This sunny walk also offers the chance to visit the medieval town of Glurns with its well-preserved city walls. The trail winds through vast meadows and orchards, offering views of the wide valley floor, the towering mountains and the beautiful castles of the Upper Vinschgau.

Accessibility

From Bolzano, take the MeBo motorway to Merano and continue towards the Reschen Pass through the Vinschgau Valley to Schluderns, where we turn left towards Glurns. Parking is available outside the city walls behind the Tauferer Gate, near the parish church of St Pankraz (paid car park with reserved spaces for people with disabilities).

Description

Our walk begins in Glurns (906 m). After exploring the medieval town, we leave the old town through the Tauferer town gate. We cross the stream via a wooden footbridge and, just before the parish church, turn left onto the cycle path, where our walk begins on an unpaved dirt track. Artistic prayer stations line the path, as this first section forms part of a Way of the Cross (Way of St James).

Starting from the car park, after a short climb we reach the main road linking Glurns with Prad am Stilfserjoch and cross it. Our walk continues out of the valley along a dirt track with wide ruts, undulating gently up and down. Passing extensive meadows and pastures, we catch sight of Churburg Castle on the opposite side of the valley, a true Renaissance gem. After passing a farmstead, the trail continues straight ahead on a natural surface to Lichtenberg. After a few steep climbs (up to 12% in places), we finally reach the small village of Lichtenberg (927 m). In the village centre, at the historic Weisses Rössl inn, we turn left and follow the signposted cycle path out of the village. At the Lichtenberg place-name sign, we turn right, cross a small bridge and follow the tarmac road down towards Agums. At the bottom of the valley, the cycle path levels out again and leads past pastures and orchards to the small hamlet of Prad am Stilfserjoch with the pilgrimage church of St. Georg (926 m). From Agums, after about 1 km, you finally reach the village centre of Prad am Stilfserjoch, where you can visit the interesting Aquaprad visitor centre (920 m). The return journey to Glurns follows the same route.