KAUNERTAL
Are you looking for a place to relax, enjoy the mountains with its landscapes and hikes even if you are in a wheelchair or have problems walking for long distances?
Well guys … I have the perfect solution for you: the KAUNERTAL.
INTRODUCTION
We have organized our trip to the Kaunertal valley with the Tirol Werbung the Regional Tourist Office of the Austrian Tirol.
During our four-day stay we explored the area, stayed in a fully accessible hotel and reached the top of not one, but two mountains in a fully accessible manner.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Kaunertal is a small valley on the Austrian side of Tirol. It is located at an altitude of about 1200 meters above sea level and can be easily reached by car from Italy passing through Switzerland or continuing north from Bolzano.
It is a very quiet valley where you will not find crowds of tourists or queues at restaurants and where you can spend your holidays in relax and tranquility.
WHAT TO DO IN KAUNERTAL
The main attractions of Kaunertal are certainly its mountains and the possibility of exploring them even for people with disabilities.
In fact, many hikes have roads wide enough to be traveled in a wheelchair without problems and others have been made accessible thanks to the use of wooden walkways and paths along the entire route.
It is possible to explore the area by bike, handbike or with an electric wheel without problems and it is possible to rent the equipment directly on the spot.
One of the main attractions is the Kaunertal glacier which can be reached by car and for the last part with a cable car, it goes without saying that everything is accessible!
WHERE TO SLEEP IN KAUNERTAL
This time I want to tell you about the hotel that hosted us first of all, because it is the center and the beating heart of accessible activities in the valley.
The Weisseespitze hotel is the largest hotel in the area, complete with restaurant, spa and covered indoor parking, but what makes this hotel special is the attention it has paid over the years to people with disabilities.
Not only does it have many accessible rooms, but it is constantly updating its spaces, making them more and more accessible and conceiving them in such a way that they are usable for everyone.
How many hotels have you visited that have raised the entire floor to make the bar counter the right height?
Or how many spas have you seen with the lift to get in and out of the tubs without problems?
But the services that impressed us the most of all concern accessible outdoor activities.
In fact, the Weisseespitze hotel offers its guests the possibility to rent handbikes, Swiss Trac (which I will tell you more in a minute) and electric front wheels.
In this way everyone can fully enjoy the magnificent hikes, bike rides or simply wander the surroundings of the valley more comfortably.
All this means that many people with disabilities (and not, of course) choose it as a starting point for their excursions.
If you decide to stay here, I recommend that you choose the half-board option, as the dinner is excellent, the menu changes every day and you will not have to look for a restaurant around the valley.
THE SPA
The Weisseespitze hotel has a spa reserved for adults complete with swimming pools, saunas at different temperatures and an outdoor swimming pool for sunny days.
There is also a massage and wellness center.
But I remind you that in Austria it is customary to enter the sauna without clothes or bikini.
I leave you the hotel website for further information
ACCESSIBLE HIKES
The Kaunertal valley offers hundreds of paths and hikes, for all tastes and difficulty levels.
We have obviously focused on the more accessible attractions and will tell you about our experience below.
ADLERBLICK
It is a beautiful platform from which it is possible to admire the whole valley from above.
The hike leading to the platform is not accessible by wheelchair, but it is possible to reach it by car without any problems and park a few meters from the platform.
There are parking slots reserved exclusively for people with disabilities, but not a lot, so I advise you to choose a time that is not excessively crowded (even if in general the valley is very quiet and you will never find crowds).
VERPEILHUTTE
It is a refuge just above 2000 meters high at the foot of peaks over 3000 meters high.
It can be reached with a walk of about 40 minutes from the car park which you can easily reach by car.
Usually it would have been a real undertaking to reach it (and often impossible), but we managed to get there without problems (and no, Andrea didn’t carry me all the time).
We used the Swiss Trac made available at the Weisseespitze hotel for its guests and so we reached the summit effortlessly or at least with the right effort of those who take a 40-minute walk at 2000 meters…
THE SWISS TRAC
For to be clear we could define the Swiss Trac as a kind of mini tractor that attaches itself in front of the wheelchair and pulls you up the path, even for very steep sections, with stones, earth or grass.
It runs on batteries and we went all the way to the top and down and the battery was still fully charged, so you shouldn’t have any problems on even the longest walks.
