Winter hike on Mount Vigiljoch to Rauhen Bühel

The winter hike to Rauhen Bühel leads across sunny plateaus, through snow-covered spruce forests and wide clearings. Along the way, you pass St. Vigilius Church and enjoy beautiful views of the winter mountain landscape. Rauhen Bühel, with its hunting stand, is one of the distinctive points of the hike. On the way back, the circular route passes Naturnser Alm, which is closed in winter.

Directions

After taking the Vigiljoch Cable Car and the chairlift, the route follows trail no. 4 gently downhill towards the west. The trail crosses the route of a small ski lift and continues between the Jocher mountain restaurant and St. Vigilius Church to the nearby mountain pass. A short detour up to the church is well worth it.

From the pass, the route follows trail markings 9–30 at a moderate incline through the spruce forest towards the south and southwest. At a large clearing, the trail continues along its southern edge. The Rauhen Bühel, with its hunting stand, can be seen diagonally ahead to the right. A direct descent from there to Naturnser Alm is possible but rather challenging.

A better option is to descend briefly back to the trail, which then leads around the next hill. From there, trail no. 9B crosses a plateau heading north to Naturnser Alm. Trail no. 30 then leads northeast, mostly through the forest, back to Mount Vigiljoch.

Recommended equipment

Warm, weather-appropriate clothing, sturdy waterproof hiking boots and, if necessary, microspikes and snowshoes.
Snowshoe rental available at the ticket office of the Vigiljoch cable car valley station.

Arrival by car

From Merano direction Lana to the centre of Lana, Vigiljoch cable car valley station

Parking at the valley station of the cable car is limited and subject to a fee. We therefore recommend arriving by public transport.

The cable car is easily accessible by public transport. The Lana bus station is just a 3-minute walk from the valley station. Take advantage of the well-developed public transport network and the convenient connections to the train stations in Marlengo, Merano, or Lana/Postal.

Bus line 211 (Lana–Merano), line 214 (Lana–Foiana), line 215 (Citybus Lana), line 218 (Lanabus), line 245 (Merano–Lana–Ultimo), line 246 (Merano–Lana–Gampen Pass) 

Current timetables can be found at: www.suedtirolmobil.info