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.
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.
DETAILS
TIME ONE-WAY: 4-5 hours
HEIGHT DIFF.: 300 m
MAX. HEIGHT: 2.086 m
TRAIL-NO.: 3-18A-4/E5-23
HUTS: Panorama Bistro, Piffinger Köpfl alpine hut, Waidmann alpine hut, Kirchsteiger alpine hut, Meraner alpine hut
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HEIGHT DIFF.: 300 m
MAX. HEIGHT: 2.086 m
TRAIL-NO.: 3-18A-4/E5-23
HUTS: Panorama Bistro, Piffinger Köpfl alpine hut, Waidmann alpine hut, Kirchsteiger alpine hut, Meraner alpine hut
OPEN THE MAP >
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FROM THE MID-WAY STATION
TO MASO GSTEIER
Ride the ropeway to its mid-way station, a fascinating architectural feat, take a short walk downhill crossing the steep pastures of the Maso Gsteier inn and treat yourself to some of their famous home-cooked delicacies. From there, you can hike to scenic Scena, uphill to the mountain station of the ropeway or simply back down to the valley station.
GRANDE PICCO IVIGNA
There are several paths that lead to the top of Ivigna, but the feeling once you've reached the peak is always the same: After mastering its exposed south-western flank or completing the via ferrata to the top, a sense of pure freedom takes hold. An absolute must: a stop-over at the Rifugio Kuhleiten inn, the true home of Alpine hospitality.