The Wilder Kaiser, from Ellmau
| Start/Finish | Kufstein (499m) |
| Distance | 58km |
| Grade | 3 |
| Time | 4 days |
| Location | East of Kufstein |
| Highest point | Ackerl Hut ruins (1720m) |
| Maps | See Route 68 |
Making a circular tour of the Wilder Kaiser mountains, this four-day walk reveals the full glory of this stunningly beautiful and scenically diverse region. It uses two mountain huts, and spends a third night in the small village of Gasteig, west of Kirchdorf. A brief outline only is given, although some individual sections of the route are treated to a more detailed description elsewhere in this guide. See map of Route 68 for an outline of this route.
The Wilder Kaiser, from Ellmau
Day 1 From Kufstein to the Stripsenjochhaus, this initial stage of the walk explores the deep and enchanting Kaisertal. Route 60 above describes the route as far as the Hans-Berger-Haus, a short distance upvalley from Hinterbärenbad (3hrs), and from the TVN-owned hut the path continues, now climbing through woodland on the Nordalpenweg to gain the Stripsenjoch in another 1½–1¾hrs. Spend the night in the Stripsenjochhaus.
Day 2 The easiest stage of the tour, this day’s route simply descends from the Stripsenjoch to Griesner Alm in the Kaiserbachtal, then takes the gentle path down the right bank of the Kaiserbach to Griesenau (Route 69 in reverse). The final section of this stage merely walks southeast through the Kohlenbach valley to Gasteig, a small village with at least 3 hotels (contact: kirchdorf@ferienregion.at; www.ferienregion.at).
Day 3 Turning westward now, the first phase of the Wilder-Kaiser-Steig is followed as far as the Grutten Hut above Ellmau – see Route 68. In some ways this is the most demanding stage of the four-day tour, and the route reaches its highest point (1720m) about 5hrs into the walk. After this, there’s the challenging klettersteig of the Jubilaumssteig which leads to the Grutten Hut.
Day 4 The circular tour of the district is completed by walking the second stage of the Wilder-Kaiser-Steig as outlined in Route 68. It takes an undulating course along the south flank of the Wilder Kaiser, in and out of forest, but with lovely views throughout, and finally descends to Kufstein where the tour began.