Via Alpina Purple A35

The Via Alpina Purple A35 is a 26.7-kilometre point-to-point trail in the Salzburg Alps of Austria, gaining 932 m of elevation over a single long day rated Grade I — the most accessible classification on the Via Alpina scale. The stage links the farming valley of Lungötz with the medieval town of Werfen along the southern edge of the Tennengebirge massif, finishing beneath the iconic silhouette of Hohenwerfen Castle.

About the Via Alpina Purple A35

The Via Alpina is one of the most ambitious long-distance hiking networks in the world, connecting eight Alpine nations — Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy, France and Monaco — across five colour-coded routes totalling more than 5,000 kilometres of waymarked trail. It holds designation as part of the International Walking Network (IWN), the highest classification a long-distance trail can receive. The Purple Trail, or Violetter Weg, traverses the full east-to-west breadth of the Austrian Alps over 66 stages before continuing into Bavaria.

Stage A35 occupies a prime position in the Salzburg region, threading between two of its most dramatic natural features: the sheer limestone plateau of the Tennengebirge to the north and the glacially carved Salzach valley below Werfen to the south. At 26.7 km, with 932 m of ascent and 1,233 m of descent, it qualifies as one of the Via Alpina's more physically demanding Grade I stages — not technically difficult, but long and sustained in a way that separates walkers who have prepared from those who have not.

Lungötz is a quiet hamlet in the Lammertal valley, reachable by bus from Abtenau. The trail climbs quickly from the valley floor through forest and summer pasture before levelling onto the broad Werfenweng plateau — a ski resort village that functions as the stage's natural halfway point and a genuine bail-out option if conditions or energy turn against you. From Werfenweng, the route descends steeply into the Salzach valley, depositing walkers in Werfen at the base of Hohenwerfen Castle, a fully intact medieval fortress dating to 1077. The castle hosts regular falconry displays in summer and sits directly on the route — timing your descent to coincide with the 3 pm afternoon show is entirely feasible from a 7:30 am start in Lungötz.

A35 connects Stage A34 (arriving from Golling to the east) with Stage A36 (heading west toward Radstadt and the Dachstein). Walkers on a full through-hike of the Austrian Purple Trail experience it roughly one-third of the way through; those tackling it as a standalone day stage can use Werfen's ÖBB train station to return to Salzburg in under an hour.

Route Overview & Stages

Stage A35 is walked as a single continuous day. The Via Alpina authority does not publish individual sub-segment distances; the table below uses the two confirmed intermediate waypoints and the officially recorded totals.

Direction recommendation: Walk A35 from Lungötz to Werfen, not in reverse. The elevation profile is net downhill by 301 m, meaning the hardest climbing is behind you before midday and the final hours are a sustained, rewarding descent with Hohenwerfen Castle progressively filling the valley ahead. Walking in reverse saves the steepest ascent — 1,233 m from Werfen — for tired afternoon legs, a significantly harder proposition. If you reach Werfenweng and need to cut the day short, buses connect to Bischofshofen for a train back to Salzburg: splitting the stage here is a practical choice, not a defeat.

Highlights & Points of Interest

• Tennengebirge Limestone Massif — The dominant geographic feature of A35's first half. The massif's near-vertical southern cliff face rises to above 2,400 m and holds snow well into June. The trail contours beneath it on mixed forest track and open alm paths, providing dramatic backlighting for early-morning starts out of Lungötz.
• Alpine Pasture above Lungötz — Once the trail clears the valley forest, wide summer pastures extend across the upper slopes. Cattle graze here from late June; the views north toward the Dachstein glacier are clearest on morning starts before valley haze builds across the limestone plateau.
• Werfenweng Plateau Village — At roughly 900 m above the Salzach valley floor, Werfenweng offers the only reliable refreshment stop between Lungötz and Werfen. The village looks back to the Tennengebirge and ahead down to the valley — a 15-minute rest here earns a panorama that few stages on the Purple Trail match. Family guesthouses and a bakery sit directly on the route.
• Hohenwerfen Castle (Burg Hohenwerfen) — Founded in 1077, this intact medieval fortress stands on a 623 m rock spur 155 m above Werfen town. From the trail's final descent, it appears framed between valley walls in a view that makes A35 one of the most photogenic stage-end arrivals in the Austrian Alps. The castle runs live falconry displays at 11 am and 3 pm in season; a 7:30 am start in Lungötz puts you in view of the afternoon show at its best light.
• Salzach River Valley — The valley below Werfen is one of the deepest glacially carved gorges in Salzburg state. The temperature contrast between the high route and the valley floor typically reaches 8–10°C, making the final descent feel like arriving in a different landscape entirely.
• Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves — Located 5 km by road from Werfen, Eisriesenwelt is the world's largest accessible ice cave system, extending more than 42 km into the Tennengebirge. Guided tours run from May through October. Building a rest day in Werfen to visit is logistically straightforward — same accommodation, short taxi or cable car ride.
• Werfen Village Centre — The stage ends here. The town has a centuries-old market church, multiple restaurants, and the ÖBB station for onward connections. Via Alpina passport stamps for A35 are collected at the tourist information office on Marktplatz, free of charge.

