Travel
Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau: Winter the Austrian Way
From the tree-lined slopes to the charming villages of the Alpbachtal and Wildschönau, it’s not hard to see why the stunning Tirolean resort of Ski Juwel attracts so many return visitors.
Alpbach is considered by many to be the most beautiful village in all of Austria, and Wildschönau - which translates to English as "wild and beautiful" - is an appropriately named valley. These are the original vacation villages in Austria, with narrow roads, church spires and sloped wooden farmhouses framing the farms and picturesque mountains of the valleys. The architecture is quintessential Austrian - and so is the experience you’ll have in the local towns.
If you were asked to paint a perfect, quaint Austrian ski town, there’s a good chance you’d come up with Alpbach, even if you’d never seen it before. Considered Austria's most beautiful village, the building style in Alpach is fiercely protected. Since the 1970s it's actually been written in law that every new building must be constructed in the traditional style. There are no eight-story shopping centres here. No obnoxious buildings that dare to block the blanketed mountains or hide the setting sun. Quite the opposite. There are still over 100 working farms in the area - as well as an array of slick, upmarket hotels.
The Wildschönau Valley is made up of four picturesque villages. Niederau is a town bustling with skiers in winter, and backdropped by the 1,500m Markbachjoch behind. Oberau boasts a 250-year old baroque church, as well as views of the Schatzberg and Wilder Kaiser mountains.
Funslope Alpbachtal with family, Ski Juwel
© Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau_shoot&style
Thierbach, meanwhile, is the highest village in the Kitzbühel Alps, and an idyllic storybook town, and Auffach is the portal to the Ski Juwel. The villages in Alpbachtal and Wildschönau are quintessential Austrian beauty - small, cosy towns surrounded by immense beauty. And there’s nothing small about the offering on the pistes. 113km and 45 lifts make for a lot to explore.
Between the four mountains and two valleys, it’s a premium snow-sure ski experience for the whole family. For beginners and families, there are excellent learner facilities in Reith im Alpbachtal, which is home to the Kinderland Juppi-Do - an area of themed tracks and colourful obstacle courses.
For little adventurers, there's also areas for play. The JUPPI DO children's area at the bottom station of the Reitherkogelbahn is perfect for families with small children, featuring an XL magic carpet and T-bar lift, while the ski school/beginner's area is home to an igloo, a ski carousel, photo wall and three magic carpets. The Koglmoos restaurant is also on site. Elsewhere, there are also great beginner options at Niederau and up at the Gmahkopf in Alpbach.
Another great option for beginners is at the Schatzberg Zwergenland, which you can find at the Schatzbergbahn middle station in Auffach in Wildschönau. It’s ideal for trying out skiing for the first time, with a huge area purpose-built for learning and family playtime.
Still, it’s the intermediate skiers and snowboarders who will get the most from the slopes in Ski Juwel. Almost half of the 113km of slopes on the ski resort are marked red - a full 54.5km.
Landscape Niederau Farmhouse, Ski Juwel
© Wildschönau Tourismus_shoot&style
That said, there are also 13km of black runs, and some of the runs in Niederau can challenge even the best skiers or riders. That’s backed up with 16km of freeride for anyone who prefers to splash rather than carve, and Alpbachtal also has a lot of off-piste options, should you wish to nip off and lay some fresh tracks. From the top of the Mountain station Hornbahn 2000, situated at 2,025m at the Wiedersberger Horn in the Alpbachtal, there’s a terrific 360-degree view into the Alpbachtal, Zillertal Alps and Rofan Mountains, which drives home the beauty of the area.
An excellent new chairlift also opened last year to mark the 10th anniversary of Ski Juwel. The six-seater chairlift, with a weather-protection bonnet and seat heating, replaced the old Hornlift 2000, and now takes skiers to the highest point in the ski area in just under four minutes. There, skiers will find an equally new Top of Alpbachtal station, including an observation tower and platform - and a new blue run has also been added in the area of the chairlift.
This will all only add to the beauty and comfort of the resort. There’s nothing stressful about the Ski Juwel. It’s got to be one of the most laid back, relaxed resorts in Austria. Ski Juwel is all about good views (reached without the stress of lift queues) and skiing at your own pace.
Most people don’t come to the Ski Juwel to get “gnarly”, and it’s certainly not a centre for tabletop après ski (although there’s no lack of live music). The focus in the Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau is elsewhere - on community, hospitality and the beautiful, untarnished valley.
Nestled snugly between the Zillertal and Kitzbühel Alps in the easily-reachable heart of Tirol, this is a picture-perfect family resort. The 113km of wide, sunny slopes cater for varying skill levels, and there’s a catalogue of activities to get stuck into off the pistes, too - take the 2.5km circular hike from the Reitherkogelbahn top station into Juppi’s Enchanted Forest, or toboggan over alpine pastures from Lanerköpfl to Niederau and the Markbachjoch.
Children with Kaiserschmarrn, Ski Juwel
© Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau_shoot&style
There’s also the Alpbachtaler Lauser-Sauser, an alpine coaster located at the top station of the Wiedersbergerhornbahn. Fun and fast, the ride takes visitors down an 1,035m-long downhill run at speeds of up to 42 km/h. There’s a photo point and speed measurements along the way.
The Gipföhit Schatzberg restaurant sits (aptly) at the top of the Schatzberg mountain at 1,898m which divides the two valleys of Alpbachtal and Wildschönau. It’s a fantastic spot to grab a traditional Tirolean lunch (and a wide variety of schnapps), with the menu specialising in organic beef and a particularly Austrian offering - pretzel soup. If it's Kaiserschmarrn you're after though - sweetened pancakes which come in portions so big they’re often eaten as a main course rather than as a desert - head to Böglalm, a small rustic hut above Inneralpbach. Just beware that you’ll be carrying an extra few kilograms back down the mountain.
The hospitality in Ski Juwel is personal and community-based. There’s no giant mountain huts. It’s all small cabins and valleys, and regional products as used as a matter of fact.
If you’re too full to ski after all that food, visit the Kristallbrauerei, meaning ‘crystal brewer’, in Inneralpbach - a local craft brewer run by one man, who produces 1,500 hl of top quality unfiltered beer annually. We’d recommend just having a taste though, because when the night comes around, the skiing isn’t done yet in the Ski Juwel. Night skiing takes place under the floodlights at Reither Kogel in Alpbachtal every Friday and Saturday, with 6km of groomed pistes to carve down. It’s a particularly great way to spend the evening before heading back to town for a moonlit stroll through the postcard perfect towns of Alpbach or Wildschönau.
Ski Juwel is quintessential Tirolean. It’s beauty, community and warmth, even in winter, whichever way you look.
Fact Box
Lifts:
45
Pistes:
113km
Nearest Airports:
Innsbruck (65km to Alpbach), Salzburg (144km), Munich (161km)
Elevation:
830m-2025m
Highest Mountains:
Wiedersberger Horn, 2,128m