Hike along the Sluderno Waalweg path

In the Val Venosta, farmers can’t do without the water channels (”Waale”), which irrigate their fields with the melt water of the glaciers in the Oetztal Alps.

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The beautiful Romance steeple of Sluderno rises behind the roofs.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Past the Coira Castle across green meadows we walk up to the Val di Mazia.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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Arrival at the Waalweg path. From here the path proceeds slightly rising.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The water is piped through tubes, channels and holed trunks. So it supplies the surrounding fields. A subtle system.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The gurgle of the water accompanies us along the whole path.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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There are also some quite narrow and more dangerous sections on the Waalweg path.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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A bridge across the creek: here the water is branched off to the irrigation channels.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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This rough creek flows from the Val di Mazia via Sluderno into the Adige. It brings meltwater from the Oetztal Alps.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The so-called Leiterwaal at the western side of the valley.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The water channels in the Val di Mazia must bridge several obstacles.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The hills of Ganglegg, places of discovery from the Bronze and Iron Age.
Foto: AT, © Peer
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The ideal finish for our walking-tour: the Val Venosta Valley Museum at Sluderno.
Foto: AT, © Peer
video : Venosta Valley Museum

From Sluderno, we hike steeply upwards heading towards Monte Sole and crossing Coira castle, one of the most beautiful castles in South Tyrol. Having passed the meadows around the Vernalhof farm above Sluderno, we finally reach the water channels. The Waalweg path leads into the forested Val di Mazia.

We cross the middle of the valley at the ravine of the stream which supplies the water channels in order to hike back to Sluderno on the Leiten Waalweg path at the other side of the valley. We pass Ganglegg, a prehistoric settlement of the Bronze and Iron Age, which can be visited.

Author: AT

If you want to do this hike, please take information about the weather and the current conditions of the trail on site!

Starting point: Sluderno
Signposts: no. 18A, 20, 17, 18
Trail length: approx. 7 km
Walking time: 2.5 hours
Altitude difference: 350 m
Suitable for families? Yes, but pay attention to the steep sections!
Experienced in: May 2007