Tyrol & the Alps: Hiking, Peaks & Mountain Lakes

Today you ascend from the heart of Innsbruck into the spectacular Nordkette range with your mountain guide. You ride the striking funicular and cable cars that climb in minutes from the city high into the mountains, stepping out amid alpine grandeur with breathtaking views over Innsbruck, the Inn valley and endless peaks. You set off on a high ridge trail suited to your fitness, hiking amid rock, alpine flowers and sweeping panoramas, your guide sharing the geology, wildlife and stories of the range, perhaps spotting chamois or alpine choughs. You pause at a mountain hut for a hearty lunch with a view. The fresh air, scenery and exhilaration are wonderful. As the day ends, you descend to Innsbruck. This evening, savour a hearty dinner and the Old Town's cosy atmosphere. Rest well, for tomorrow brings more Tyrolean trails.

Today you explore more of the beautiful Tyrol on foot with your guide. You journey into a spectacular valley near Innsbruck, perhaps the Stubai or Zillertal, where cable cars carry you into the high country and well-marked trails lead through flower-strewn summer meadows grazed by cows with jangling bells, past crystal streams, thundering waterfalls and alpine lakes, to breathtaking viewpoints and cosy mountain huts. You hike at a pace and difficulty tailored to you, your guide pointing out alpine flowers, marmots and the ways of mountain life, and pause for a hearty hut lunch amid the peaks. The beauty, freedom and fresh air are exhilarating. As the day ends, you return to Innsbruck. This evening, relax over dinner in a welcoming tavern, perhaps with Tyrolean folk music. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey to the lakes and glaciers of Zell am See.

This morning you journey through spectacular Alpine scenery to Zell am See, cradled between a beautiful lake and the high peaks of the Hohe Tauern, Austria's largest national park, where you settle into your hotel. This superb mountain base blends a sparkling lake with soaring summits and glittering glaciers. With your guide you set off to explore, riding a cable car or funicular into the high country, perhaps towards the mighty Kitzsteinhorn glacier, and hiking amid alpine pastures and peaks with breathtaking views, your guide sharing the wonders of the national park. Back at the lake, you might swim or relax by the clear water after your exertions. The blend of lake, meadow, peak and glacier is beautiful. This evening, savour a hearty dinner by the lake. Rest well, for tomorrow brings the breathtaking Grossglockner high road.

Today you drive one of the great scenic routes of Europe, the breathtaking Grossglockner High Alpine Road, beneath Austria's highest peak. From Zell am See, you ascend in dizzying hairpins through ever-wilder alpine scenery of meadows, rushing streams, glaciers and jagged summits, stopping at spectacular viewpoints where marmots whistle and the panorama unfolds. You reach the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Hohe, gazing across to the mighty 3,798-metre Grossglockner and the Pasterze glacier, and walk short high trails amid the alpine world, perhaps spotting ibex. The scale, drama and beauty of this high mountain world are breathtaking. As the day ends, you return to Zell am See, exhilarated by the great road and the highest Alps. This evening, savour a hearty dinner and the peace of the lake. Rest well, for tomorrow you journey to the beautiful Salzkammergut and Hallstatt.

This morning you journey through beautiful mountain and lake scenery to Hallstatt, the impossibly pretty lakeside village of the Salzkammergut, a gentle and lovely finale to your Alpine adventure. You travel past jewel-like lakes and green peaks, arriving at Hallstatt, cradled between a mirror-still lake and towering mountains, one of the most beautiful villages in the world, a cluster of pastel houses reflected in the water. You wander its flower-decked lanes and lakeside promenade, ride the funicular to the Skywalk viewpoint high above for a final breathtaking panorama, and perhaps take a gentle walk or a lake boat. After days on the high trails, the serene beauty is a wonderful reward. This evening, savour a relaxed dinner by the lake, reflecting on the peaks, glaciers and trails of your journey. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow.

After a final morning amid the serene beauty of Hallstatt, perhaps a last lakeside stroll in the soft early light before the day-trippers arrive, you are transferred through the mountains to the airport (typically Salzburg) for your onward departure. You leave having immersed yourself in the spectacular, beautiful Austrian Alps, the Nordkette peaks above Innsbruck, the flower-strewn trails and waterfalls of the Tyrol, the lakes and glaciers of Zell am See and the Hohe Tauern, the breathtaking Grossglockner high road, and the serene lakeside beauty of Hallstatt. The images stay vivid long after you land, the ridge trails high above Innsbruck, the glittering glaciers, the hairpins of the Grossglockner beneath Austria's highest peak, and the reflection of Hallstatt in its still lake. The Austrian Alps offer soaring beauty, exhilarating hiking and warm mountain hospitality in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return to these magnificent mountains.