September 2020 - Our trip to Seiser Alm

In my previous idea of an alpine pasture, I always saw a single mountain meadow in front of me. But I have known since we were on Seiser Alm that it can be much bigger. With an area of 56 km², it is not only large, it is actually the largest in all of Europe. In terms of landscape, this high alpine pasture could also be called a high plain or high plateau.

A trip to Seiser Alm is definitely worth it. The bus ride from Bolzano to Seis am Schlern takes only about 30 minutes by bus (number 170). From there, the Seiser Alm cable car goes up to the Compatsch mountain station, overcoming an impressive 800 meters in altitude. By the way, it is designed as a circulating cable car and, according to its own statement, one of the most modern in all of Europe. Unfortunately, because it is privately operated, it is not part of the Bozen Card or any other guest card from South Tyrol. We paid 18 euros per person for a round trip.

But once you have reached the top, you can expect a magnificent panorama and many hiking trails. There are so many that you can accidentally end up somewhere completely different. Like us.

Actually, we had planned a route to the Witches' Benches. For the first ascent, you can use another cable car. We thought we had found it. But instead of ending up on Puflatsch, the Panorama Bahn took us to the opposite mountain.

But take a look at the photos. It was still beautiful there, even though we initially desperately searched for the way. In the end, we walked to Sattler Schwaige. And as befits an alpine pasture, we met many cows along the way.