Nothing whets the appetite like an extensive hike in the mountains. The meadows are fragrant, the gentian is in bloom and the cowbells are already ringing auspiciously. On the Salzburger Almenweg, hungry hikers will find their snack happiness in many places. Around 40 mountain huts are open in the Grossarl Valley throughout the summer. These huts only serve food from their own production. Small pieces of butter float in the buttermilk, the farmhouse bread smells of Schabzigerklee and melted mountain cheese oozes from the crispy cheese dumplings. We embark on a culinary foray along the Salzburger Almenweg.
20 years of the Salzburger Almenweg
From mid-June to the end of September, animals graze on the alpine pastures throughout the Alpine region. The tradition of summering goes back centuries. But in the often old and creaky alpine huts, a breath of fresh air blows alongside nostalgic flair. Many farming families have opened up the cultural landscape of alpine pastures to tourism. The 165 certified alpine summer huts in Salzburger Land in particular combine tradition and nature-oriented tourism. Hikers and bikers can enjoy home-made specialties here. The cows are milked on the mountain pasture and the milk is often processed on site. The menus of the alpine huts only include dishes from their own production and in many huts you can also spend the night. The Salzburger Almenweg stretches over 350 kilometers and connects more than 120 managed alpine pastures and the 25 villages of the Salzburger Pongau in 25 daily stages.
Alm specialties in Grossarltal
We hike from hut to hut in Grossarltal, talk to dairymaids and farmers, fetch the dairy cattle from the night pasture, prepare Kasnockerln in the Vorkaser, taste savoury alpine delicacies and toast the alpine summer with stone pine schnapps. But in this article, we turn our attention to the plate and present some classics of Alpine cuisine.
Filzmoosalm on the Filzmoossattel
Since 2018, Bettina and Manfred Huber from the Prommegghof in Grossarl have been running the Filzmoosalm. Together with their three young daughters and the Pinzgau cows, they spend most of the summer on the alpine pasture at an altitude of 1710 meters. Around 100 liters of milk are processed into alpine specialties every day. Bettina Huber’s Grossarl sour cheese was named Almenweg Delicacy of the Year 2022. Cheese snacks, Kaskreiner or Kaspressknödel dumplings in boullion are served. Bread and cakes are also home-baked. Bettina Huber never tires of trying out new things. Since setting up a modern cheese dairy at the Prommegghof, she has even been making ice cream and oven-baked camembert. Both have been on the menu at the Filzmoosalm since 2024.
Karseggalm: Kneaded cheese, Parmesan of the Alps
On clear days, you can see the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain, rising out of the Hohe Tauern. We are hiking on stage 13 of the Salzburger Almenweg. However, the 400-year-old Karseggalm is the bigger attraction today against the backdrop of the Alpine panorama. Alpine roses entwine above the entrance to the oldest hut in Grossarltal and smoke billows out of the open door. As beautiful as the weather and the view in front of the Karseggalm are, a look inside the hut is a must. A fire flickers in the middle of the dark main room, the so-called Vorkaser. The walls are blackened with soot, the clay floor has been tamped down over the centuries and two large cauldrons hang above the hearth.
One of the cauldrons is filled with cheese, the other with water. Bacon hangs from the beams above the fireplace and a Großarl specialty, which is only produced on the Karseggalm, matures on the beams: Kneaded cheese, which tastes very strong and is served on bread like finely grated Parmesan. It is a great achievement that the Gruber family has not turned the old fireplace into a museum, but continues the centuries-old tradition of alpine cheese-making every summer.
Hiking from alp to alp
Hiking over long distances has been a strong trend for several years. In Salzburg’s Pongau region, the Almenweg is a more leisurely option. Here you walk from alpine pasture to alpine pasture at a moderate pace, with impressive scenery and the tranquillity of the mountains. The 25 stages can be hiked individually or in one go. Ascents are possible from many places in Pongau and the traditional alpine huts along the way invite you in with their good food. The days of dormitory beds are also over on the Salzburger Almenweg and if you like, you can book a complete package for a tour from hut to. hut.
The research was supported by Tourismusverband Großarltal and SalzburgerLand
