Riffiano Waal Path

As one of the lesser known Waal Paths, there are far fewer visitors here than on the other Waal hiking trails around Merano. Perhaps for this reason a "path of contemplation" has been established here, leading to the famous pilgrimage church of Riffian, destination of many religious and believers from all over the world.

As soon as you leave the car in the center of the village of Riffian, you go up a few hundred meters on a steep road to the Riffian waterway. The hike of about 5 km leads through woods and orchards and at the end, above the church you can continue on the Rösselesteig, which leads to Saltusio.

Above the pilgrimage church we decided to follow the old Waal path over the Rösselesteig further north. This trail adapts to the terrain and leads almost evenly into and out of small valleys, additional variety is offered by the forest, which is increasingly changing from a mixed forest into a coniferous forest with many rustic pines. The descent is through the forest to the Mitteregghof, from where you can reach the road that leads back to Riffian via an overgrown and romantic old path.