Hiking holiday

To enjoy new insights all you need do is cool hot cheeks in the cool sand or lie on a velvety pebble. It is about pausing for reflection – and letting the splendour wash over you. Looking right at frogs and trout – points of view become relative quickly and suddenly enable new sensory experiences and a fresh outlook. After all it is not just the water, but you can flow in tranquillity while hiking too.

Kaprun offers a hiking and climbing experience to suit everyone, whatever their age. For those of you who want to get closer to the realm of 3000 metre mountains, there is a gondola ride up to the Alpine centre at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn. From here there are various tours that head up into the lofty, mostly chilly, heights. The best thing to do is explore the impressive flanks together with a mountain guide. Someone who knows the region and who is also better able to assess the weather and routes for you.
Somewhat more leisurely, but certainly no less interesting, are the hiking routes on the family mountain, the Maiskogel. The crowning finale is then speeding back down into the valley on the Alpine rollercoaster the Maisiflitzer. An adventure for all the family.

The many hundreds of kilometres of hiking routes in the Zell am See–Kaprun region are all very well signposted. The paths and tours are just there waiting to be explored. 
But before you really get going, there are a few things to keep in mind. Ask yourself seriously how fit you are. 

• What tours do you reckon you are capable of doing? Better to start with a smaller hike, then increase.
• Being over-tired and challenging yourself too much in the mountains can be dangerous. As well as tour planning it is also important that you bring plenty to eat and lots to drink in particularly.
• Check beforehand to see if there are managed Alpine inns on route.
• It is also important to check the weather in advance.
• There is nothing to be gained when there are storms in the mountain – things are so much nicer when the sun is shining.
• Even in the summer heat in the valley there is often a balmy breeze blowing – naturally the temperatures are also lower up high too.

Our guests are offered hikes by the glacier cable car companies in Kaprun and Schmittenhöhe Zell am See. One of the highlights is a guided hike to get to the summit of the Kitzsteinhorn - with the maxim being ‘3000m above it all’!

In the Hohe Tauern National Park, the last Alpine nature reserve in the Alps, you get to experience pure variety. Hiking tours ranging from easy to challenging, or tailored to specific nature-based themes. Are you interested in local wild animals, herbs, the high mountain realm and the glacier, mining or maybe you prefer photographing nature? In the Hohe Tauern National Park, you will find the right tour to suit your interests. Under our expert guidance you can learn about nature and the culture of the Hohe Tauern National Park.

What is actually happening inside us when we go hiking and mountaineering? First off, there is a positive effect on fat metabolism and our immune system. While climbing, which is of course standard in the mountains, your circulation benefits too. If you are in the mountains more often, your body not only becomes fitter, but your heart, circulation, metabolism, breathing and muscles are strengthened too. In addition, if you hike and walk on a regular basis, you get sick less often and you stay young and healthy.
Hiking also has a positive on your mind and on your outlook. Long endurance walks promote the release of serotonin and dopamine. Feelings of happiness and well-being are the result. It also lowers acute stress and promotes a resistance to stress. Several studies have also shown that exercise and mental performance are closely linked. Hiking even prevents the onset of dementia.