Biohotel in Osttirol

Organic vacation in East Tyrol

Although East Tyrol, as the congruent administrative district of Lienz in the Austrian state of Tyrol , has a good 2,000 km², only about a fifth of the total area of ​​its “bigger brother” North Tyrol with over 10,000 km², nevertheless this authentic alpine region between Salzburg , Carinthia , Trentino-South Tyrol and Veneto offers one incomparable and in many places almost completely untouched nature. Around the Hohe Tauern and the Carnic Alps in the Defereggental, Gailtal, Iseltal, Kalser Tal, Pustertal and Virgental, the mountain world remains pristine to this day. People here have been living in harmony with their environment for centuries, preserving, maintaining and using it as sustainably and conscientiously as possible.

Despite tourism, the region has retained its natural charm

Knowledge of the connections between biology and ecology was essential for sufficient agricultural yields in the sometimes quite inhospitable mountains, especially before the beginning of tourism from the middle of the 19th century. As part of the gradual development of the region for tourism with the construction of the Pustertalbahn in 1871 and the expansion of overnight accommodation until the late 1930s, care was taken not to spoil the area's scenic capital through "construction sins". After 1945, East Tyrol was able to seamlessly build on its popularity; the Lienz Dolomites in the southeast, the southwestern Hochpustertal around Sillian, Ausser- and Innervillgraten as well as Ober- and Untertilliach, today's national park region around Matrei in East Tyrol, Prägraten, benefited from the construction of the Felbertauernstrasse in the 1960s on the Großvenediger and St. Johann im Walde in the north as well as the western Defereggental with St. Jakob, St. Veit and Hopfgarten.

The Hoher Tauern Nature Park is the proud flagship for organic holidays in East Tyrol

The most important milestone and signpost for nature and organic holidays in East Tyrol was certainly the opening of the largest national park in Austria and Central Europe with an area of ​​almost 1,900 km² in 1981. The Hohe Tauern National Park is home to glacier fields, grass and shrub heaths, coniferous forests and streams , mountain lakes and waterfalls an extremely diverse fauna and flora with over 10,000 animal and more than 1,800 plant species. European, landscape, special and bird protection areas as well as numerous natural forest reserves and natural monuments make up a large part of the national park territory, almost 90% of which lies in East Tyrol. In the National Park House and in the Kesslerstadel in Matrei as well as in the House of Water in St. Jakob in Defereggen, interested visitors can learn extensively about the Alpine flora and fauna as well as some unique biotope types and typical animals of the region such as vultures and chamois in exhibitions, seminars, conferences and lectures , ibexes and golden eagles provide information.

The best way to get to know nature is on expertly guided hikes

The hikes on a total of 17 nature trails in the East Tyrol National Park region are particularly popular among nature lovers, where the highly trained and experienced national park rangers can take you, for example, to the Zirbenwald nature and culture trail, the Umbal Falls water trail, the Innergschlöss glacier trail and the Zedlacher Paradies forest trail shown and explained in detail. The national park hiking bus, which is offered in cooperation by the national park administration and the Austrian Alpine Association and is regularly the starting point for multi-day hikes, circular and mountain tours in Defereggen, Kalser and Virgen, is also recommended for a nature-friendly organic holiday on site - and heads for Tauerntal. Well-known and attractive routes through the national park also lead through the Debanttal and the Ködnitztal, along the Kalser Glocknerstrasse and to the 15 Jagdhausalmen in the Defereggental, which are among the oldest alpine pastures in Austria.

To refresh yourself after the tour, stop off and eat delicious “delicacies”.

The certified national park partner businesses are the best place to stop and stay in the East Tyrolean National Park region. In the 3 to 4 star hotels, the selected inns, holiday apartments, guesthouses and farms , guests can count on high quality and ecologically compatible facilities Facilities and the guaranteed use of regional products with a guarantee of origin. In these dining establishments and institutions you can also get to know the rustic Tyrolean inn culture and taste the characteristic regional specialties. The two gourmet regions “East Tyrolean mountain lamb” and “East Tyrolean potato” are specially designated thematically. The three dozen “gourmet inns” in the area also serve delicious dishes such as East Tyrolean huchen (Danube salmon), Tyrolean bacon and ham as well as beer produced in small home breweries Brandy distilled according to ancient recipes. The 13 national park partner hosts also serve local “delicacies” such as “Schlipfkrapfen” (dumplings), “Nigelen” (sweet poppy seed doughnuts) and “Schöpsernes” (Lungau roast sheep).