Zillertal Valley

Impressions of Zillertal by Danielle Brown:

It is early in the morning. I am about to embark on a bike trip far up the mountain to an altitude of 2,200m. I’m definitely not a mountain bike pro and tell myself “I will be fine” as I gaze at 29 shiny new mountain bikes. But a surprise – mine has an e-motor. Is this cheating? Marc our local guide reads my mind as he says “Don’t worry, you’re actually going to work your legs quite a lot today! The e-bike simply supports you when the path steepens.”

We take the cable car to the mountain station at 1,800m, one of 8 cable cars in the Zillertal equipped with spacious, ramped gondolas that can easily transport mountain bikes to heights from which you have access to glorious panoramic biking routes. Marc explains that the Zillertal offers more than 800km of varied bike trails, from leisurely routes along the valley up to the mountain pastures, to scenic trails that lead to the peaks of some of Austria’s most stunning summits. “The best thing is that we have separated the bike trails from the hiking routes, so you never get in the way of hikers,” Marc says. “Can you feel the fresh air in your lungs? We are at over 1000m of altitude and even if the air has a slightly reduced oxygen content it is almost entirely free of pollen which works wonders for your body,” he explains.

Today’s final destination is a mountain hut where we sit on a sun-kissed patio. Owner Martin serves us a cool Zillertal beer and remarks that this will “recharge our batteries” as it contains a lot of electrolytes – even the beer is healthy here! A glorious feast is placed before us - a platter of smoked ham, hey milk cheese, fresh butter and brown bread. With both mine and my e-bikes’ batteries recharged, we head 1000m downhill. I understand now, why the Zillertal has been chosen as Austria’s best bike region!

For further information on the Zillertal Valley and to book your holiday, visit: www.zillertal.at