The Via Alpina

Welcome to the Via Alpina! Along 5 international trails, through 8 countries there are 342 stages and over 5000km between 0 to 3000m above sea level that open before you to invite you to discover the natural and cultural heritage of the Alps on foot.

The Alps: the largest natural space in Europe, cradle of mountaineering and refuge for unique species of flora and fauna; but also the home of nearly 14 million inhabitants, rich in tradition and for centuries scene of cultural exchanges. The Via Alpina is an innovative European project around which private and public players from the eight Alpine countries have grouped together since 2000 to develop their heritage and to exchange experiences across their borders.

All along the clearly marked paths you will find the Via Alpina logo, welcoming stop off points to eat and stay, organized walks or other initiatives in several places to help you in your discovery: all the ingredients are there for you to organize your trip for a weekend, a week or a whole summer…

The trails are not technically difficult and are accessible to all walkers (with the exception of snowy periods). However do check the weather conditions, follow the basic mountain safety rules and respect nature and your mountain hosts!

In the following sections of this chapter you will find a vast amount of general information that is useful for hiking on the Via Alpina. For full details of the stages and the organized hikes refer to the chapter
The Trails. The chapter The tours contains a selection of 3- to 7-day hikes to discover various regions along the Via Alpina, and also the hiking packages proposed by our professional partners.


Thanks to a personal initiative, parts of the contents of the Via Alpina website are also available in Russian language. On www.via-alpina.ru, you can read the descriptions of the Green Trail, with maps and additional independent information on the accommodation possibilities. The other trails will progressively be integrated.

Happy hiking!


The Via Alpina team



To find out more about the project…