Alpe Adria
Trail

The Alpe Adria Trail is a long-distance hiking route from Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe in Austria to the Adriatic port of Muggia in Italy. It records 43 official stages over circa 750 km, including the optional three-country circular tour; the linear traverse from Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe to Muggia counts 37 stages.

The start sits at the foot of the Grossglockner (3,798 m). That summit is not on the trail. The trail high point is 2,370 m at Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe (GROHAG 2,369 m). From there the marked stages run through Hohe Tauern National Park, the Nock Mountains, the Julian Alps, the Soča Valley, and the karst of Friuli-Venezia Giulia to the sea.

Official publications (alpe-adria-trail.com and austria.info) give about 750 km and about six hours per stage. Typical walking time is 5–7 hours a day across 43 stages. Cumulative gain is 24,800 m and loss 26,900 m. The trail is a discovery route: marked stages, huts and guesthouses, no via ferrata required and no glacier crossing on the walking line. It is standard alpine hiking, not a mountaineering traverse of the Grossglockner.

Stage 1 begins at Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe beside the Pasterze glacier viewpoint and descends toward Heiligenblut. Mid-trail stages follow the Soča toward Bovec after the Vršič Pass. The last official stage reaches Muggia via the Rilke Trail above the Gulf of Trieste. Luggage transfer and a booking centre exist; hut beds in July and August need advance booking.