A scenic walk to an 800 year old village, one of the oldest farming settlements in Austria

Grade: Moderate - Long
Distance: 15km (9.5 miles)
Ascent/Descent : 300 m
Time: 4 ~ 5 hrs
Distance to Start: 45 mins
Terrain: Good well-marked vehicle tracks and footpaths
Getting There: From Matrei follow the main road south towards Lienz and turn right at Huben. This leads to the Defereggental. Follow the valley to its heart at Erlsbach, and from there turn off the main road up the Stalle Pass and continue on to the toll both. The private road then leads to Alpengasthof Oberhaus.

Map ref: goo.gl/maps/pRCHbGdkd8H2

A 7 euro toll fee allows the car up a private road to Alpengasthof Oberhaus at 1,770 m. From the car park of Alpengasthof Oberhaus, you have the choice of going up the vehicle track on the right hand side of the stream, or crossing the bridge and going up a small footpath on the left hand side. We decided to take the vehicle track on the way up, and then use the small footpath on the way down. The two tracks join on the left hand side after a while, and continue up towards Jagdhausalm. The path drops down to the stream across meadows, and then climbs up to the village itself.

Jagdhausalm is a collection of 15 stone buildings and a chapel. Although the buildings themselves were built in the thirteen century, archeological finds date back even further to the 7th century B.C., confirming that the area was commonly used as a hunting ground as early as the Stone Age, making it one of the earliest known settlements in Austria.