Best Time to Hike the Via Alpina Purple A35

The reliable hiking window for A35 runs from late June through early October. As of 2026, warmer spring conditions have pushed the snow-free date on the Tennengebirge approach above Lungötz to approximately 18–22 June in most years, though the exact date varies significantly with winter snowpack. Check current conditions via the Salzburg Mountain Rescue (Bergrettung Salzburg) before any June attempt.

The single best month to hike A35 is July. Alpine wildflowers are at peak on the Werfenweng plateau, afternoon thunderstorm windows are shorter and more predictable than in August, and daylight extends past 9 pm — giving real buffer time even on a slow day. Valley temperatures reach 24–28°C while the high pasture section sits at 14–18°C: warm enough to hike comfortably in a t-shirt, cool enough not to overheat on the sustained ascent from Lungötz.

August remains a solid option but carries a higher frequency of convective afternoon storms building over the Tennengebirge. The rule of thumb for any August day with developing clouds: be below the exposed traverse section by 1:30 pm. September brings stable, cool conditions and the start of autumn colour in the valley forests — a beautiful month on trail, though accommodation in Werfenweng begins to close from mid-month. October is occasionally feasible during settled weather windows but brings early sunset and a real risk of fresh snowfall above 1,500 m.

The stage is effectively closed from November through May. No avalanche mitigation infrastructure exists on the high approach from Lungötz, and the route is unmarked and hazardous under winter snow and ice.

Practical Information

Accommodation

The two natural overnight points flanking A35 are Werfenweng (mid-stage) and Werfen (stage end). There is no mountain hut directly on the route between Lungötz and Werfenweng.

In Werfenweng, several family-run Gasthöfe offer B&B from approximately €55–80 per person per night in summer. The ski resort's hotels often run reduced summer rates, bringing comfortable double rooms to €90–120 total. The village is walkable from the Via Alpina trail with no additional transport needed.

In Werfen, guesthouses cluster near Marktplatz and the castle approach road, running €50–75 per person B&B across four to five options covering budget to mid-range. Camping Vierthaler, approximately 3 km south toward Bischofshofen, charges around €12–18 per pitch plus a per-person fee. Book July and August accommodation 4–6 weeks in advance — Werfen's hotel inventory is shared with significant day-visitor traffic from Hohenwerfen Castle and Eisriesenwelt.

Getting There & Back

To the trailhead (Lungötz): Train from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to Golling-Abtenau takes approximately 35–45 minutes on the S3 regional line; continue by local bus or taxi from Golling to Abtenau (15 min) and then onward to Lungötz (7 km, approximately 15 min by bus). Total travel time from Salzburg city centre: 1 h 15 min to 1 h 30 min. Salzburg Airport (SZG) sits 15 km from the Hauptbahnhof — allow an additional 25–35 minutes by S-Bahn shuttle. For regional transport timetables, the Salzburg tourism board maintains up-to-date Lammertal valley bus and rail connections.

From the stage end (Werfen): Werfen has a staffed ÖBB station on the Salzburg–Villach main line. Direct trains to Salzburg run roughly every hour and take approximately 40 minutes — making a car-free day trip from Salzburg fully practical. For onward travel south toward Villach or Klagenfurt, direct trains also run from Werfen without changing.

By car: Park in Werfen (free parking near the castle approach) and take public transit to Lungötz for the start. Do not leave a car at the Lungötz trailhead if you plan a point-to-point finish in Werfen.

Permits & Fees

No permit, registration or trail fee is required for Stage A35. Austrian land access law protects hiker right-of-way across alpine pasture. Close all cattle gates as you find them — several high pasture sections between Lungötz and Werfenweng use gates that must be re-closed to contain livestock.

Hohenwerfen Castle charges a separate entrance fee of approximately €15 for adults (castle interior and falconry display) as of recent seasons; the exterior view from the trail descent is free. The Eisriesenwelt charges approximately €16 per adult for the guided ice cave tour plus a cable car charge. Neither is a requirement to complete A35.

The Via Alpina passport stamp for A35 is available free of charge at guesthouses and the tourist information office in Werfen.

Gear & Packing List

A35 is a single long day on well-marked trail, which simplifies kit considerably compared to multi-day Alpine stages. The key variables are the exposed traverse beneath the Tennengebirge — where afternoon storms develop with minimal warning — and the sustained 1,233 m descent to Werfen, which punishes tired knees and insufficiently padded feet.

