The high altitude trail of Laives/Leifers

Starting from the centre of Laives/Leifers at the Via Kennedy/Via Pietralba crossroads, walk along Via Pietralba for around 4 km into the Brantental valley until you reach the end of the paved road. Cross the 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. After approx. 1 hour you reach a magnificent vantage point, where the view covers the entire Val d'Adige/Etschtal valley. From there a wide path, shaded by chestnut trees, leads past the farms "Hocheggerhof", on to the "Brunnerhof" and then to the "Steinerhöfe", a double farm with chapel. The walk from the "Schwabhof" inn to here takes about 2 hours.

Alternatively, it is possible to follow path no. 11 from the "Steinerhöfe" and get back to Laives/Leifers in about 1 hour.

Continue on path no. 12, below the "Alplerhof" farm, along the forest road to the "Altebnerhof" farm, then on to the Rechtebner inn and to La Costa/Seit (868m). The walk from the "Steinerhöfe" to here takes about 1.5 hours. Path no. 3 begins below the small chapel in La Costa/Seit and it takes approx. 1 hour to reach the Flavon Castle in Bolzano where you can stop for refreshments. In about 15 minutes you reach Aslago/Haslach from where you can take the bus (line 110) to get back to Laives/Leifers.