Tures-Aurina / Tauferer Ahrntal

From Bruneck in the Val Pusteria valley you can reach the Tauferer Ahrntal via a road that leads northwards through a wide trough valley. Soon you reach a wide plain surrounded by steep cliffs: the Tauferer Boden. To the north of it the castle of Taufers is enthroned on a rocky hill high above Sand in Taufers. 

Behind the castle, the valley becomes narrow like a gorge and the gentle valley bottom gives way to a harsh alpine landscape. Only near Luttach, where the Weißenbachtal branches off in a westerly direction, does the valley widen again. From here, the Ahrntal valley extends further in northeastern direction to the village of Prettau. Behind it, the three thousand metre peaks of the Zillertal Alps and the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park are towering. 

When canyoning in the thundering waterfalls, true outdoor enthusiasts can feel the elemental force of nature or dare a rafting boat through the high spur-of-the-moment rafting speed of the Ahr, which makes its way through the Tauferer Ahrntal in calm loops, sometimes in foaming cascades. A wonderful family hike, on the other hand, leads to the impressive Reinbach waterfalls, which plunge into the abyss from about 50 metres above sea level. In Prettau visitors - equipped with a lamp, helmet and rain jacket - can explore the gloomy galleries of the mine and descend to the climatic tunnel: At a depth of about one kilometre, an air humidity of almost 100 percent creates a unique microclimate that is suitable for respiratory therapies. After the mine was closed in 1893, numerous Prettau peasant women moved from Prettau to Vienna. Here they learned the art of lace making, an art that has been passed down from one generation to the next.  But it is not only the craftsmanship of lace-making that has been preserved over the years. In addition to imaginative masks with witch and devil faces, the sun is one of the most popular motifs for root carving, which is also a symbol of a nature-orientated and original holiday region.