For pack capacity, 25–40 litres covers a one-day stage with no overnight shelter on-route. The Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Windrider at 510 g handles A35's conditions well — its waterproof Dyneema shell copes with sudden rain above the plateau without needing a separate rain cover. For more structure and carry comfort on the long descent, the Fjällräven Abisko Hike 35 at 1,300 g is a reliable Austrian Alps choice with hip-belt pockets that prove useful for snacks and a phone on a 26.7 km day. Ultralight-focused walkers targeting minimum pack weight across the full Purple Trail network will find the Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 40L at 540 g a strong option — see the full comparison in our guide to the best ultralight backpacks of 2026.

Additional essentials for A35:

• Rain shell — mandatory, not optional. The Tennengebirge face generates fast-moving storms with minimal warning on summer afternoons.
• Trekking poles — strongly recommended. The 1,233 m descent to Werfen is sustained and steep in sections; poles reduce knee load significantly on the lower third of the route.
• Trail runners or light hiking boots — adequate for dry summer conditions. Add waterproof socks or gaiters for early-season wet grass sections above the treeline.
• Water (minimum 2 litres from Lungötz) — Alpine streams cross the route but those running through cattle pasture should be treated or filtered.
• Sun protection — the open plateau above Werfenweng reflects UV strongly. Factor 50 sunscreen and a sun hat are essential from late June onwards.
• Food and calories — a 7 h 50 min mountain stage burns significantly more than most walkers expect. Read our guide on how many calories you need hiking a full day before packing your snacks.
• Navigation backup — Via Alpina purple/white waymarkers are reliable but can be spaced widely in forested sections above Lungötz. Download the official GPX from via-alpina.org before departing.

Similar Trails You Might Like

The Salzburg Alps and surrounding Austrian regions offer several long-distance and multi-day routes that share A35's combination of limestone terrain, dramatic valley descents and excellent transport access. These are among the strongest alternatives for a wider Austrian alpine trip:

• Stubaier Höhenweg — An 85-km high-level circuit in the Stubai Alps west of Innsbruck, with more technical glacier-adjacent terrain than A35 but the same hut-to-hut Alpine character and rewarding daily payoffs.
• Adlerweg — Tyrol's signature Eagle's Way long-distance route, linking the Wilder Kaiser massif to St. Anton am Arlberg. The 5-km section listed here taps into a much longer trail with a similar via-marker system to the Via Alpina.
• JK01 — A 32-km Austrian route at a comparable single-day distance to A35, useful as acclimatisation walking before tackling a full Purple Trail through-walk in the Salzburg region.
• JK02 — A 34-km route that pairs naturally with JK01 into a two-day weekend circuit with manageable transport logistics.

For something entirely different in character but comparable in reward, the Theth to Valbona hike in Albania offers similar total elevation change and a mountain-village arrival — with far fewer walkers on trail and an unexpectedly similar limestone landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to hike the Via Alpina Purple A35?
July is the single best month: wildflowers peak on the Werfenweng plateau, temperatures are comfortable at altitude (14–18°C), and daylight runs past 9 pm. Late June is possible but snow may linger on the Tennengebirge approach above Lungötz. August carries higher afternoon storm risk. September offers stable, cool conditions before Werfenweng accommodation closes mid-month. Avoid the stage entirely from November through May.

How difficult is Stage A35?
The Via Alpina grades A35 as Grade I — the network's most accessible classification, with no technical scrambling or exposed ridge work. The difficulty is physical: 26.7 km with 932 m of ascent and 1,233 m of descent demands solid aerobic fitness and well-conditioned legs. Anyone who regularly completes 15–20 km hikes in hilly terrain will manage it comfortably. Beginners should add 2 hours to the official 7 h 50 min estimate and plan a Werfenweng split if needed.

How far should I hike per day on A35?
A35 covers 26.7 km as a single stage, estimated at 7 hours 50 minutes of walking time by the Via Alpina authority. Allow 9–10 hours total including breaks and navigation. A no-later-than 8 am start in Lungötz puts you in Werfen comfortably before dark and in time to catch a direct early evening train back to Salzburg. Werfenweng provides a genuine mid-point bail-out with onward bus connections to Bischofshofen.

Where can I stay along A35?
Werfenweng (mid-stage) has family guesthouses at €55–80 per person B&B. Werfen (stage end) offers guesthouses at €50–75 per person and a campsite approximately 3 km south at €12–18 per pitch. There is no mountain hut between Lungötz and Werfenweng. July and August accommodation in Werfen fills quickly due to Hohenwerfen Castle and Eisriesenwelt day visitors — reserve at least 4–6 weeks ahead.

Do I need permits to hike Via Alpina Purple A35?
No permit, registration or trail fee is required. Austrian land access law protects hiker right-of-way across alpine pasture; close all cattle gates as found. Optional paid attractions include Hohenwerfen Castle interior (approx. €15) and the Eisriesenwelt ice cave tour (approx. €16 plus cable car). Download the free GPX track and stage notes from the official Via Alpina website before setting out.