A long-distance hike for people who never thought they'd walk a multi-day trail
Going on a hike with all your luggage in tow? For many hikers, this might seem like a serious challenge. But once you give multi-day tours and long-distance hikes a chance, you'll quickly fall for their charms. On the way from picturesque villages to traditional mountain huts, you are able to experience more – more nature, more hospitality, more adventure. And somewhere along the way, your journey of self-sufficiency will become one of self-discovery too, finding moments of calm and mindfulness as you make your way through the Austrian countryside, carrying everything you need on your back.
This is where the Isel Trail comes in – a long-distance trail in East Tirol, opened in 2020. Hiking the entire course of the river Isel in 5 stages - from its mouth in the city of Lienz to its source at the Umbalkees glacier - we experience different worlds: sunny valleys, picturesque villages, fairy-tale forests, breathtaking waterfalls, and even arctic glacier landscapes.
The first three stages in particular are suitable for families and beginners. You can also take a break and spend a day in one of the chocolate-box villages along the way, getting to know the land and its people. The best time of year to walk the Isel Trail? Between May and September.
As we set out, the Isel river gently gurgles through Lienz, capital of East Tirol, a medieval town filled with colourful facades that contrast starkly with the rough Dolomite mountains behind them.
Starting at the railway station, we stroll through the streets towards the medieval Bruck Castle towering over the city. With its turrets and crenellations, it looks like it came straight out of a children's drawing.
We leave the city behind; the landscape starts to change. The first islands appear, then gravel banks, followed by unexpected sandy beaches that give the river an exotic touch.
And then, the Isel shows us its magical side, when we take a quick detour into a forest canyon, where the Daberer Waterfall rushes over mossy rocks. We return to the Isel's banks and accompany the river all the way to St. Johann im Walde, a hamlet with 300 inhabitants and a red church steeple. This is where we spend our first night.
Private accommodation in St. Johann im Walde:
A morning on the Isel is a good morning: We say goodbye to our hosts and leave the picturesque village of St. Johann im Walde as we head towards Huben, passing the local quarry. And again, the Isel shows us a new face, featuring numerous elongated islands and a milky blue-green colour created by melt water and attrition, reminiscent of the cocktail on our last beach holiday.
In Huben, the time for a short break has come – from Café Landerl's panorama terrace, we marvel at wooden balconies overflowing with flowers. Later that afternoon, the valley becomes more narrow, the river wilder, both visibly and audibly: the first boulders have the water rushing and rustling. At dusk, we arrive in Matrei, located in a broad basin valley and, with 4,600 inhabitants, a veritable city.
It's day 3 already – we're starting to feel like long-distance hiking pros. And not a moment too early: today will not be easy. But at first, the Isel Trail grants us a grace period, full of wonderful woodlands. We hike south of the river through the shady valley and its dark green forests, where we feel both very small and very alive.
Then, we spot the mountain village of Virgen on the other side. With its red roofs in front of magnificent summits, it seems to come straight out of an old film. Below the village, the Isel sweeps through a forest canyon, a harbinger of what's to come - the rough Isel gorge a few kilometres upstream.
Here, there are no hiking paths along the river; from time to time, we are able to sneak a precious peek of the ravine. We are enjoying the wild river Isel, and then the calm river Isel again, until we reach our next stop, the village of Prägraten am Großvenediger.
Today, on the fourth day of our journey, the Isel will show us its most dramatic side. It begins, as it often does, quietly: at first, the turquoise river ripples and gurgles along cheerfully. Then, the first moment that takes our breath away: in the Gloschlucht gorge, we carefully step out into a rock pulpit and see the water thunder over the rocks in white arcs, whilst the water spray conjures up rainbows in mid-air.
Waterfall number 2 is the Strödener waterfall, at first only visible as a mysterious beauty spot from the Strödener bridge. We pass the Islitzeralm hut – a great lunch spot serving East Tirolean "Schlipfkrapfen" (filled dumplings) and Kaiserschmarren pancakes – towards the Lower and Upper Umbal Falls. And never before during our journey was the term "breathtaking" so apt: pure white water thunders down rocky steps; thanks to 30-metre-high steel constructions, we can get closer to the water than ever and are immersed in spray mist.
And then, our surroundings change: the forest clears, and soon we're walking on treeless terrain, which - apart from a solitary shepherd and his flock - is completely untouched by human activity. Tired and happy, we arrive at Clarahütte hut, surrounded by rock-spiked slopes and truly the only lodging option on this stage of the hike.
Today, on our last day, we are completely immersed in the glacier landscape. The surrounding land will turn steep and sparse, the Isel's water icy cold. First, we hike over meadows dotted with flowers and solitary rocks, then a terrace that was covered in glacier ice just a few decades ago. We now enter the arctic climate zone – and the sunny town of Lienz seems very far away.
At an altitude of 2,500 metres, we reach the glacier tongue, the Isel's birthplace, where pure ice turns into blue-green water. The Umbalkees glacier's icy draught transports us to a new world, and we realise that we have now experienced the entire Isel river, from portly old age all the way to its birth. Now, we make our way back to Ströden, where we will take a bus to Lienz. We say goodbye to the Isel and the best first long-distance hike we could have wished for.
On the way back to Ströden:
Lienz offers a wide variety of hotels, bed & breakfasts, and private accommodation for the nights after your hike - here's a list.
The terms multi-day tours, long-distance hikes or walks, and trekking are often used interchangeably for all hikes that take place in multiple stages and over more than one day. The term "multi-day tour" is sometimes only used to refer to shorter hikes (2-5 days), whilst "long-distance hikes" is usually used for longer tours. "Trekking" denotes hikes in uninhabited terrain that requires more equipment.
Opened in 2020, the Isel Trail is a long-distance hiking route in East Tirol, Austria. It runs along the entire course of the Isel, the longest free-flowing glacier river in the Alps. The trail is 73.5 km (45.7 mi) long and can be hiked in 5 or more stages. Along the way, hikers will encounter a variety of landscapes, from sunny valleys and roaring waterfalls to the Isel's source at a glacier tongue. The Isel Trail's distinguishing feature is that it is not designed to offer an "easy" walk, but rather lets people experience untouched nature the way it is – even if that is not always comfortable.
Before hiking a long-distance trail for the first time, test your stamina on a longer day hike carrying a heavy backpack and choose an easy route. A good option for beginners is to take longer breaks at one or more of the villages where they are spending the night.
Why the Isel, Austria's last free-flowing, glacier-fed river, in East Tirol is a success story for conservation and tourism alike
Explore the contentious history
