dossier

Walking in Oberammergau

Day 1: Arrive in Oberammergau
A private transfer is provided from Munich airport to your hotel in Oberammergau. Time to explore the village and get your bearings before dinner.

Day 2: Villages of the Ammer Valley  14km/3.5hr
Hop on the little red train for the 15 min ride to the pretty spa village of Bad Kohlgrub, then walk through the rolling Ammer Valley, the snow-capped Alps in the distance. A leisurely lunch in Altenau, before heading out via a string of sleepy farming villages - Unterammergau, in particular, has a splendid Rococo church. Then across the Pulvermoos, a wildlife sanctuary and habitat for 60 bird species including corncrake, dipper, whinchat and even snipe.

Day 3: Mountains and Monasteries Walk  12km/3.5hr
A little bit of everything today, starting with a cable car ride to the top of the Laberjoch (1685m) for panoramic views of Germany’s highest mountain - Zugspitze (2962m) - and the Austrian Alps beyond. You then wind your way down through cool pine forests to the village of Ettal. After lunch, visit the amazing 14C former Benedictine monastery, an outstanding example of Bavarian Baroque architecture. Return on an easy path along the pretty valley, passing the Bärenhöhle cave where there’s a figure of the resurrected Christ.

Day 4: Lake Staffelsee  17km/5hr
Staffelsee is one of the larger of the many picturesque blue lakes dotted around this part of Bavaria. This beautiful stretch of water offers easy walking along the shoreline through a patchwork of woodland, meadows and Moos marshland, with plenty of swimming opportunities. Stop off for lunch in the attractive riverside village of Uffing (magnificent view of the lake backed by mountains). In the afternoon, either relax in the sun on the panorama deck of the little lake cruiser (pay locally), passing hidden coves and the lake’s 7 islands (one even has its own tiny chapel!), or return on foot along the ‘wild’ shore of the lake.

Day 5: Free day
A day off from walking: Maybe take the local bus to Mad King Ludwig’s fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein - breathtaking setting on a rocky outcrop. Or take the funicular to the top of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze (breathtaking 360º panorama of endless peaks spanning: Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Germany). Or, if you prefer to stay closer to home, spend the afternoon by the Wellenberg outdoor pool (swimming, sauna, jacuzzi, spa).

Day 6: Sonnenberg Ridge Walk  17km/5hr
The Kolben chairlift whisks you up to 1258m, from where there’s a choice of routes up to the spectacular Sonnenberg ridge. Your route down passes a succession of crashing waterfalls and the reconstructed 19C whetstone mill at Schleifmühle, followed by a pretty path down through the meadows.

Day 7: Linderhof Palace  15km/3.5hr
An unmissable visit to Schloss Linderhof, the gloriously over-the-top Rococo palace built by Mad King Ludwig in 1878, inspired by Louis XIV’s château in Versailles. There are gorgeous French and Italianate terraced gardens and a golden fountain which erupts once every hour with a 30m plume of water. Return to the hotel along a tranquil path which winds back down the Linder valley through the village of Graswang with its beautifully preserved old farmhouses and pretty 17C frescoed church.

Day 8: Leave Oberammergau