The Full Story

Walleralm-mountain-landscape-berglandschaft-tirol-tyrol.jpg

WALLERALM TOUR

Info about the hike

Route:
Hintersteiner See - Walleralm - Pestkreuz - Hintersteiner See

Distance:
Ca. 10 km (ca. 6.3 miles)

Metres/feet in altitude:
Up 630m / down 630m (ca. 2070 feet each)

For children:
Yes (but a good fitness is required, as it goes up and down a lot)

For dogs:
Yes

Suitable for winter:
No

Hintersteiner-See-spiegelung-reflection-tirol-tyrol-wilder-kaiser.jpg

Not straight away up the mountain

By car or bus you drive up a steep, winding but beautiful road to Hintersteiner See. There is a car park there that costs 3 euros per day.

Now, of course, you get out, put on your hiking boots and want to go straight away, don't you? But before that, I advise you to do two things before you leave.

This is a tough round. Warm up and mobilise your joints and muscles first. You'll thank me later during the hike and in the evening over a cosy beer or spritzer.

Once you're warmed up, grab a camera and follow the road to the lake along the bathing establishment. Why? There is a wonderful photo spot on Goingstätt by the fence.

It's worth it, especially in the morning, and I could rave about the sunrise forever. Why in the morning? Because the lake doesn't get so much wind yet and the reflection is really good to photograph.

But now the hike starts...I promise!

Feel the calves in idyllic nature

Attention. This is a high effort/high reward route. It is the Walleralm circuit, which includes virtually the entire alpine alphabet except for via ferratas.

It is recommended to bring good hiking equipment. I advise against an unnecessarily heavy or impairing tripod. I would recommend only the most necessary equipment for photography.

Why? You'll need plenty of water, spare clothes and, above all, light weight, as this hike involves 3 hours of walking alone.

A map with all the photo spots can be found at the end of this post.

traditional-tyrolean-house-hintersteiner-see-wilder-kaiser-tirol-tyrol-austria.jpg

Through the forest path to the Walleralm

Now you walk on your toes almost all the way. But there are always wonderful views to photograph along the way. However, I won't show you all the spots here, because you can find them on the map at the end of this article.

It goes up over hill and dale and the path seems to go on for a long time. As a photographer, I advise you to stop every now and then and turn around. You often forget that you can't always just photograph what's in front of you, but also what's behind you, and you don't want to miss any opportunities.

For a short time it gets adventurous, where you walk the last bit over a narrow mountain path to the mountain pastures. Please leave the camera secondary here and look where you are actually stepping (I know what I am talking about...learning by doing).

It is better to stop once again and choose a motif. Maybe a beautiful rock formation, a fallen tree or your hiking buddies.

Flowers, pastures and Tyrolean nature

Now the expanse of the Walleralm stretches out before you. Here you also pass the first fountain, where I would first refill my bottle and dip my arms briefly.

But then take the camera again, because there are so many things to look at here. Countless mountain flowers sprout from the ground and blossom in all colours. Individual fir trees make good photo subjects and the vastness with the sky as an optimal contrast simply has to be captured at least once.

Attention...insider tip! Many people continue along the road at this hill, but I recommend to visit this spot, because there are impressive views and also for macro photographers there are rarer plants to be seen here than on the paths. But please make sure that you leave these plants alone and don't trample them.

Theoretically, you could then continue directly to the Walleralm, but I recommend hiking up to Kreuzbichl, because the view up here is beautiful and the path up offers a beautiful rock formation with which you can really put the surroundings in the picture.

Recharge your batteries with a view

Once you reach the top of Kreuzbichl, there are several places to sit and a fantastic panorama awaits you. The summit cross is of course a beautiful motif, but I find that it is difficult to take good photos of the cross.

It's better to continue along the small hiking trail and look for motifs or to sit down at the cross like my father Andrzej and enjoy the view of the Inn Valley.

But then off you go to the Walleralm or rather to the Stöfflhütte, because it has a delicious menu and a cosy ambience to offer. But watch out, because the Stöfflhütte is very popular and at weekends you can hardly find a seat.

After the delicious meal, there is another spot that I highly recommend and that is the single deciduous tree towards the south, which stands directly on the slope. Here you can snap a picturesque picture. Depending on the position of the sun, a circular PL filter is recommended.

So...now we go back but be careful, because it will not only go down. An up and down mixture awaits you, and it's a tough one.

Over lots of ups and downs back to the lake

I'll be relatively brief about the first part of the way back. In summary, you're relatively alone, you go down a steep and beautiful forest slope and then up again...and then down again and up again, until it goes down to Hintersteiner See for the last time.

If you do this loop in 30 degree heat like I did, you have to concentrate hard not to miss the beautiful spots along the way.

But once you've made it over the last hill, an idyllic pasture landscape stretches out in front of you and behind it the Schwoicher Pölven with its round summit.

Take one last sip and off you go snapping. Again and again you see individual trees and pass small photographic treasures until you reach the Maier guesthouse.

Here it is worthwhile to take some more liquid and let all the different places sink in, because now comes my personal favourite part...the Hintersteiner See!

Alpine Caribbean to dream about

A magnificent mountain lake with beautiful blue water. Almost like being in the Caribbean. Immediately after Pension Meier, you have a wonderful view over the lake. But that was just the beginning.

