Some information on the Salt Trail (SalzAlpenSteig).
The SalzAlpenSteig trail stretches over 230 km with 18 daily stages that run from Bavaria via Salzburg to Upper Austria. The premium hiking trail leads along the salt extraction sites that have been significant for thousands of years, with their historical treasures and cultural testimonies. From the Chiemsee-Alpenland, through the Chiemgau, Bad Reichenhall, Berchtesgaden-Königssee and Salzburg’s Tennengau to the Dachstein-Salzkammergut, salt has shaped history. You pass magnificent lakes and historic sites. We are walking the sections from Bernau am Chiemsee to Konigsee over 6 days.
Today we walked 22.5 kms, went up 503 meters and down 724 meters. We travelled from Inzell to Bad Reichenhall. It was a long but enjoyable day and also very varied as we started the walk through the Weissbachschlucht Gorge along by River Weissbach and followed the river until we reached Gasthof Mauthausl, where we stopped for a coffee and cake. We sat on the terrace and had the most amazing view across to the mountains. It was hard to get up and continue our walk!!
We passed a wood shed where all the wood was perfectly stacked as in the photo. The countryside is very pristine and clean. We followed the Hollenbach river on a woodland road until we reached the Hollenbachsteig trail which enabled us to ascend towards Thumsee lake.
As we are walking through the countryside we come across lovely little cafes (as pictured below) where you can sit outside and watch the world go by in these beautiful fields and forests. Then we went on through the forests and descended to Lake Thumsee. Surrounded by the mountain panorama of the Prealps, near the alpine town of Bad Reichenhall is the picturesque blue and turquoise gem of Lake Thumsee. With a width of about 400 metres and a length of about 1,000 metres, it extends into a landscape conservation area named after it.
After a lunch break at lake Thumsee we walked on through the forest path to Bad Reichenhall. What a lovely old town. Bad Reichenhall is a lively spa and convention town that combines tradition with modernity. It is a traditional center of salt production, obtained by evaporating water saturated with salt from brine ponds. We wandered through the old town in the early evening and watched the young children dancing which was a delight.
