The eighth stage of the top hiking trail promises great views over the mountains and down into the valley and takes hikers on one of the most popular hiking trails in the Zugspitze village of Grainau. Since the last two stages had many meters of climb, this stage is almost always downhill. The hiker crosses the spectacular Höllentalklamm gorge. And there are also places to stop for refreshments on this stage: the Höllentalangerhütte halfway through and the Klammeingshütte invite you to stop off.

Tour profile

Difficulty level: medium
Route length: approx. 20 km
ascents: 500 hm
descents: 1,400 hm

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Map © www.ich-geh-wandern.de

Top hiking trail — experience the natural landscape of the Zugspitze region over 200 km

Not too long ago, the Spitzenwanderweg was ceremonially opened. The long-distance hiking trail covers 200 km and 12 stages through the picturesquely diverse landscape of the Zugspitze region. More than 6,800 meters of altitude difference are also covered, so the top hiking trail is quite a sporting endeavor. But it's worth it. Because the trail leads through a diverse landscape and also passes through numerous cultural monuments. The start and end point is the picturesque town of Murnau. Two overnight stays in huts are included on the long-distance hiking trail, once in the Soiern House and once in the Schachenhaus. On the 200 km, hikers pass fantastic views, flower-rich mountain and moor meadows, deep blue mountain lakes, bubbling springs and rivers, the spectacular Partnach and Höllental gorge, foothills of the Alps with far-reaching views, as well as cultural monuments such as the royal castles of Schachen and Linderhof Castle, as well as typical Bavarian villages such as Murnau, Krün, Mittenwald, Grainau or Oberammergau. There is therefore much to experience and discover on the 200 km long trail.

And we too are keen on the long-distance hiking trail and are treading this stage by stage, because the trail will also be a special experience for us locals. I will walk the path partly alone, but also with my colleague. Join us on the hiking trail.

The top hiking trail: All stages at a glance

Picture © spitzenwanderweg.de

To stage 7: From Schachenhaus to Kreuzeck

Stage 8: From Kreuzeck via Höllentalklamm to Grainau

“All people will have the perception that on high mountains, where the air is pure and thin, you breathe more freely and feel lighter physically and mentally happier. ”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French-Swiss writer and philosopher, 1712 — 1778

Fantastic weather can be seen early in the morning and promises a wonderful, sunny hiking day, which is crowned with great views in a cloud-free sky. After a good breakfast, I'm ready to go for today's stage. Polly will be my hiking companion again today, but we'll only meet at the Hupfleitenjoch. As a mountain rescue candidate, she has an additional route ahead of her today (which also includes a popular hiking route is), because it will first ascend to the Hochalm from Hammersbach and this must happen within 1.5 hours. I salute that. For me, on the other hand, the hiking tour starts off very comfortably, as it goes over the Hammersbach footpath to the Kreuzeck cable car.

The view of the Waxenstein and the Alpspitze from the Hammersbach footpath is always impressive and captivating. With the view, you're already looking forward to the upcoming tour, which you can easily make out from here. I'm quickly at the Kreuzeck cable car and shortly afterwards I'm sitting in the gondola, which takes me comfortably upstairs.

Once at the summit, it is now time to find the right path, as there are plenty of hiking trails in different directions from Kreuzeck. None of the hiking signs point to the Hupfleitenjoch at first, nor is there a sign for the peak hiking trail, which annoys me again, as I often find the hiking signs poor. So I stick to the sign that initially points towards the Hochalmbahn valley station. Always following the right path, I then reach the turnoff, which will eventually lead me to the Hupfleitenjoch. The long-awaited sign is finally here, which describes the path I must now follow.

A 35-minute walk to the Hupfleitenjoch is shown. A walking time that is crowned by a beautiful natural landscape on the side of the trail. The trail is quite narrow, alpine roses bloom along the way and the view down into the valley opens up again and again and I look out to Garmisch-Partenkirchen across to Farchant and Oberau or down to the other side to Grainau and towards the Eibsee.

The route is really a treat for the eyes, in addition, the trail is actually flat and apart from the fact that I have to pay attention to the narrow path due to the beauty around me, the trail is not difficult. There is even a bench along the way where you can rest and enjoy the view. I will soon cross under the Alpspitze cable car, which, in the wonderful weather, takes visitors and hikers to the summit with every gondola, who will spend the day in the mountains on their very own tour.

Once at the Hupfleitenjoch, it is now time to wait for Polly. Since she is not yet at the meeting point, I can sit on a cozy stone and enjoy the view that hikers have from here down into Höllental. A few first female hikers have already arrived and ask me if I can take a photo of them. Until my colleague arrives, I will be a sought-after photographer for all hikers who have also found their way to the Hupfleitenjoch and would now like to take home a souvenir photo with this view. I then recognize Polly in the distance as she walks along on the way from the Hochalm. She must certainly be knocked out, at least it would be me if I had already walked the route from Hammersbach across the Hochalm and all the way over here.

When Polly stands in front of me, she looks in great shape and happily tells me that she has completed the walking time scheduled for the mountain rescue test for the route. Becoming a mountain ranger is certainly no piece of cake, but if you want to rescue people from this area, you have to travel fast for the most part, because time is often of the essence.

After taking pictures of other hikers so far, it is time for us to also ask a group of girls if they can take a photo of both of us. But before we descend via the miners to the Höllentalangerhütte, we make a detour to the summit of Schwarzenkopf. The climb is easy but there are no signs. From the summit cross, there is once again an overwhelming view of the Garmisch Valley and out to Grainau. Even the hotel on Lake Badersee is small and can be seen between the forest with its turquoise-blue lake.

