High Altitude Trail of Laives

Starting from the centre of Laives/Leifers at the Via Kennedy/Via Pietralba junction, walk along Via Pietralba for around four kilometers into the Brantental valley until you reach the end of the paved road. Cross the Brantental river here and follow path no. 12, which climbs steeply upwards. After 10 minutes, you will reach the former Schwabhof inn (approx. 700 m).

After a short ascent, a partly narrow but well-secured path leads through the sunny porphyry walls of the Brantental valley. From the Schwabhof, after about 1.5 hours, you will reach a magnificent viewpoint at the Hochegg farm, offering a panoramic view of the entire Val d'Adige/Etschtal valley.

From there a wide path, shaded by chestnut trees, leads past the Brunnerhof farm and continues to the Steinerhöfe, a double farmstead with a chapel. The hike from the Schwabhof farm to this point takes about 2 hours. From the Steinerhöfe farms, the path initially continues on level ground before heading into the gorge of the Rio Luisina stream.

Alternatively, it is possible to follow path no. 11 from the Steinerhöfe farm and to descend to Laives in about 1 hour.

Continue on path no. 12, below the Alplerhof farm, along the forest road to the Altebnerhof farm, and further on to the Rechtebner inn and to La Costa/Seit (868m). The hike from the Steinerhöfe to this point takes about 1.5 hours. Path no. 3 begins below the small church in La Costa/Seit. Following this path carved into the porphyry, you will reach Flavon castle (with refreshments available) in about 1 hour, and Alsago/Haslach at Bolzano in another 15 minutes. From there, the return journey to Laives is by bus (line 110).