This moderate circular hike leads from Campi al Lago via Gmund to the Castelchiaro Fortress and back to Lake Caldaro: In spring, when fresh green grows over the rocks, it is particularly beautiful here
Image gallery: Spring hike to the Castelchiaro Fortress
We start at the parking space south of Lake Caldaro at Campi al Lago (Klughammer, signpost "Circuito al Lago" / "Seerundweg") and walk along the asphalted road at the foot of the mountain towards south. Passing a barracks we reach Gmund. This is a small settlement, which belongs to the municipality of Vadena and is located directly below the southern slope of the Monte di Mezzo ridge. On the left side of the road we see the signpost for the path no. 18c.
A narrow path leads us through steep terrain in the deciduous forest up to a porphyry rocky landscape below the so-called Horse Teeth (Rosszähne), a striking rock formation above the Valle dell'Adige valley. Clearings in the deciduous forest open the view towards Termeno in the west and Ora in the east. In some rocky places it is already easy climbing that takes us further. Finally, the path leads into a forest road (no. 18). We follow it, going slightly downhill, to the junction with path 18a, which we follow up to the Castelchiaro Fortress (Leuchtenburg).
At the top of the tower of the castle ruin we enjoy the panoramic view from Caldaro and the lake in the west to Bolzano on the northeast side. Until the junction we walk downhill along the same route, then we continue towards north and at the end we follow the path no. 18 back to Campi al Lago at Lake Caldaro. Back to the parking space, we follow the circular lake trail towards south.
Author: AT
-
- Starting point:
- parking space Seerundweg (south of Campi al Lago at Lake Caldaro)
-
- Time required:
- 03:00 h
-
- Track length:
- 9,4 km
-
- Altitude:
- from 212 m to 545 m
-
- Altitude difference:
- +412 m | -412 m
-
- Signposts:
- Gmund, 18c, 18, 18a, 18, "Seerundweg"
-
- Resting points:
- several taverns in Campi al Lago
-
- Recommended time of year:
- Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
-
- Download GPX track:
- Spring hike to the Castelchiaro Fortress
If you want to do this hike, we suggest you to check the weather and trail conditions in advance and on site before setting out.