Back on the Hupfleitenjoch, it's time to descend to the miners' houses. We want to take a first break there. The zigzag course goes downhill bend by bend, and some wooden stairs also have to be climbed down. While doing so, we enjoy the mountain panorama that lies ahead of us. While the hikers who have climbed from the Höllental Gorge are struggling their way up every bend and are sometimes really out of breath, our trail is quite relaxing. However, we can both understand the hikers' sense of effort, as we have climbed this trail before. The muscles are shouting and you only expect the end of the climb.

But there is also a downturn in itself, as it gets down on your knees more and more. The hiking poles cushion a lot, but I'm already excited to see what my calves will say at the end of the tour or only the next morning. After many bends, stairs, passages with safety ropes and even a short climb, we reach the miners' houses. We take a break from drinking, relax our legs, let the sun's rays flow onto our skin and simply enjoy the view.

It is now on to the next destination: the Höllentalangerhütte. Always nice downhill, it even goes on and off and the path expands more and more. The hiking trail is becoming more and more crowded, and we are now in the rush hour of most tour goers. The Höllentalangerhütte is correspondingly full, and the terrace is fully occupied when the weather is nice. But in the adjacent forest, there are still a few places in the shade and so we spend our break here.

We enjoy our break time extensively, the weather is too nice, the rest area is too cozy. But every break comes to an end and we still have a third of the way ahead of us, the last section that takes us through the Höllentalklamm gorge to Grainau. And at the exit of the Höllentalklamm gorge, there is still a hut that is worth stopping off at.

First, it's a flat route through the beautiful river valley, then there is another descent on a zigzag course, which takes us further down and to the entrance or exit of the Höllentalklamm gorge, depending on which side you started from. All hell is breaking loose here right now. Groups of people camp along the riverbed at break time, keep their feet in the cool water, enjoy a picnic and gather new strength for the upcoming steep climb up to the Höllentalangerhütte. Unfortunately, some people like to leave their waste behind instead of taking it away and throwing it into a garbage can. An absolute no go!

Once again packed with some rubbish from others, it goes into the Höllentalklamm gorge. 700 m long is the imposing gorge, which was built millions of years ago and opened up at the beginning of the last century. The Höllentalklamm gorge was inaugurated on 15.08.1905. Since that day, millions of people have already walked through the Höllentalklamm gorge. By the way, the name does not refer to hell, but to the word cave or hollow out.

In the gorge itself, there is no longer any sign of the warm solar temperatures previously on the mountain. Some of it is already quite fresh, as the skin was previously warmed up nicely by the sun's rays, now it feels as if the temperature has dropped by 15 degrees immediately. Cool water also drips down onto you from above, sometimes there are small cascades through which you have to go through. Even though I've already walked through the Höllentalklamm gorge several times, I always find it fascinating. The huge masses of water, the beguiling sound, the narrow rocks and the extreme turquoise of the water are simply gigantic. It's amazing what nature creates and how wonderful it is to be able to experience something like that.

Through dark tunnels, where you can no longer see your hand in front of your face, over wet rocky paths, steps and bridges, it goes down to the official entrance to the Höllentalklamm gorge. We then have to pay our entrance fee here and are back outdoors shortly after. In no time at all, the temperatures have risen by 15 degrees again and the cool skin is quickly warmed up again. At the Höllentaleingang Hut, it's time for us to stop off for a delicious piece of cake.

The cake was very tasty and it goes on once again. The weather is also expected to change; after such a hot day, it is not surprising if there is a thunderstorm in the late afternoon. And so we hear the first thunder from afar. The normal descent route from the Höllentaleingangshütte to Hammersbach is currently closed, so our route to Grainau runs along the path that leads to the Stangensteig and continues straight house down to Grainau at the end. The trail is very well visited and so we join the queue of hikers, who all have the same trail.

The trail, which is suitable for families, offers several more fascinating natural highlights until we reach the village again and officially complete stage 8 of the peak hiking trail. Once again, a wonderful hiking day is coming to an end, which took us along well-known hiking trails, but whose paths are worth running several times, up or down. And yet in the end, we are happy when we can take off our hiking boots and complete relaxation is now the order of the day.

Tips & info:

• Route length: 12 km, performance kilometers: 20 km
• Walking time without a break: approx. 3 hours 54 minutes
• Altitude 510 m high, 1,420 m down
• Moderately difficult hike (although it says difficult on the website, we would describe this as moderately difficult with regard to the 2-day tours), good hiking boots and hiking sticks are required. A head for heights and good sure-footedness are required. Mostly on small paths.
• Unfortunately, the tourist office only provides an overview map of the Spitzenwanderweg. There is also no digital trail map on the official Spitzenwanderweg website. The best navigation is therefore: https://www.ich-geh-wandern.de/spitzenwanderweg-etappe-8-kreuzeck-grainau
• Public transport: From Hotel am Badersee, take the Zugspitzbahn from Badersee station (Grainau) to Kreuzeck. From Hammersbach or Grainau, take the Eibsee bus back to the hotel.
• If you want and are fit, you can walk along the picturesque Grainauer Höhenweg, the Neuner Alm, the panoramic trail to Christl-Hütte and the Baderseefußweg from the Höllentalklamm gorge to the hotel on Badersee.
• Places to stop for refreshments: Höllentalangerhütte, Höllentaleingangshütte
• Hiking signs are available, some of the Zugspitze sign can be seen small on the official yellow hiking signs. Therefore pay attention to the yellow hiking signs.
• The Höllentalklamm gorge is open annually between May and the end of October, depending on weather and snow conditions. During closing time, you can walk along the Stangensteig trail.
• If you don't like running downhill, you can of course also walk the route in the opposite direction.
• Alpspitze cable car opening times and prices: www.zugspitze.de

To stage 9: From Grainau to Linderhof Castle

The top hiking trail: All stages at a glance

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