Earn and Eat Your Calories in Zillertal!

The Zillertal valley is one of the most famous mountain destinations in the Eastern Alps. Home to Peter Habeler - the first man (alongside Reinhold Messner) to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen - the Zillertal (with the legendary mountain town of Mayrhofen as its capital) is well worth its reputation. The mountains are stunning and hikers, bikers, skiers and kayakers will all find a lifetime's worth of adventure in the valley. For those whose focus is culinary, the Zillertal is also fabulous, and houses literally hundreds of mountain "alms" (restaurants). In this guidebook you'll find a handful of mountain adventures which take you to these alms on both foot and bike.

To start with we've described 2 fabulous hikes from the top of the Ahornbahn cable car; the easy stroll to the rustic Finzenalm, and the tough but rewarding circular trip to and from the Edelhütte. Even tougher but equally rewarding is the hike above Brandberg village to the wonderful and quaint Kolmhaus hut.

For the biking food lovers out there, we've put a selection of routes in here which require 2 wheels and a bit of effort. Furthest north, right at the entrance to the Zillertal, is the Gasthof Kohleralmhof to Samjoch and Onkeljoch loop. There's no technical biking but plenty of great places to eat! Starting from Zell am Ziller is the journey to the Kreuzwiesenalm, which might just be - in an exceptionally strong field - the most scenic hut in the Zillertal. Above Mayrhofen are 2 brilliant rides - the trip up to the Alpengasthaus Alpenrose, which hangs high above the town, and the long Penken Loop, which passes several fabulous restaurants.

Finally we've included a tough road bike ride up the Stilluptal valley. It's a long and hard climb up the valley and you'll certainly have earned some calories by the time you finish it!

So if beautiful mountains and hearty Austrian food sound like your thing - get to the Zillertal and get earning those calories!