months. Suitable for: hiking opportunity for slightly advanced walkers. The hike could also be extended by continuing on to the small "Aifner" mountain. A small drive is necessary to get to the starting point, but you will be rewarded with spectacular views! It is easy to walk up wide paths and there are various short-cuts through the forest to the tree line! At the farm hut delicious farm products are offered!

 

Stafoeller saddle - Krupp Heads     
Starting point: Below the “Oeller Alpe” at the parking lot 1900 m
The ultimate goal: Krupp heads 2.642 m
Time: about 5 hours all together
Best Hiking time: from mid June to October!

The ultimate time would be in August when the edelweiss flower is in bloom. Suitable for: advanced hikers! Stamina, endurance and no fear of heights is required here, and a major desire for hiking, because this particular walk is quite strenuous, with a continuous ascent to the top. Great flower hike because this is one of the few mountain areas where edelweiss can be found! For the very bold, the walk can start already from the hotel, but we recommend beginning at the bottom of the mountain so you are not exhausted before even getting to the area where the edelweiss can be found!

 

Tösens - St. Georgen - Madatschen - Serfaus
Starting point: Direct from Riederhof 880 m
Ultimate goal: Serfaus - Madatschen 1,450 m
Time: about 5 – 5 1/2 hours
Best Hiking time: from mid April to November!

Suitable for those seasoned hikers who want a challenge, a great deal of stamina is required, some very exposed areas, but always a fantastic view. Directly from the hotel we walk to the other side of the Inn River and from there to Tösens - along the Via Claudia Augusta, the ancient Roman road. Then the road steadily ascends and the walk is slow until we reach Serfaus.

 

Hike Nauders - Schwarzsee - Grünsee - Mutzkopf
Moore - water lilies and summit

Nauders
Nauders is located at the Resch pass, and where the Via Claudia Augusta was opened in the year 50BC. The road led from Augsburg to Rome. In the 10th century Nauders was one of the courts of the Vinschgau - it was a High Court and bloody times -  the sentences were carried out south of Nauders. These meadows are today called "At the High Court". The authority of the judge extended from the Lower Engadine and to Zernez and from Reschen to Finstermünz. In this role as a court, Nauders became caught in the struggle between the Habsburgs and the Engadine people. This was followed by a 2-year war that took place mainly in the fields. (Engadine war). It wasn’t until the Treaty of Basel that peace was brought to the area.
This  court remained until Tyrol was divided in 1919, then it was put under the control of the District Court in Ried. After the plague in the 14th Century, the population of Nauders was reduced to just a few inhabitants.

In 1609 Nauders was buried by a large avalanche in which 22 houses were destroyed.
In 1880 a major fire raged in the 83 homes and 72 farm buildings were destroyed!

SCHWARZSEE
Schwarzsee is a natural monument at the altitude of 1725 m. 2.3 hectares are under government protection - the lake and the banks with the high mountain pine and quaking bog! (a quaking bog contains floating vegetation on water - not to be walked on. It is a protected habitat.) It is protected here because of the diverse fauna and flora. For example, the large "Emperor dragonfly" - that is the highest location for this species in Austria. There is a subalpine forest round the lake. In the pond there are beautiful water lilies - the highest (in altitude) water-lily pond in Austria. Fish do not survive in this lake due to the low oxygen level. Around the year 1860, peat was dug and used for heating purposes, and in 1960 the residents of the area expressed the wish to have the lake rebuilt to be used as a swimming lake for tourists.  However this plan failed because of the high mud density. Nowadays the lake has revolved again to its pristine state.

PIZ LAD
This mountain is part of the Nauderer Sesvenna group. It is 2808 meters high and is located directly on the border to Switzerland and Italy.

MINING
Below the "Mutzkopf" mountain the rare diabase or greenstone can be found. This rock, in the molten state, has the ability to permeate other types of rock and to leave a deposit. The diabase rock in Nauders originated about 30 million years ago, geologically speaking still a young child. The rocks of the Oetz Valley crystallines that are  just a few hundred yards away on the other side of the valley by comparison demonstrate that they are really old, assessed as originating over 545 million years ago! The Nauderer diabase has a typical rock indusive to this area, shows some striking features. It's a tough and hard type thus described as "hard rock". This makes it ideal for use as a component  for high-quality asphalt pavement and a special split. The diabase in Nauders contains several million tonnes of top quality stone. There is only one other quarry for this type of stone in Tyrol, namely in Kitzbuehel. It will be necessary to give  serious thought whether or not to continue to mine this non-renewable rock from the "Mutzkopf" mountain.

Walking holidays Ried Tirol – Tyrolean Upper Inn Valley walking holiday

Backlink www.wandern.de