13^Apr Sat
07:35

Let´s explore another very interesting route in Chiemgau this weekend!

The smuggler's route. A hiking trail, with a river (Tiroler Ache), bridges and a huge rock with a legend surrounding it. As the name suggests, it is a route that was previously used by smugglers. Because the route takes us from Bavaria to Tyrol.

The starting point of the hike is the bus stop Ettenhausen (Schleching). From there the path is signposted “Klobenstein” or “Schmugglerweg”. For the first few minutes you walk through flower meadows until you come to a forest path. The first hour of the hike is more of a walk across meadows and in the forest. If you're lucky, you'll see a fire salamander. 

Then the smuggler's path begins, just as you would imagine. A narrow path leads in serpentines into the forest. There you have to climb over stones and roots. You get to pass through a small lake Rudersburgersee, an idyllic place where the surrounding mountain foorest is reflected ib the smooth surface of the lake.

At the highest point of the Schmugglerweg there is a bench from which you have a beautiful view. You get to admire the Entenlochklamm (nature reserve since 1982), a 2,5 km km long roky narrow passage through which the Tiroler Ache, the turquoise blue river that runs for 79 km from the Kitzbühel Alps to Chiemsee.

Just a few meters from the bench you can see the border sign, which means that you are now in Austria.

Now it's not far to the destination. Follow a path again for a few minutes and you will arrive at a serpentine path again. But this time you hike downhill. Once at the bottom, the path leads over a suspension bridge over the beautiful Tyrolean Achen. You can often see people kayaking or rafting here.

If you follow the path for another five minutes, you will reach the Klobenstein Inn. it's worth going. The Klobenstein is just a few steps away from the inn. A legend says that when an old lady was walking alone from Kössen to Marquartstein, a huge rock came loose and rolled straight towards her. She called out to God for help and miraculously the rock split in two and landed on her left and right. After this event a small church was built. Today you can walk between the two parts of the rock and that is very impressive! From here for good 300 m along the road back towards Ettenhausen until a forest road branches off to the left immediately before the tunnel. Following the forest road we reach a clear curve with a junction (704 m), here on the left we reach the Streichen pilgrimage church, which we reach in three quarters of an hour and which offers beautiful views to the north and south.

Above the inn we continue to follow the road and then turn right at an intersection (782 m) and after a few minutes left. We now leave the forest and climb past the Petereralm and Donaueralm in a long right-hand bend towards the “Rauhe Nadel” ridge. After a short descent left to the Taubensee, we divert west towards the Taubenseehütte where we have a refreshing break. We then go up again to Taubensee

You won't necessarily find pigeons here. The name Taubensee is derived from “Daubbn”, stone crabs native here which is how crabs that can actually be found in the lake are called in this area.

The Taubensee is a mountain lake in Chiemgau. Apart from the crabs, another special thing about it is that part is in Bavaria and part in Tyrol. This means you can swim from one country to another.

The lake is also known as the "Blue Eye of Chiemgau” – that’s what a poet called the Taubensee. We hike then up to Sonnwendköpfl (1278m, 20 minutes one way). This viewpoint, where mountain fairs are also celebrated, is a very special place. If the visibility is right, you can see the highest mountain in Austria, the Großglockner. Kaisergebirge, Unterberghorn, Eggenalm, Sonntagshorn, the view from Sonnwendköpfl is simply breathtaking. We continue catching the premium hiking trail Alpin Chiemseeblick that follows the normal route starting from the Stoibenmöseralm down. The path crosses the alpine pasture area on a narrow forest path for 500 meters in an easterly direction.The view of Lake Chiemsee, the Hochgern and the Bavarian foothills of the Alps becomes even more beautiful with every step, before it continues downhill into the forest. 

After another 15 minutes, this path joins a forest road that leads to Glapfalm and further towards Hausbachfallsteig. With a spectacular view of the picturesque mountain village and the via ferrata and the waterfalls on the opposite side of the path, the destination, the Reit im Winkl chapel (742m), is not far away. We finally get to our final destination: Reit im WInkl.