The Zillertal, mountains and glaciers in the heart of Tyrol

La Zillertal is a region of Tyrol not to be missed under any circumstances. This wide valley, a tributary of the Inn, located a little to the east of Innsbruck, occupies a vast massif whose peaks culminate at more than 3500 meters above sea level and the glaciers clinging to them form the border with the South Tyrol Italian.

There you will visit pretty villages, ski resorts, wild valleys and others transformed into ski areas, impressive viewpoints on the glaciers.

Easy to reach thanks to its low altitude and a railway line that takes travellers from Jenbach, on the banks of the Inn, to Mayrhofen In less than an hour, this valley is a summary of Tyrol.

Let’s quickly set off to explore the Zillertal.

Discover the Zillertal while strolling along the Ziller

The Ziller is a calm watercourse that has its source about fifty kilometres upstream from its confluence with the Inn. This source must be sought in the very wild sector of the Zillergrund, under the often cloudy summit of Rauchkofel (Mount Smoke), which is aptly named as the clouds cling to it. This phenomenon is certainly due to the meeting between the continental air of Tyrol and the more southern air of Südtirol. The Zillergründl is in fact the last piece of Tyrolean land before tipping over into Italy via the Heilig-Geist Jöchl (Holy Spirit Pass, always well-inspired Tyrolean names) or Forcella di Campo at an altitude of over 2600 metres. In Italy it is the Valle Aurina, or Ahrntal.

The Ziller therefore descends from these wild high places, before being held back by a large dam and then flowing down along the Ziller background, a long, steep-sided valley that opens into the wide Mayrhofen basin. The most important tourist centre in the valley. The altitude of Mayrhofen does not exceed 650 meters.

For the remaining 30 kilometres, or two thirds of its course, the Ziller crosses a vast plain covered with fields. It will be noted that this plain is absolutely flat. Several hundred metres wide, up to two kilometres in some places, it gives the strange impression of having been artificially prepared for the pleasure of walkers, cyclists and cross-country skiers. But in fact these are the glaciers of the Zillertal massif who have done their work of abrasion. The result is splendid. The bell towers of the various villages and hamlets point their arrows towards the sky at right angles to the ground, the slopes of the mountains, covered with forests, rise gradually with more or less slope towards the mountain pastures.

The Ziller flows peacefully, crossing its last thirty kilometres lazily, since it only descends two hundred metres before reaching the Inn.

Along the river, you travel on road and rail, passing through pretty little villages like Hippach, Zell am Ziller, Aschau, Kaltenbach, Ried, Uderns. The last villages on the route were built at a distance from the river, perhaps to avoid finding your feet in the water when the snow melts too much. But today everything seems so peaceful in this valley of Zillertal.

The main villages of the Zillertal

We named several in the last paragraph, but we will return here to those which have a touristic importance.

Let's start with a specific feature of the Zillertal, which is also common to many sites in Austria. The base of the ski lifts is very often in the valleys, at a very low altitude. If today, the return is more rarely done on the ski slope (although the low slopes are often oriented to the north) because of the lesser snow. When crossing the Zillertal, we discover these slopes all white in winter and all green in summer which zigzag in the forest. These lifts are most often open in summer as well, which allows you to quickly reach the summits and ridges without having to climb a thousand meters or more of altitude difference at the start of the hike. This is a real advantage.

We are going to see a cable car which leaves from the village of Put 650 meters to take walkers and skiers to 2000 meters of altitude of the Spieljoch. The village, the largest in the valley, with 4000 inhabitants, has interesting sites: two churches, a museum, discoveries of local crafts. The village is typical of Tyrol and Zillertal with large houses with white facades, lightly decorated, especially around the windows.

The next village, Kaltenbach, also has its ski lifts which take skiers in winter to a wider ski area, on the Marchkopf massif, at an altitude of almost 2400 metres. Quite a difference in altitude from the village located less than 600 metres away. In this village the houses have pretty wooden balconies. You can feel the more touristy side in the details: everything is orderly, clean and well signposted. Kaltenbach is one of the entrances to the Zillertaler Höhenstrasse, a route (it is a road for the mountain pastures created in 1963) at altitude, of 35 kilometers.

We then arrive at Cell in the brick. The houses are getting taller and often become small residential buildings with apartments for rent. Zell am Ziller is one of the tourist hotspots in the Zillertal. In fact, it is one of the entry points to the Zillertal ski area. Zillertal Arena. The other being Gerlos. 150 kilometers of ski slopes, served by more than 50 ski lifts between an altitude of 600 meters and 2500 meters above sea level. Many red and black slopes attract seasoned skiers who will be able to explore the peaks that border the Gerlostal. On this same domain, if you want to have your feet in the snow during your stay and a very wintery atmosphere, you will have to choose Gerl.

