The valleys: Pfitsch
You reach the high valley of Pfitsch eastwards from Sterzing. Cross the village Wiesen, which secludes the valley floor of Sterzing's basin in the eastward direction, and reach the storage lake of Pfitsch via the escarpment of Afens. The storage lake was implemented as one of the numerous generating plant projects of the fascistic government in the thirties and is proof of one of the darkest chapters of Pfitsch.
The valley of Pfitsch is still one of the most pristine Alpine valleys. Agriculture shapes the valley and the unique cultural landscape with lush meadows, picturesque villages and astonishing mountain farms. The vastness of the valley shaped by ice and glacier and the dizzying heights of the Zillertaler Alps unite and amaze the beholder. At the top of the valley lies the Hochfeiler, the highest mountain peak of the region with 3510 metres above sea level. The valley of Pfitsch is a paradise for mineral collectors. The specific interaction of the Alps folding and erosion let emerge sediments of long gone oceans. Break lines and disruptions along this so called "Tauern Fenster" are rich in minerals and special rocks. Many a hiker has returned with big quartzes after a chance find. A guided geological hiking allows you to experience the complex origination process of today's Alpine region realistically.
Those who visit the high valley of Pfitsch in winter learn to understand to some extent what the life of mountain farmers in the last centuries was like. Then the high valley lies under a deep snow layer. Before the modern development of infrastructure in terms of traffic the people there have been isolated from the outside world for months. Today this remoteness and untouched beauty of nature are constantly perceptible in winter as well as in summer on the wonderful cross-country ski run, when snowshoeing, ice climbing or in the warm season when hiking, mountain climbing, mountain biking and and and …
And on smugglers' trails you reach the close-by Zillertal in the Northern part of the country.
The valley of Pfitsch is still one of the most pristine Alpine valleys. Agriculture shapes the valley and the unique cultural landscape with lush meadows, picturesque villages and astonishing mountain farms. The vastness of the valley shaped by ice and glacier and the dizzying heights of the Zillertaler Alps unite and amaze the beholder. At the top of the valley lies the Hochfeiler, the highest mountain peak of the region with 3510 metres above sea level. The valley of Pfitsch is a paradise for mineral collectors. The specific interaction of the Alps folding and erosion let emerge sediments of long gone oceans. Break lines and disruptions along this so called "Tauern Fenster" are rich in minerals and special rocks. Many a hiker has returned with big quartzes after a chance find. A guided geological hiking allows you to experience the complex origination process of today's Alpine region realistically.
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And on smugglers' trails you reach the close-by Zillertal in the Northern part of the country.
