Tru Vistles Themed Trail
Foto (60)
This family-friendly circular walk in St. Martin in Thurn combines culture, nature and tradition through a variety of interactive games and information boards. Thanks to its consistent width and paved surface, it is suitable for pushchairs, although the final section features a fairly steep climb leading up from the valley floor by the Gader River back to the village.
Route details:
Distance: 3.5 km
Duration: 1.5 hours
Elevation gain: 65 m
Accessibility
A22 Brenner Motorway – take the Brixen Nord/Pustertal exit, then continue along the Pustertal main road towards Bruneck until just before St. Lorenzen - Turn right into the Gadertal valley towards San Martin in Thurn, where we park in the centre near the tourist office (1 reserved parking space for people with disabilities in the small square in front of the town hall entrance (Strada Tor 25 – access via the ‘Scolina’ primary school).
Description
Starting from the tourist information office (‘Tourist Info’) or the town hall (in this case, we cross the L29 road at the zebra crossing), we reach the local bus stop (not wheelchair accessible), where we turn left onto the pavement running alongside the cemetery wall (localised cross-slope of 18%) and head down towards the parish church (paved through road between the Despar supermarket and the Osti Nicl restaurant with a 15% gradient):
The Gothic parish church of St Martin in Thurn is dedicated to the two saints, John the Baptist and Martin, and is accessible to all. Inside, it features several statues by Dominikus Moling, a sculptor from the Gadertal valley during the Baroque period. The altar, however, was created by the artist Promberger, and the painting behind the altar is by the artist Mellauner.
Opposite the church gate, we follow Strada Stufles (numbers 1–12), following the signs for “Tru Vistles”, and, after a gentle climb up a small hill (8% gradient), reach a nearby farmstead, beyond which the route descends into the adjacent woodland for around 50 metres with a fairly steep gradient of 25–30%.
The shaded, gravel-surfaced path with cycle lanes now winds its way along the varied tree line on the mountainside, offering frequent beautiful views of the mountain meadows and forests around St. Martin in Thurn. After a gentle descent at first, the path then drops noticeably at two points for about 50 m each, at gradients of 25% and 20% respectively, and we finally reach, via the artistically designed themed stations, an S-shaped bend in the tarmac Strada Mirì road, which we follow downhill (8% gradient for 200 m) to the “Pradel” sports ground (small children’s playground). After about 150 m on the pavement heading into the valley, we reach a road bridge over the Gader, which we use as an underpass to the second part of our walk (15 m with a 25% gradient).
The shaded, gravel-surfaced path with cycle lanes now winds its way along the varied tree line on the mountainside, offering frequent beautiful views of the mountain meadows and forests around St. Martin in Thurn. After a gentle descent at first, the path then drops noticeably at two points for about 50 m each, at gradients of 25% and 20% respectively, and we finally reach, via the artistically designed themed stations, an S-shaped bend in the tarmac Strada Mirì road, which we follow downhill (8% gradient for 200 m) to the “Pradel” sports ground (small children’s playground). After about 150 m on the pavement heading into the valley, we reach a road bridge over the Gader, which we use as an underpass to the second part of our walk (15 m with a 25% gradient).
At the bottom of the valley, the forest path runs almost flat through the sparse woodland, past a few fitness stations and child-friendly information boards, until it reaches a fenced-off fishing pond and an interactive wooden model of a watermill. Running parallel to the stream, the footpath then climbs gently (8% gradient) until we come to a junction on the right: this is where the steep ascent back up to the village begins (around 200 metres and then another 200 metres, 15–22% gradient, partly rough concrete surface).
Finally, at the top of the sun-drenched hill, we reach the first houses (the Ciasa de Palza retirement home) and the large forest playground of St. Martin on Strada Pinis. We follow the latter along the pavement back to our starting point in the centre of St. Martin in Thurn.
Information about the walk
Suitable for:
Older people and families with pushchairs
Road surface:
Gravel forest track, bumpy forest path, short stretches of tarmac
Bars/Restaurants:
Osti Nicl
Gasthof Dasser
Bar Cafe Val
Gasthof Dasser
Bar Cafe Val
Public transport:
Bus route 460
WC:
No accessible toilet for people with disabilities
Sun/Shade:
Sunny with shaded sections through the woods
