The Stone Men
A hike to a place shrouded in mystery
A viewpoint offering more than just breath-taking vistas: You can sense the magic and use your imagination to travel back to mysterious times long gone.
This spectacular hilltop plateau is covered in more than a hundred stacks of rocks arranged dramatically around a summit cross. No-one knows for sure what these figures are and how they came about, or who made them and why. The theories range from shepherds who built them to pass the time to hikers wanting to leave their mark and all the way into a dark and mysterious past, when the hills were said to be a place of worship for witches.
From the ropeway mountain station, on the trail no. 3, the hiking route runs along trail no. 18A all the way to the Malga Kirchsteiger inn. With views reaching far and wide into the surrounding peaks, the hike continues along trail no. 4/E5 to Giogo dei Prati, and then on along trail no. 23 until you reach the Stone Men hilltop plateau.
Return along the same route all the way to the mountain station of Merano 2000. Alternatively, if you started your hike at Falzeben rather than at the ropeway mountain station, return along trail no. 2 to Malga Vöraner Alm, and from there to the village of Avelengo, where you can catch the bus to Falzeben.
! OUR TIP: If you want to shorten the way, take the cable car Naifjoch to the mid station VISTA or the mountain hut Waidmann and start your hike from here. The Summer-Day-Ticket >
This spectacular hilltop plateau is covered in more than a hundred stacks of rocks arranged dramatically around a summit cross. No-one knows for sure what these figures are and how they came about, or who made them and why. The theories range from shepherds who built them to pass the time to hikers wanting to leave their mark and all the way into a dark and mysterious past, when the hills were said to be a place of worship for witches.
From the ropeway mountain station, on the trail no. 3, the hiking route runs along trail no. 18A all the way to the Malga Kirchsteiger inn. With views reaching far and wide into the surrounding peaks, the hike continues along trail no. 4/E5 to Giogo dei Prati, and then on along trail no. 23 until you reach the Stone Men hilltop plateau.
Return along the same route all the way to the mountain station of Merano 2000. Alternatively, if you started your hike at Falzeben rather than at the ropeway mountain station, return along trail no. 2 to Malga Vöraner Alm, and from there to the village of Avelengo, where you can catch the bus to Falzeben.
! OUR TIP: If you want to shorten the way, take the cable car Naifjoch to the mid station VISTA or the mountain hut Waidmann and start your hike from here. The Summer-Day-Ticket >
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ON THE RIDGE
OF GIOGO DI PIETRAMALA
A trip right into the uppermost reaches of Merano 2000 provides impressive views down into the Sarntal valley: this circular hike via the Mittager Alpine Hut leads first to the Windspitz, then continues to the Kesselberg Alpine Hut and from there to the Giogo di Pietramala. Fabulous views are guaranteed!
