06/01/2026
I want to share a trek I genuinely love
but Iâll say this upfront: itâs not for everyone.
When I first read about the Zillertaler Runde (some of you might know parts of it as the Berliner HĂśhenweg / Berlin High Trail), I was honestly terrified.
Exposed sections.
Via ferrata bits.
Long days.
I seriously considered switching to something safer or more straightforward.
Whatâs funny is that in hindsight, I remember it as almost perfect alpine route.
Yes, itâs challenging.
Yes, there are ferrata sections.
You donât need gear, but you do need to be comfortable with exposure in general. And no, itâs not one of those trails where you just walk and zone out.
What really surprised me was the balance. Thereâs a beautiful rhythm between demanding trail and calmer sections, even though focus is always required. The terrain keeps changing constantly. Boulders, wide open plateaus, almost flat stretches, gentle ups and downs, streams, sharp climbs, tough descents, and of course a lake. It has everything.
I wasnât bored for a second.
The last day was exhausting, I wonât lie. I broke it by sleeping in a bivouac, which helped a lot. At one point the weather didnât play along, so I briefly detoured into Italy, stopped at a rifugio, then rejoined the route near the lake and continued the loop. That small decision completely changed the rest of the trek and gave me perfect weather afterward.
The landscapes are wild, raw, and deeply alpine.
So no, I wouldnât recommend it blindly.
But if youâre comfortable with exposure, enjoy routes that keep you alert, and like solving little problems along the way, the Zillertaler Runde can be incredibly rewarding.
Sometimes the trails that scare us the most on paper are the ones we remember most fondly.
