Gerlitzen: Mountain Panoramas, Trails and Experiences

The Gerlitzen Alpe combines expansive mountain views with an unusually wide selection of trails and experiences. The 1,911-metre-high Gerlitzen summit offers a 360-degree panorama of mountains and lakes. At the same time, the range extends from gentle walking paths to challenging mountain tours. This allows you to plan your holiday days in different ways: with a short walk, a longer hike, a family outing or a sporty mountain tour.

Hiking for Different Levels of Ability

The Gerlitzen Alpe has 147 kilometres of well-marked hiking trails. A particularly manageable summit trail starts at the mountain station of the Pöllingerbahn at an altitude of 1,660 metres. The easy, family-friendly trail takes around 30 to 45 minutes and covers 1.8 kilometres to the Gerlitzen summit. The approximate duration and length help you fit this section appropriately into your day plan without equating it with the longer mountain tours.

From the mountain station of the Pöllingerbahn two-seater chairlift, a flat, family-friendly hiking trail with views of the Hohe Tauern and the Carinthian Nock Mountains also leads to the Kammerhütte in around 30 minutes on foot. The Traumbogen summit circular trail around the summit of the Gerlitzen Alpe provides another perspective and takes approximately one and a half hours. The Kanzelhöhe circular trail is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchair users and takes around one hour.

Those looking for a more demanding challenge will find the Bergsteig 1000, a mountain path that starts directly at the valley station of the Kanzelbahn and climbs uphill beneath the Kanzelbahn towards Kanzelhöhe. Just under 1,000 metres in elevation are gained along the way. The Bergeralm circular trail offers different highlights: it passes the Greeting to Tibet, the Landscape Acupuncture, the Noreia Stairway to Heaven, the Rock Lake and the Rock Chapel. There are also activity stations for children at Berger Alm.

Experiences for Active Holiday Days

In addition to hiking, Gerlitzen offers several opportunities for shared activities. On the wooden ball track, children can watch their wooden balls overcome funnels, spirals and wave tracks on their way to the finish. The forest ropes course is located at an altitude of 1,520 metres and has 160 stations, four levels of difficulty and 31 Flying Fox ziplines at heights of 1 to 18 metres. At the Gerlitzen 3D archery course, the archery experience with bow and arrow leads through a woodland landscape. Admission, equipment, instruction and practice shooting are included in the offering.

The Kanzelhöhe Adventure Arena includes a summer tubing run. A children's bike park with trails, wave tracks and banked turns in various levels of difficulty is being created on Gerlitzen. The places of peace and contemplation created by various artists on the Gerlitzen Alpe in recent years often line the Traumbogen summit circular trail. This allows active sections to be combined with quieter discoveries, without every holiday day having to look the same.

Winter on the Gerlitzen Alpe

Different forms of activity are also available in winter. The Gerlitzen Alpe offers more than 12 kilometres of groomed winter and snowshoe hiking trails through a snow-covered mountain landscape. For alpine skiing, there are 26 ski runs of all difficulty levels, 45 kilometres of perfectly groomed pistes and 15 kilometres of natural ski routes.

When ski touring on the pistes, there is a clear rule: it is permitted exclusively on the official Gerlitzen-Klösterle ascent route, on the piste ski-touring strip of the 6.3-kilometre Klösterle valley run. It is prohibited on all other pistes. Those who want to test their speed can measure their personal top speed on a closed-off section during the Skiline Speedcheck and receive a photo showing their own speed as proof. There is also a starting point directly beside the mountain station of the Gerlitzen Gipfelbahn.

The Right Starting Point for Your Stay

When looking for a holiday apartment or holiday house in Gerlitzen, it helps to first organise the activities you want for your holiday days. For short, family-friendly routes, the Kanzelhöhe circular trail or the section to the Kammerhütte are suitable options. Anyone wishing to combine the summit panorama, longer hikes and the Bergsteig 1000 should compare the location of their accommodation with the planned starting points of the tours. For a winter stay, on the other hand, the designated pistes, ski routes and winter hiking trails are the key points of reference.

The Kanzelbahn travels from its valley station at Lake Ossiach, at an altitude of 550 metres, directly to the Kanzelhöhe Adventure Arena at an altitude of 1,440 metres in around 10 minutes. There is also a multi-storey car park with 800 free parking spaces directly at the valley station of the Gerlitzen cable cars. This information makes it easier to plan your arrival and helps you choose your preferred accommodation location based on the excursions you have planned.

Other Places for Orientation

If you would like to compare other destinations in the surrounding area in addition to Gerlitzen, you can find further places here for planning your trip: Finkenstein Am Faaker See, Feld Am See, Oberfederaun, Glanz, Sankt Magdalen, Stuben, Äußere Einöde and Riegersdorf.

For the higher-level travel overview: Villach.