Winter lasts a long time but the transition to a short summer (and walking season) is fast and furious. The gap between the treeline (1800m) and the snowline (2800m), where happily the route spends much of its time, becomes a riot of colour as alpine flowers and shrubs react to the warmth and sunshine and burst into bloom. Although no longer as important to the local economy as winter skiing, these summer alpine meadows still sustain the transhumance as beautiful brown cattle (the Swiss breed Simmental) are bought up from the valleys in July for ten weeks of summer grazing before returning in September just before the first snow.
Classic view of the River Isar from the Rißsattel (Stage 4)
The snow and the consequent surge of meltwater have an enormous impact on Traumpfad. Starting in Munich the route follows the River Isar whose fast-flowing grey water, destined for the Danube and the Black Sea, betrays its origins in the Karwendel limestone. The route then crosses the Inn, the most important tributary of the Danube, snakes above the huge reservoir, the Schlegeisspeicher, fed by the glacier on the north side of the Hochfeiler, before crossing the watershed on the border with Italy. From here the water heads south and then east to the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. The walk finishes, as it started, with a riverside walk, but this time along an Italian river, the Piave.
The Alps occupy a battleground between weather systems: the Atlantic, Continental and Mediterranean. In the summer you can expect (but not rely on) good weather. As a general rule it’s wetter in the north near Germany and drier in Italy, but extremes of weather, including snow, need to be anticipated. As the temperature increases in July and August, thunderstorms are not uncommon and September is the most settled month.
Alpine flowers, animals and birds
The epic film The Sound of Music may be associated with Salzburg but iconic scenes in flower-filled Alpine meadows can also be enjoyed on the Traumpfad.
A selection of Alpine flowers: Bavarian gentian; Apiaceae; white campion; alpine scabious; gentian; fragrant orchid; yellow alpine poppy; edelweiss; ground cistus; woolly thistle; silver thistle (Photos: Max and Frances Harre)
The edelweiss (symbol of the German Alpine Club), with its creamy felty petals in a star formation, may be the most famous flower but it’s only one of over 1500 varieties that all share an uncanny ability to survive extremely low temperatures. Easier to spot than edelweiss are blue trumpet gentians or harebells. Perhaps a little gaudy and much larger is the alpine orange lily. You may also see, growing heroically on inhospitable scree, the golden yellow Rhaetian poppy, larger flowered yellow ox-eye or the globeflower. Attractive even to those with the most casual interest in flowers are orchids, the most spectacular of which is probably the lady’s slipper orchid with its maroon and yellow petals. At the treeline, conifers dominate: silver fir, arolla pine and larch are the main species with dwarf pine higher up on the scree.
Like the flowers, animals have to be capable of surviving extreme conditions living on slim pickings. Perhaps the most prolific, and certainly the easiest to spot, are marmots. They look like a tubby meerkat (with a similar upright posture) but in fact are a type of squirrel. They live in colonies and whistle to each other as a warning. The colony leader, standing upright, spots or smells danger, issues a whistle that often echoes around a rock face, and the colony of marmots promptly disappears underground. You will certainly see and hear them along the route.
Sunbathing marmots
Less common and generally seen only in the distance are the chamois and ibex. Both in the past have been hunted to near extinction and both are happily in recovery. They are part of the goat-antelope family and share with their domestic brethren a distinct goat-like smell. As well as being incredibly nimble over rocks and up the side of mountains (occasionally unhelpfully dislodging stones) they graze in places where even in summer there is little in the way of grass. The male ibex has much bigger horns than chamois and the chamois has a distinctive black strip on its face.
Also specially adapted for alpine conditions and quite common is the black alpine salamander and its more spectacular cousin the fire salamander (black with gold patches). The alpine salamander is the only European amphibian to give birth to live young (usually two of them) emerging after developing inside the mother for three years – a longer gestation period even than the elephant (just over two years).
The Alps are not a particularly rich habitat for birds. Most common is the alpine chough, a small hyperactive crow specifically adapted for high altitude,. Also important is the nutcracker, a bird that looks similar to a starling, which plays a key role in the life of the arolla pine distributing, in a good year, up to 100,000 seeds in holes up to a metre under the snow at the perfect depth for germination. The nutcracker has a brilliant memory. It returns for most of the seeds but leaves enough to secure future generations of the tree. If you see a raptor it is likely to be a common buzzard although there are also honey buzzards around. There are about 350 pairs of golden eagle in the Austrian Alps so if you’re lucky you might see one of them as well.
What’s the walking like?
As well as passing through superlative scenery the Munich to Venice trail neatly combines challenge with accessibility. Although it stays within the magic zone between treeline (1800m) and snowline (2800m) for much of the way, valleys do have to be crossed and descents made, with varying levels of ease. It’s a safe and accessible route, providing sensible caution is taken with the weather, and largely avoids the skiing areas which scar the landscape in many places (the chief exceptions being the Sella massif and the Hintertux Glacier). Although the route is rarely crowded, this is not a walk for those seeking solitude, despite spending so many days above 2000m.
How hard is it?
Climbing out the Val de Tita (Stage 17) with the help of fixed cables
Ludwig designed his Munich to Venice backpacking route for ‘any able-bodied walker’. By this he meant walkers who were happy to walk for around thirty days, carrying seven kilogrammes for around seven hours a day and climbing an average of a thousand metres a day. Ludwig was a German and an Alpinist so he assumed walkers would have a head for heights, which is an essential requirement on several short exposed stretches. On the most exposed sections there are fixed steel ropes and pegs driven into a rock face to help you progress. This is a common feature of Alpine walking and something the average German or Austrian takes for granted but which you might find challenging the first time you come across it. Most of these stretches are near the most spectacular sections of the route, however, and it would be a shame to miss them.
While a reasonable level of fitness, a head for heights and a desire for adventure are all essential requirements for anyone tackling the Traumpfad, it does make a good choice for walkers planning their first independent trek in the Alps. Experience of mountain walking is an advantage but it is not necessary and this guide makes no assumptions about previous experience.
How long will it take?
Descent from Schlauchkarsattel (Stage 16)
The Traumpfad is 569km long and involves 27,000 metres of ascent. The most popular German schedule takes 29 days but assumes that walkers take the chairlift on one section of the walk (Stage 7). The schedule in this guide is similar but assumes that some walkers at least will want to walk ‘every step of the way’ from Munich to Venice and an extra day has therefore been included.
Stages are designed to start and finish where accommodation is available. The daily walking times are between 5hrs 30mins and 9hrs. Matching these times