TRAVEL
of Valais in the 13th century. Hardy pioneers, they built timber homes at altitudes most Europeans would never dare, with steep- shingled roofs to withstand deep snow. Their legacy lingers not only in architecture, but in village festivals, dialect, and the poignant stories of the “Swabian children”—sent across the mountains to labor on German estates, some never to return. Today, Lech Zürs am Arlberg promises 350 kilometers of marked summer hiking trails. Alpine cows graze on remote pastures beneath the jagged silhouettes of peaks. But this is not just walking country; it is a landscape laced with legend, art, and memory. Nowhere is that more palpable than on the Green Ring, a three-day circular hike where sculptures and storytelling installations transform the path into an open-air gallery of myths and mountains. One of the most celebrated routes is the Lechweg Trail, a 125-kilometer journey tracing the river’s path from its source at Formarinsee to the Lechfall in Germany. I begin at the lake, beneath the towering Rote Wand. At 1,793 meters, the water gleams with glacial melt, its level shifting mysteriously from year to year. Chains bolted into the rock aid scrambles along the shoreline, before the trail softens into rolling meadows where wildflowers brush the ankles and Europe’s largest ibex colony, more than 600 strong, can sometimes be glimpsed against the skyline. Wooden boardwalks carry me across marshy ground, and the river grows broader, louder, more confident as I descend. Five hours later, after gentle climbs, steep interludes, and long stretches of easy rhythm, I return to the comforts of my hotel with the scent of pine still clinging to my clothes. The next morning dawns unsettled, but I gamble on a high mountain walk. A gondola lifts me swiftly above the cloud line to the Rüfikopf, at 2,350 meters. From the viewing platform, the panorama opens onto the Lechquellen Mountains, the Lechtal Alps, and the Allgäu Alps, their serrated ridges catching patches of sunlight between passing storms.
60
EC Magazines | Manila Edition 2025
Made with FlippingBook Proposal Creator