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Rätikon Alps

In Vorarlberg, Austria’s westernmost province, the Rätikon Alps spread along the borders of Liechtenstein and Switzerland on the southwest side of the Montafon valley. These are limestone mountains, ragged and rugged, with a choice of valleys flowing from them down to the Montafon trench, from which access is most easily gained. The highest summit is that of the 2965m Schesaplana, a walker’s peak at the head of the Brandnertal, whose main resort village, Brand, is on a bus route from the railway station at Bludenz. Schruns, Tschagguns and Gargellen also make useful valley bases, but with several well-situated mountain huts built in the high country below attention-grabbing peaks, some of the best walks either start from particular huts or make tours from one hut to another.

Silvretta Alps

At the 2354m Plasseggenpass limestone gives way to crystalline rock, which continues into and throughout the Silvretta Alps, and takes the Hochgebirge and the border with Switzerland further east. The Silvretta mountains have their fair share of glaciers and snowfields, and elegant peaks such as Piz Buin and the Dreiländerspitze. More huts offer accommodation for walkers and climbers in remote locations, and some of the finest walks cross cols leading from one valley to another. Access is from both the Montafon and Paznaun valleys, the two linked by the Silvretta Hochalpenstrasse which crosses the 2036m Bielerhöhe, overlooking an attractive dammed lake. The main resorts are St Gallenkirch and Gaschurn in the Montafon valley, and Galtür and Ischgl in Paznaun, while accommodation can also be found at the Bielerhöhe itself.