In summer, four ski lifts take hikers to discover more than 400 kilometers of trails.

The last large village in the Zillertal is Mayrhofen.

Mayrhofen is an internationally known ski resort. Many ski competitions take place there. More than 140 kilometers make up the ski areas on the sites of Penken and de Ahorn, both peaking at about 2000 meters, accessible from the village. Access to Penken is on the main street of the village, where bars, restaurants and shops are also concentrated. In the evening, it is an intense place for walking.

Access to Ahorn is a little further, at the end of the same street, but after the bridge that crosses the Ziller. On Ahorn, you will only ski on this massif. While Penken gives access to the connections with the ski areas of Finkenberg and Lanesbaxh up to the Eggalm. This entire area is found under the brand name of Mountopolis.

Since Mayrhofen, you can also discover the Tux Glacier ski area, at the very end of the Tuxertal, and many other beautiful valleys which we will talk about later.

In summer, the Penken and Ahorn sites are also accessible by ski lift and offer beautiful, open, airy hiking trails with beautiful views of the Zillertal Alps and glaciers.

A final word on Mayrhofen. This village, which with its 3700 inhabitants is the second largest village in the valley, appears after a last bend in the road. Although it lies at the bottom of a large, flat basin, just like the other villages in the Zillertal, Mayrhofen is at the end of the valley, closed on three sides by the steep slopes of the mountains that surround it. In the middle of winter, it is shady, there is no denying that, but in summer, it is cool despite the low altitude (only a hundred meters higher thanInnsbruck, the capital of Tyrol!). However, we can clearly see that between each mountain, there are passages, other valleys to discover.

The inner valleys of the Zillertal

Mayrhofen is located at the end of the Zillertal but at the beginning of the fan-shaped valley system that forms the Zillertal Alps massif.

Four valleys lead to Mayrhofen.

• The Zillergrund,
• The Stillupgrund,
• The Zemmtal,
• The Tuxertal,

A final large valley opens out to Cell in the brick, Gerlostal, an important passage route, across the Gerlospass towards the Salzburg Alps and central Austria.

These valleys each have a particularity which is described in the article dedicated to the hikes to do around Mayrhofen, but to give you a taste, we can summarize it like this.

Le Ziller background, the most authentic, which we mentioned at the beginning, in the description of the course of the watercourse, the Ziller, which gave its name to the whole valley. At the bottom of a valley initially steep-sided then wider, we end up reaching a large reservoir. The walk, very varied, is embellished by numerous waterfalls and pretty forests on the mountain slopes. At the entrance to the valley, Barnberg, higher than the rest of the valley, gives access to numerous very panoramic walks.

Le Stillupground, very wild and more isolated, begins with access to a dam lake and continues in a wide flat-bottomed valley until reaching a very beautiful landscape blocked by glaciers pockets of the summits.

La Zemmtal, narrow and wooded which itself is articulated in a complex of valleys. Perhaps a little less sunny than its neighbors, it is also rockier and less green. Ideal for hikers who like to get away from any sign of civilization. The reservoir of Schlegeis is simply sublime!

La Tux Valley, the most touristy of all, whose famous glaciers attract all visitors to the Zillertal, is also the most visited. In fact, it is the one that marks a tourist continuity with the Zillertal. The villages of Finkenberg and Lanersbach are part of the Mayrhofen ski area. Further on, other hamlets offer accommodation to tourists and holidaymakers up to the starting point of the cable cars to the glacier.

La Gerlostal, is different, because it is the only valley that communicates by a passable road with another Austrian province. Around the Gerlospass, a whole tourist ecosystem has been formed, ideally located for winter sports. On the other side of the pass, you can access the impressive Krimml waterfalls, the highest falls in the Alps (or even in Europe) at 385 meters high, and a flow rate strong enough to claim this title.

All these valleys will be detailed in the article dedicated to them and that you can read by clicking on this link.

La Zillertal perfectly embodies the essence of Tyrol : a lively and accessible valley, where magnificent landscapes, alpine traditions and activities in all seasons combine. Between its picturesque villages, its vast ski areas, its secret valleys and its imposing glaciers, it offers a rare diversity that seduces both lovers of unspoiled nature and mountain sports enthusiasts. Whether you choose to stroll along the Ziller, venture onto the trails leading to the mountain pastures, or climb towards the snow-capped peaks, each detour reveals a unique facet of this emblematic region of Tyrol. A welcoming land for travelers in search of authenticity and adventure, the Zillertal is also able to offer some of the most modern ski areas in the Alps and a very active nightlife and social life in the villages.

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