Even though Liechtenstein is closer to my home than for example the canton Wallis, I've been there only once and back then merely had the time to do a hike on a pretty cloudy day. Being quite impressed by their mountains however, I promised myself to come back one day. That promise was fulfilled when I spent a couple days in Innsbruck and stopped in the eastern part of Switzerland on my way home. A beautiful spring day was up ahead and having a look at the Alps of Liechtenstein from my campsite, an impressive mountain range stood out in the front which had almost no snow left on it. The decision to check that range out was obvious, as the higher mountains in the back were still pretty white. Leaving the campground in the early morning, a rather chaotic journey brought me to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein. As I missed the final bus, the hike started right in the heart of the capital and as there were absolutely no signposts to guide me, it was once more down to my GPS to find the correct way.
Eventually coming upon the bus stop where I actually had planned to start my hike, the first yellow sign could soon be seen, leading me towards the outskirts of Vaduz. Passing by the last houses, the woods swallowed me shortly afterwards and a wide gravel road led steadily, but gently uphill. Following the road for quite a while, it ended at what had looked like a nice pond on the map, but in reality was a reservoir for producing electricity. :) Definitely not a place to linger and so I moved on, continuing my walk on a nice hiking trail. Unfortunately, the lovely path ended too soon, as about 10 minutes later a castle ruin emerged on a clearing in the woods. Clearing might be the wrong word however, as another gravel road led up there and right when I took a break to admire the ruin, two trucks arrived to deliver cement for some constructions nearby. Great… :)
Shortening my break to escape the noise, I headed back into the forest and followed another beautiful trail that led further uphill towards the hamlet of Gaflei. Unfortunately however, for the next hour, there wasn’t a lot of diversity: trees, serpentines, more trees and more serpentines. :) Change only came when I reached the viewing tower of Gaflei. Finally a view and a pretty nice one besides. The Rhine valley lay below my feet and the Alpstein made for the perfect backdrop.
Resting there for about 15 minutes, it didn’t take long anymore to reach the hamlet of Gaflei once I was on the trail again. A huge building appeared which only could be the Clinicum Alpinum, a clinic that specializes in treating depression and burn out patients. Passing the clinic and the rest of Gaflei, I headed further upwards, walking along another wide gravel road. Having looked forward for what would follow now, I got hit with quite a disappointment when I reached the next turnoff. Actually it had been the plan to do the Fürstensteig, which is a path hammered into a steep rock wall that had looked absolutely spectacular on the pictures. But now a sign told me that the Fürstensteig was closed. No information for how long or what the problem was, just that it was closed. Well, after thinking about it for a couple minutes, to try my luck on the Fürstensteig was simply too dangerous and there was just no other choice than to do the detour. So instead of heading back onto a proper hiking path, I kept following the gravel road until I had reached a small saddle. For the first time the view opened up towards the mountains of Liechtenstein and Austria and I had to catch my breath, not only because of the rather steep ascent before, but also because the landscape was surprisingly gorgeous.
Moving on without pausing too long, I turned left to head to another saddle. Walking along a mountainside, the view to the Liechtensteiner and Austrian Alps opened up even more and frequently I had to stop to marvel at the stunning panorama.
Having brought behind the ascent to the next saddle, a gap in some rocks led me to the other side and to another beautiful vista, this time towards the mountain range I had seen from my campground. Beholding no snow at all, I was sure now that I was able to walk along the ridge, basically as far as I wanted to. :)
To get down of the saddle however, there still was plenty of snow to cross. As the slope was on the North side and as it was only about noon, the snow was luckily firm enough to descend without any major problems. Once the slope was behind me, I passed the Gaflei saddle where the Fürstensteig ends and started to walk along the ridge. No other hikers could be seen, the sun was still shining brightly and with the perfect landscape that surrounded me, the walk got better and better with every step I took. Ascending again, I decided to take my lunch on the Gafleispitze, the first of a few peaks on the ridge. It took some time to get there, but the choice to rest on that summit couldn’t have been any better. A 360° panoramic view just about included everything: the Alpstein, the Rhine valley, Liechtenstein and its mountains, the Alps of Austria and of course the Alps of Switzerland.
45 minutes later I was back on the ridge and followed it further to the next peak called Kuegrat. With 2'123 meters it marked the highest point on the whole mountain range and so I couldn’t get around another ascending slope. :) There was enough power though after the break on the Gafleispitze and as I had some time to spare, another longer rest on the Kuegrat was possible. The panorama was perfect again and knowing that I was on a pretty popular trail, I was super glad that I had the summit all to myself. :)
Having a look at the next part of the ridge, I wasn't sure if I should continue or if it was the better idea to descend to Schaan. There still could have been some snowfields, but all in all it seemed okay to carry on. So I walked away from the top of the Kuegrat and two heartbeats later came upon … snow. :) As it was afternoon already and the heat had softened the crust quite a bit, it wasn’t that easy to descend anymore. Luckily for me, there was either still enough snow to get a good grip or there was none at all and I was able to descend through some scree next to the trail. Arriving at the bottom of the slope safe and sound, I was soon ascending again towards the final peak of today, the Garsellikopf. This time the ascent included some scrambling and led over a couple massive old stairs that seemed to have been built into the rocks ages ago. So, for the last time I enjoyed the magnificent views, by now only slightly disturbed by the clouds that had started to gather.
Not knowing what exactly lay behind the Garsellikopf, I was glad to see that there was no snow on the steeper slopes and so the descent from the summit was a piece of cake. :) Reaching another turnoff, it was time for a last decision, but actually I had made my choice already a while ago. Ahead of me was the last part of the ridge, a blue and white section that led through some impressive mountains called the Three Sisters. As the trail followed the North side, I couldn’t be sure if there still was some snow around and as it had rained a lot the day before, I also wasn’t very keen to walk over slippery rocks on an exposed trail. So instead of going through there, I took another detour, which led me into Austrian territory and at first over a vast snowfield. With the snow being super soft by now, I slid down most of the slope, making the kid in me pretty happy. :) After that, the trail just circled the Three Sisters and mostly led along their mountainside. It was a final lovely part, before the woods awaited me again once I was back in Liechtenstein. Well, the descent had about as much in store for me as the ascent. Only the Gafadura hut gave a change in the scenery that otherwise solely consisted out of trees and serpentines. :)
Arriving in the beautiful village of Planken after a long day on the trail, I was super happy how today had turned out. Even though I didn’t do the Fürstensteig and the Three Sisters, it had been a great hike that certainly deserved to be blogged about. :) As for the Fürstensteig and the Three Sisters, well, another promise had been made, as I want to do them someday for sure. :)
Highlights of the day: the views from all three peaks and from all along the ridge
This hike is for you if:
- you want to explore one of the most popular trails in Liechtenstein
- you’re looking for an adventurous and strenuous day hike
- you want to scale three peaks in one day
- you’re looking for a stunning panorama over the Rhine valley, the Alpstein and the mountains of Liechtenstein and Austria
This hike is not for you if:
- you’re not a ridge walker (although it’s not as exposed as others I’ve walked along)
- you mind a scramble in between
- you prefer a trail with fewer ups and downs :)
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