Along the lake you pass numerous spots, which you can find on the map below. So I won't go into too much detail here. What I can say, however, is that you will find so many beautiful places to photograph here that you will have to stop almost every 50 metres to take a picture.

If you are not afraid of fresh, cool mountain water, you can also jump into the water. It sure feels good after that long hike.

A refreshing end to a successful day of photography in the mountains. If you still want to take a nice footbath (go Kneipp), then I recommend the Kneipp place in Scheffau just behind the kiche, where you can get a well-deserved ice cream afterwards.

This is a great way to end the day!

hintersteiner-see-tirol-tyrol-viewpoint-wilder-kaiser.jpg

All photo spots for you at a glance

If you are planning to visit this wonderful place with all the photo spots I heartily recommend, I have marked all the points on the map for you.

If you have found other beautiful places to photograph, please feel free to send them to me via the contact form and I will add them to the map (with a mention, of course).

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WALLERALM TOUR

Not straight away up the mountain

By car or bus you drive up a steep, winding but beautiful road to Hintersteiner See. There is a car park there that costs 3 euros per day.

​

Now, of course, you get out, put on your hiking boots and want to go straight away, don't you? But before that, I advise you to do two things before you leave.

​

This is a tough round. Warm up and mobilise your joints and muscles first. You'll thank me later during the hike and in the evening over a cosy beer or spritzer.

​

Once you're warmed up, grab a camera and follow the road to the lake along the bathing establishment. Why? There is a wonderful photo spot on Goingstätt by the fence.

​

It's worth it, especially in the morning, and I could rave about the sunrise forever. Why in the morning? Because the lake doesn't get so much wind yet and the reflection is really good to photograph.

​

But now the hike starts...I promise!

Feel the calves in idyllic nature

Attention. This is a high effort/high reward route. It is the Walleralm circuit, which includes virtually the entire alpine alphabet except for via ferratas.

​

It is recommended to bring good hiking equipment. I advise against an unnecessarily heavy or impairing tripod. I would recommend only the most necessary equipment for photography.

​

Why? You'll need plenty of water, spare clothes and, above all, light weight, as this hike involves 3 hours of walking alone.

​

A map with all the photo spots can be found at the end of this post.

Through the forest path to the Walleralm

Now you walk on your toes almost all the way. But there are always wonderful views to photograph along the way. However, I won't show you all the spots here, because you can find them on the map at the end of this article.

​

For a short time it gets adventurous, where you walk the last bit over a narrow mountain path to the mountain pastures. Please leave the camera secondary here and look where you are actually stepping (I know what I am talking about...learning by doing).

​

It is better to stop once again and choose a motif. Maybe a beautiful rock formation, a fallen tree or your hiking buddies.

Flowers, pastures and Tyrolean nature

Recharge your batteries with a view

Once you reach the top of Kreuzbichl, there are several places to sit and a fantastic panorama awaits you. The summit cross is of course a beautiful motif, but I find that it is difficult to take good photos of the cross.

​

It's better to continue along the small hiking trail and look for motifs or to sit down at the cross like my father Andrzej and enjoy the view of the Inn Valley.

​

But then off you go to the Walleralm or rather to the Stöfflhütte, because it has a delicious menu and a cosy ambience to offer. But watch out, because the Stöfflhütte is very popular and at weekends you can hardly find a seat.

​

After the delicious meal, there is another spot that I highly recommend and that is the single deciduous tree towards the south, which stands directly on the slope. Here you can snap a picturesque picture. Depending on the position of the sun, a circular PL filter is recommended.

​

So...now we go back but be careful, because it will not only go down. An up and down mixture awaits you, and it's a tough one.

Over lots of ups and downs back to the lake

I'll be relatively brief about the first part of the way back. In summary, you're relatively alone, you go down a steep and beautiful forest slope and then up again...and then down again and up again, until it goes down to Hintersteiner See for the last time.

​

If you do this loop in 30 degree heat like I did, you have to concentrate hard not to miss the beautiful spots along the way.

​

But once you've made it over the last hill, an idyllic pasture landscape stretches out in front of you and behind it the Schwoicher Pölven with its round summit.

​

Take one last sip and off you go snapping. Again and again you see individual trees and pass small photographic treasures until you reach the Maier guesthouse.

​

Here it is worthwhile to take some more liquid and let all the different places sink in, because now comes my personal favourite part...the Hintersteiner See!

Alpine Caribbean to dream about

A magnificent mountain lake with beautiful blue water. Almost like being in the Caribbean. Immediately after Pension Meier, you have a wonderful view over the lake. But that was just the beginning.

​

Along the lake you pass numerous spots, which you can find on the map below. So I won't go into too much detail here. What I can say, however, is that you will find so many beautiful places to photograph here that you will have to stop almost every 50 metres to take a picture.

If you are not afraid of fresh, cool mountain water, you can also jump into the water. It sure feels good after that long hike.

​

A refreshing end to a successful day of photography in the mountains. If you still want to take a nice footbath (go Kneipp), then I recommend the Kneipp place in Scheffau just behind the kiche, where you can get a well-deserved ice cream afterwards.

​

This is a great way to end the day!

All photo spots for you at a glance