The Villach Alpine Road is one of the most beautiful panorama routes in Austria. Over a length of 16.5 kilometers you have grandiose views of the Karawanken in Carinthia to the Julian Alps in Italy and Slovenia. You drive comfortably by car at 1,700 meters above sea level. But there is a lot to discover on the way to your destination!
You can find a detailed report on our blog!
Brief information:
- Where does the Villach Alpine Road begin? The driving pleasure starts in the Villach-Möltschach district, where the cash desk is located. First, there are several hairpin bends uphill.
- What does the Villach Alpine Road cost? It is toll-free during the winter months (November 15 to April 15). In summer the toll costs ~ € 20. Here you can find all prices and opening times. Use is free with the Kärnten Card!
- How high is it to the last parking space? From Villach-Möltschach up to the Rosstratte car park at 1,732 m above sea level you will overcome 1,200 m
- What are the highlights? View of the ski jump, the city of Villach, the Finkenstein castle ruins and the surrounding Alps, the Rote Wand and the “Villacher Alpe” alpine garden
The route in detail:
PO viewing platform Arenablick
Turn 2: Here you have a view of the ski jump.
P1, viewing rest at 770 m
There is a large rest area here, but we skip it as there is not much to see.
P2 city and lake view, 862m
From here you also have a very nice view of the city of Villach.
P3 Waldrast, 965m
Here is another resting place with a view of the Finkenstein castle ruins. It’s pretty nice, but where are the castle ruins? Do we think we are too stupid for that, or are these just those few stones in the foreground?
P4 Schüttblick, 1,020m
Here you have a beautiful view of the landslide area “Schütt”, a view of the Julian Alps and Karawanken.
P5 Dreiländerblick, 1,307m
As the name suggests, you have a look at 3 countries: Austria, Slovenia and Italy
P6 Alpine garden, 1,483m
Around 800 alpine plants from three climate zones thrive here on an area of 10,000 square meters. A special feature of the garden is that almost half of all plants were in their original place of growth. From here you also have a wonderful view of the Alps and the Rote Wand.
Separate entry, open from the beginning of June to the end of August, daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (time required: around 1 hour). You can find all the information you need here.
P6 Red Wall viewing platform
This highlight can be reached from the same parking lot. Here you have a great deep view 400 m over the abyss of the rock face and a distant view of the Karawanken and Julian Alps.
By the way, you don’t have to go across the street, a very nice boardwalk leads through the forest.
P8 Berggasthof Aichingerhütte
The exhibition “Rulers of the Skies – the bird world of the Dobratsch Nature Park” is also located here. You also have a beautiful panoramic view of the lake here, but we skipped this station.
P11 Rosstratte, 1,732m
We have reached the last parking lot, from here we can only continue on foot. From here you have a wonderful view of the mountains all around. We still want to hike to the Dobratsch summit, but before that we strengthen ourselves in the Rosstrattenstüberl. In imperial weather we enjoy our lunch outdoors.
This is the starting point for many hikes. Two of the highest pilgrimage churches in the Eastern Alps are also located here.