Pstossweg 2, 39040 Siusi BZ, Italië
Route 11-4-12 | duur: 5.5 uur
Gemiddeld
Hiking in the Dolomites, Italy
Hiking route at the Seiser Alm
After we changed apartments, we slept on the other side of the mountain valley. Our beautiful quiet apartment also overlooks the 'Schlern', but here the view is completely different! The friendly owner of the apartment, Thomas, explains on the hiking map where we are and shows us that we are close to hiking route 11. Super, because we can go directly from the apartment into the forest! Route 11 starts at a parking place in the village of Seis am Schlern, so if you don't sleep in villa Pircher like we do, you can start the hiking trail from there.
Hiking route 11 - A little break at hütte Gstatsch
Once in the forest, the 11 goes up steeply. You pass a stream that you have to cross, and follow the cobbled forest path further up, until you reach a highway. Here we went over the traffic circle looking for route no. 4 in the direction of mountain hut Gstatsch. At that hut, after climbing through the forest, you can drink a coffee in peace and quiet with a beautiful view.
From the hut it was our plan to walk to two castles on the other side of the valley via route no. 9, but unfortunately this route turns out to be closed. We also missed the bus that stops here and could have taken us to another part of the route, because it doesn't run on that part between 11:00 and 14:00. Later in the week we got to the castles via another route.
Fortunately, with the Kompass hiking map in our pocket, we quickly adapt our route. With the no. 4 we climb further into the forest to the 'Frommer-Haus'. During route nr. 4 you have to cross the (busy) road a number of times, so with children or dogs it might not be advisable to take this route. We advise you to take the Seiser Alm Bahn to descend from there in the direction of Frommer-Haus.
This guesthouse looks a lot like a fairy tale by Hansel and Gretel. It looks a bit old, but with all the gnomes and other clutter it has a cozy peculiar atmosphere and the owner is very friendly. Within 10 minutes there is cola, bread and bacon on the table and we charge for the most beautiful part of the route.
Frommer-Haus
Hiking route 12
From the 'Frommer-Haus' we cross the road to route number 12. This is a quiet and beautiful forest path where you will encounter horses, cows and mushrooms along the way. You don't pass a highway here anymore and you can enjoy nature to the fullest. You ascend a little bit but soon the descent towards the 'Marinzenhütte' which is 250 meters lower than the 'Frommer-Haus'.
Just before the 'Marinzenhütte', after about an hour of hiking in the mountains, you will be welcomed in a kind of meadow by a herd of cute goats. The owner of the hut is a fan of these goats and feeds the little ones on the terrace with a bottle of milk! I also couldn't resist feeding them a little bit and that's why I had two very fine goats around my feet for an hour.
Hiking route towards Seis am Schlern
From the 'Marinzenhütte' we can again take route 11 in the direction of Seis am Schlern. In the beginning it is a bit of a search for the route, but if you see red/white stripes on a large stone you know you're in the right place. Through the forest we descend quietly until we reach the road where we turned right that morning with the no. 4 towards the hut 'Gstatsch'. From there we take the forest path of that morning, but the other way around, and after 20 minutes we arrive back at Villa Pircher.
The second part [route 12] of this walk we would recommend everyone, and certainly families. You are completely in nature and will encounter cows and goats. The first part [route 4] was not quite our thing. The steep ascent through the forest was quite nice (500 altimeters in 3.5 km to Gasthaus Frommer), only the 3 or 4 times crossing of a highway and thus continuously the noise of passing trucks we prefer to avoid. A good tip would be not to look up nr. 12 via nr. 11 but by going up the Seiser Alm Bahn and start from there.
In short, highly recommended if you are looking for a relaxing walk with plenty of opportunities for a coffee with a view of alpine cows, goats and horses.
Hiking routes| Tips and numbers
Routenumbers 11, 4, 12 & 11
For this walk we started with route 11 from our vacation home. From mountain hut Gstatsch we took hiking route 4 in the direction of the Frommer Hause. From there on the other side of the road we took the beautiful route 12 through the forest. From the Marinzenhütte we took route 11 back to our starting point.