Eagle Walk Stage 13: Innsbruck - Zirbenweg Trail - Innsbruck

True mountaineers will be drawn back into the mountains again. Therefore, this easy walk will be just right after living the high life in town. Your feet can still relax for a little while as you first take a bus or tram to Igls. From there, ride the gondola to the top of the Patscherkofel mountain. The Zirbenweg trail has many easy ups and downs as it meanders to the east and is lined by stone pines, a species that is adapted to extreme conditions imposed by elevation and latitude. The broad path winds gently up to slightly hidden Boscheben alpine pasture hut. From there, hikers can branch off to Meißnerhaus lodge in Viggartal Valley or to Tulfeinalm/Glungezerbahn where you will ride the chairlift down to Tulfes and get back to Igls and Innsbruck again. However, if you are in Tulfes, it is also recommended to visit the beautiful and historic town of Hall in Tirol.

Interesting Facts

Eagle View ·Wildflowers galore! Turn your focus from the beautiful scenery to your feet as you near the alpine gardens next to Patscherkofel top terminal, the highest-altitude botanical gardens in Austria at an elevation of almost 2,000 metres. Rare, exotic and endangered alpine wildflowers and plants can be found here, from high forest to dwarf shrub heaths, Achillea millefolium and Vitaliana primuliflora, or in other words, from yarrow to golden primroses.

Eagle Kick ·Ampass Basin is home to what is considered the oldest tree in Tirol, a more than 700-year-old stone pine. It was declared a Natural Monument in 1926. Growing near the tree line at elevations of up to 2,500 metres, in this alpine borderline zone where only the most rugged trees survive, the stone pine resists destructive natural forces that rage in high mountains. The resinous fragrance of stone pine oil is said to have mind-soothing effects. Watch pine stone wood balls roll into motion through the world’s largest wooden track at Kugelwald, literally “Ball Forest”, on the Glungezer mountain at 1,560 metres above sea level. Marvel at the beautiful and cleverly designed wooden ball track and enjoy stunning nature exploratio. You and your kids will be playing all day!

Interesting Facts Eagle View ·Wildflowers galore! Turn your focus from the beautiful scenery to your feet as you near the alpine gardens next…

Trail description

Starting point: Igls / Innsbruck

From the main railway station in Innsbruck, ride the bus or tram to the bottom station of the Patscherkofel gondola in Igls and then hop onto the gondola and cruise up to the top station (1,964 m).

Food & drink: Patscherkofelhaus

Follow the signs for "Zirbenweg" (trail 350) It is here that the Patscherkofel Nature Learning Trail by the Austrian Alpine Association starts. The route undulates along and slightly above an elevation of 2,000 metres above sea level. The Zirbenweg trail is lined by Europe’s largest and oldest populations of stone pine (“Zirbe” in German, giving the trail its name). Some of these trees are several hundred years old. Just a few metres above timberline, yet not in completely treeless terrain, the broad path winds gently up to the slightly hidden Boschebenalm hut (elev. 2,035 m).

Food & drink: Boschebenalm, Glungezerhütte

From there, hikers can branch off to the Meißnerhaus hut in Viggartal Valley. This is the point where the learning trail ends. Proceed from Boscheben in the same direction, stay beneath the small mountain peaks on the northern side, and do not descend to the valley. Follow the path over to the Tulfeinalm hut and from there walk a few metres up to the Glungezer Lift. Ride the chairlift down to Tulfes. From Tulfes, take a bus to Igls and from Igls get back to Innsbruck by bus or tram.

If you want to walk down to the bottom of the Patscherkofel mountain, take the Speckbacherweg trail from the bottom station on the Glungezer gondola via the villages of Rinn and Sistrans to Igls (walking time approx. 3 hours). The route from the Patscherkofel/Igls bottom terminal to Innsbruck leads to Vill and across the forest to the Poltenhütte hut. From Tantegert terminal, the route branches off towards Bretterkeller and crosses the highway bridge. Then the path leads westward for around 200 metres to Bierstindl inn, Wilten Monastery, Leopoldstraße road, the subway under the Olympia Bridge on the right and via the Südbahnstraße to Innsbruck main railway station (walking time approx. 1½ hours).

Finishing point: Igls / Innsbruck