Play grounds & adventure areas, plants & animals – and so much more! Along Villach Alpine Road you will find all the ingredients for a family excursion, with fun guaranteed for all ages. After all, in Dobratsch Nature Park each and every hike becomes an exciting journey through time, every stroll an exciting experience and even every car journey an adventure-filled tour to the next adventure world. We show you the most popular excursion destinations for children in Dobratsch Nature Park and have a few tips for you as to how your holiday will become a variety-packed and unforgettable adventure.
Fantastic excursion destinations for children on the Dobratsch
In ‘Villacher Alpe’ Alpine Garden right next to car park P6, nature explorers of all ages will discover more than 800 different Alpine plants. Including a few that are only found on the Dobratsch! Our fun play tip – who will be the first to find three Alpine plants with blue blossoms? Who will find the Wulfenia, which only grows in Carinthia? Don’t worry, all the plants have been provided with name plates … Incidentally, for a small donation, little gardeners can take some seeds or seedlings back home with them. Opening times: start of June until the end of August, 09:00-18:00 every day, separate entry fee, duration: approx. 1 hour
Skywalk ‘Rote Wand’ (red wall) starts at P6 car park too, taking little ‘high fliers’ directly up to the ‘floating’ viewing platform! You get up to this platform which hovers 400 metres above ground, bit by bit on a secure and barrier-free path – there are no steps and the gradient is minimal, which means it is suitable for prams too. The view to the die Rote Wand is just superb! As well as this, you can even make out the rivers and lakes far down below, as well as the Julian Alps and the Karawanken.
Along the barrier-free educational geology path ‘Vom Meer zum Berg’ on the Rosstratte, which can also be explored if you have a pram, children can learn lots of exciting details which have come about over millions of years. How did a fossilized sea snail come to be up on the mountain summit? What does the Dobratsch have to do with a Swiss cheese? An exciting journey into how this characteristic mountain high above Gail and Drau came about.
In the ‘Herrscher der Lüfte – die Vogelwelt des Naturparks Dobratsch’ (‘Rulers of the Skies – Bird Life in the Dobratsch Nature Park’) exhibition and at the nature park information point (right at car park P8) parents and children learn lots of interesting information about the feathered inhabitants and migratory birds on Villach’s local mountain. The super playground and Berggasthof Aichingerhütte also provide fun, games and refreshments with Carinthian cuisine.
A totally exciting and exceptional experience – heading out with a Nature Park ranger on an exploratory tour on the Dobratsch! During the summer, Dobratsch Nature Park provides a variety-packed programme of activities for children and families. Observe the agile chamois on the rocks in the high mountain ranges, majestic raptors circling high above your head and fluttering butterflies!
Highlight of Villach Alpine Road: Rosstratte and its adventure play area!
Rosstratte is the finish point and high point of Villach Alpine Road. There is plenty for children to experience here too! The absolutely fantastic Rosstratte adventure play area for instance! At 1732 metres altitude breath-taking viewing towers await, a spectacular tunnel system, dare-devil climbing nets along with the open-air arena are there waiting to be tackled by children. The underground speaking tube and the long cable car are especially popular! Children also get to experience which trees and animals are native to the Dobratsch area in a fun way. A huge bonus for parents – the play area is in perfect sight from the sun terrace at the rear of Berggasthof Rosstratten! While adults enjoy a leisurely coffee, little ones can let off steam to their hearts’ content.
Another bonus for families: at Rosstratten car park P11 there are specific family car parks. With more space to get in and out or cars, and loading and unloading your children, and all the other kit and caboodle you may have!
How it works: hiking & walking with children
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From Rosstratte (car park P11) you can continue on foot with children – a short, leisurely stroll which can also be negotiated no problem at all with prams and buggies, takes you up to the viewing platforms on the Rosstratte. Those of you who would like to hike a little bit further, can get to an easy pasture path via the panoramic summit path, which is perfect for families with small children, taking around half an hour’s walk to get to Dobratsch summit (2167 m), then there is chance to refuel in Dobratsch summit house and enjoy some delicious Carinthian food. Also worth a look on the summit – two of the highest pilgrimage churches in the East Alps.
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From Aichingerhütte (P8 car park) a hike to the spectacular Gamsblick panoramic viewing platform starts. This path is easy to negotiate, requiring neither any specific level of fitness or technique – yet you will still be rewarded with the loveliest views into the distance to numerous mountain summits. The 2.7 km route, on which you negotiate 134 metres of ascent, takes you to your destination in around 50 minutes on foot.
So, when will you head out on a family experience excursion on Villach Alpine Road? Get all the information about ticket prices and opening times for Villach Alpine Road now.