We also crossed a couple of streams, walked around the meadows and of course did the whole uphill and downhill ride.
In points where the ground is particularly soft, the wheels tend to skid a little and it is more difficult to go downhill than uphill as the inclination of the Swiss Trac is more favorable when climbing.
The Swiss Trac is quite heavy, so if you want to go for a walk alone you won’t be able to load and unload it from the car, but you can ask for a ramp to help you get it into the car with the help of another person.
I enjoyed this walk, but above all it gave me the opportunity to take a walk in the mountains in an easy and carefree way and guys… it hasn’t happened to me for almost 9 years.
I don’t add anything else!
KAUNERGRAT NATIONAL PARK
On rainy days or for lovers of local flora and fauna, I also recommend a small but characteristic museum where you can find lots of information about the Kaunertal valley and the Kaunergrat mountain range.
The museum can be found HERE
On clear days, I especially recommend having lunch on the rooftop terrace from which you will have a magnificent view of the valley.
There is also a beautiful playground for families and children.
PILLER MOOR HIKE
Piller Moor ranks first for the most accessible hike for people with disabilities.
A 5-minute drive from the Kaunergrat Natural Park begins this beautiful walk that has been made accessible thanks to long wooden walkways on which you can enter the forest and walk without problems in the woods.
Only the first part (less than 5 minutes) is a bit uphill with the dirt road, but it is quite wide and it is quite beaten.
95% of this walk is completely wheelchair accessible.
Recommended!
THE GLACIER ROAD
Probably one of the main attractions of Kaunertal is the Glacier Road and its glacier.
During the ski season it is obviously a destination for many sports and snow lovers (even in wheelchairs thanks to the brand new lifts and cable cars), while in the summer it is still possible to reach the top of the glacier.
We drove up to about 2700 meters and from there we took the cable car that took us up to about 3150 meters, right on the top of the mountain on which the border with Italy is located.
You can literally put one foot in Italy and one foot in Austria on top of a mountain.
At the start of the cable car there is a huge structure that contains the bathrooms and a restaurant, very large and fully accessible.
Admission to Glacier Road costs € 25 for each car and up to 5 people and also includes the ticket to go up to the top with the cable car.
As you go back down, remember to stop at the beginning of the lake to take a picture, you won’t forget it.
IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF KAUNERTAL
For those wishing to vary a little the activities here is what we recommend.
AREA 47
Are you the eternal undecided between the beach and mountains?
Area 47 is then the perfect place with you.
It is about 40 minutes from the Weisseespitze hotel and is a huge water/adventure park.
There are water slides, climbing walls (on the swimming pool), adventure park, sports fields, rafting and of course… a cable park for wakeboarding!
I leave you the site HERE so you can take a look.
Perfect for spending a day “at the sea” even when you are in the mountains.
INNSBRUCK
For those wishing to visit some cities, Innsbruck is only about an hour from the Kaunertal valley.
We went there during the Christmas holidays a few years ago and we have wonderful memories of this city. Small, but very beautiful and characteristic
SOMETHING YOU CAN’T FIND ON GOOGLE
On the first day we asked our guide for some activity or experience to do in Kaunertal that was not found on Google.
The next day he proposed a visit to a local distillery that produces liqueurs and in particular Schnapps, a local grappa.
The distillery is called Holderli and has been producing liqueurs for three generations.
For lovers and connoisseurs it is a stop not to be missed. For everyone else well … if it’s cold you know how to warm up.
Among other things, traditionally you have to drink three shots: one for the right leg, one for the left and the third to balance!
I’ll put the position here because in fact… it’s not on Google!
Feichten 184, 6524 Kaunertal, Austria
CONCLUSIONS
In one word I could define this holiday: unexpected!
Finally, after almost 9 years, being able to take a walk in the mountains peacefully gave me an unexpected joy.
You have to know that it is something I used to love and with my family we used to go very often.
Before this holiday I had never found a way to do it except with a thousand problems or organizing everything with the utmost precision, things that certainly make the experience less pleasant.
That’s why I really feel like recommending the Kaunertal to all people in wheelchairs or who have difficulty walking who want to fully enjoy their time in the mountains, the experiences and activities that can be done.
On Instagram someone wrote to me that they have already been in the area and others who would like to go there, so write me in the comments, on Instagram or HERE and tell me about your experiences in the mountains.
See you soon and to the next article!
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