Lessach: Trails, Mountain Scenery and Village Culture

When choosing a travel destination, the activities you’re interested in during your stay often matter. Lessach combines specific hiking opportunities, cycling routes, winter sports and distinctive cultural sites. If you’re looking for a hotel in Lessach, you can consider whether exploring the landscape or the village’s special features should shape your stay more. The named trails, route distances and cultural sites provide concrete points of reference.

Hiking Trails and Cycling Routes

The Salzburg Arnoweg and the Lungau Cultural Hiking Trail pass through the village of Lessach. There are also hiking opportunities to clear mountain lakes. This means that routes connected with the village and hikes to mountain lakes offer different kinds of hiking experiences. If you’d like to focus on one, you can consider whether a route through the village or a mountain lake as a hiking destination matters more to you.

Cyclists can compare two routes by distance and elevation gain. The “Lessacher Winklweg – Hinteres Lessachtal” cycling route is 6.7 kilometres long and has an elevation gain of 85 metres. The “Wildbachhütte via Zoitzachalm” mountain biking route is 7.1 kilometres long and has an elevation gain of 610 metres. The routes differ in length by just 0.4 kilometres; the difference in elevation gain is 525 metres. The different route descriptions—cycling route versus mountain biking route—add a second point of reference to the figures. When choosing, you can consider the type of route as well as its length and elevation gain.

Gumma, Landscape and Winter

Gumma is the home mountain of the people of Lessach and is normally a popular ski touring destination. On the mountain hike to Gumma, you’ll come across avalanche cones in Lessach—stone structures built to protect the village of Lessach from avalanches. This gives the tour a direct connection to the village as well as to the mountain.

Lessach lies in the protected core zone of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Salzburger Lungau. An 8-kilometre-long cross-country ski trail runs through the Hinteres Lessachtal landscape conservation area. The core zone designation applies to Lessach, while the landscape conservation area designation applies to the trail’s route. If you’re planning to go cross-country skiing, check winter conditions before you travel.

Church, Cemetery and Local History

Lessach Parish Church is dedicated to Saint Paul. Since the 17th century, all graves in the cemetery in Lessach have been designed uniformly as so-called chest-shaped tombs, also known as Sarchen. The cemetery is unique worldwide and significant from an art-historical perspective. You can register for cemetery and church tours at the municipal office by calling 06484/812. Tours are conducted by appointment.

Thurnschall was built around the year 1200. By contrast, the cemetery’s uniform grave design dates back to the 17th century. History enthusiasts can therefore explore two periods that are far apart in time.

Schafaufbratln takes place in Lessach only in September and October. If you’d like to plan your trip around it, check the local dates in advance.

Discover more destinations: Göriach, Thomatal, Zankwarn, Unternberg, Zederhaus, Tweng, Ramingstein, Wölting

For the main travel overview: Tamsweg.