Ischgl is a former mountain farming village in one of the Alps’ most beautiful regions, the Paznaun area of Austria located in the Northwest Tyrol. The Arlberg with famous St. Anton am Arlberg, Galtur, See, Kappl is also in this area. More than 1,000 kilometers/666 miles of hiking routes are available, many with Alpine lodges, inns and restaurants along the way. Many chairlifts and cable cars still operate during the summer making it easy for hikers to begin at the top of a lift; the preferred European manner of hiking. Steve and I do the opposite. Hike up and take lifts down, so much easier on knees and one of the reasons the all-inclusive Silvretta Card is so important to us.
Guests staying overnight in the Ischgl Valley receive the Silvretta Card which includes the following services: Use of all cable cars and chair lifts in Ischgl, Galtur, Kappl, See and Samnaun; public transportation; free admission to the indoor and outdoor pools in Ischgl and Galtur; free admission to the play, sports and water park in See; guided themes walks; more discounts to museums; motorbike hire; and kids programs.
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Silvretta card – Ischgl, Austria
reservoir on Ischgl Mountain, Austria
hiking and biking on an Ischgl, Austria mountain
The hikers’ bus service between Landeck to Biehlerhole-Silvretta reservoir is free of charge for those who have the Silvretta card with many stops along the way. The free cable car system and hikers’ bus is why we bother traveling to Europe to hike. It is so wonderful to hike up a mountain and take a cable car down…or take a cable car up, hike up and over another mountain and then bus back. Or take a bus to one of the neighboring towns and begin there. So many possibilities and so little time.
One of the longer hikes is the Smugglers’ Path into Switzerland, doable by using the Silvretta card on the gondolas and chair lifts. I really should say one of the longer cable car rides because it involves one lift after another. Doing this path by lifts or hiking is considered a “highlight,” and take this with a grain of salt because I’ve never found “Duty Free” to have great bargains.
Silvretta gondola, Ischgl, Austria
shrine in Ischgl pasture, Austria
hundreds of waterfalls around Ischgl, Austria
There are even two new suspension bridges built along the hiking trail to the Idalp. Each suspension bridge spanning the Finbach River was constructed of open mesh flooring with strong ropes over 100 meters/300 feet each and reserved for pedestrians only.
The longest and most difficult hiking route is called the Paznaun High Route which runs for 120 kilometers/80 miles in nine stages, with an 11,000 meter/36,000 foot gain in altitude. All I had to do was read detailed descriptions of some stages, “Must have a head for heights…narrow and steep trails…” and that took care of that – no High Route for us.
chairlift at top of Silvretta Bahn, Ischgl, Austria
Ischgl, Austria ski map
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