Across the Alps: A Long-Distance Hike from Tegern­see to Sterzing

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Lucio’s Expe­ri­en­ces Crossing the Alps from Tegern­see to Sterzing

Lucio Jüne­mann is an avid hiker, out­door blog­ger, and con­tent crea­tor. On his blog “Ab nach drau­ßen” and on Insta­gram, he regu­lar­ly shares his adven­tures and expe­ri­en­ces in the moun­ta­ins. Tog­e­ther with Feu­er und Eis Tou­ris­tik, he set out with a com­mu­ni­ty group on a trek across the Alps—from Tegern­see to Ster­zing. Along the way, he was able to expe­ri­ence the rou­te and the tra­vel con­cept first­hand. In this post, Lucio shares his per­so­nal take on the Alpi­ne crossing and high­lights what makes the tour spe­cial in terms of sce­n­ery and hiking challenges.

Across the Alps: A Long-Distance Hike from Tegern­see to Sterzing

Crossing the Alps on foot—for many peo­p­le, this adven­ture is at the top of their bucket list. This quint­essen­ti­al clas­sic rou­te takes you on seven varied stages from Tegern­see in Bava­ria, all the way across the main Alpi­ne ridge to Ster­zing in South Tyrol. If you dream of com­bi­ning unspoi­led natu­re, three count­ries, and Alpi­ne cul­tu­re, this rou­te offers the per­fect long-distance hiking experience.

On the way across the Alps in the Pfitsch Val­ley in South Tyrol
A swim break at Lake Achen­see during the Alpi­ne crossing

From the Foot­hills of the Alps to the Heart of the Mountains

The race tra­di­tio­nal­ly kicks off in Gmund am Tegern­see. Even the first stage takes you past spar­k­ling water, lush mea­dows, and rol­ling Pre-Alpi­ne hills. But with each pas­sing day, the sce­n­ery clim­bs hig­her: the rou­te winds through the impres­si­ve Blau­ber­ge toward Tyrol to Lake Achen, con­ti­nues into the Zil­ler­tal moun­ta­ins, and final­ly ascends into the alpi­ne regi­ons, whe­re rug­ged cliffs and icy gla­ciers set the pace.

For many long-distance hikers, crossing the main Alpi­ne ridge at the Pfit­scher Joch is the abso­lu­te emo­tio­nal and scenic high­light. Once you reach the Pfit­scher­joch­haus after the climb past the Schle­geis Reser­voir and then des­cend into the vast, Ita­li­an-influen­ced Pfitsch Val­ley, the hust­le and bust­le of ever­y­day life feels a world away. After about 108 kilo­me­ters of hiking and some ele­va­ti­on gain and loss, the loop final­ly comes full cir­cle in the his­to­ric Fug­ger town of Ster­zing, whe­re you can won­derful­ly round off your jour­ney with Ita­li­an flair and regio­nal deli­ca­ci­es. A well-deser­ved piz­za is defi­ni­te­ly in order here!

View of the Schle­geis Reser­voir on the way to the Pfit­scher Joch

Com­fort Meets the Gre­at Outdoors

What makes this clas­sic rou­te spe­cial is that you don’t have to sacri­fice any com­fort or lug tons of gear in your back­pack. Unli­ke high-alpi­ne hut treks, this tour offers com­for­ta­ble over­night stays at sel­ect hotels and inns along the way. Thanks to optio­nal lug­ga­ge trans­port, you can hike care­free from one accom­mo­da­ti­on to the next, while regio­nal deli­ca­ci­es are ser­ved for dinner.

Tra­ve­ling Tog­e­ther on the Alpi­ne Crossing from Tegern­see to Sterzing

If you’d rather tack­le the adven­ture in a stress-free and well-orga­ni­zed way, you’ll find various cus­to­mi­zed opti­ons, such as tho­se offe­red by Feu­er und Eis Tou­ris­tik. Thank you for the fan­ta­stic and always hel­pful support! 

The Alpi­ne Crossing from Tegern­see to Sterzing

Con­clu­si­on & Outlook

The Alpi­ne crossing from Tegern­see to Ster­zing is fea­si­ble for well-trai­ned hikers with a good level of basic fit­ness, sure-foo­ted­ness, and a pas­si­on for day hikes las­ting up to six hours. It rewards every step with unfor­gettable pan­o­r­amic views and the inde­scri­ba­ble fee­ling of having crossed an enti­re moun­tain ran­ge under your own power.

Get more insights into Lucio’s Com­mu­ni­ty Tour on his web­site, “Let’s Go Outside”

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We'd be happy to help you choose your next trip and answer any questions you may have about our program.

We're here for you Monday through Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and look forward to hearing from you!

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