Mountain biking in Carinthia

The Transalp Alpe-Adria tours

The Transalp Alpe-Adria tours are another highlight for mountain bikers. Professional tour guides accompany groups of two performance levels on attractive bike routes heading south from Bad Kleinkirchheim to the sea. These tours are only available with a guide because they lead through sensitive areas such as the Nockberge Biosphere Park and the Tagliamento riverbed.

An excellent training course with a pump track and a training ground for children have also been constructed at the mountain’s valley station so that novices can test their skills in advance. The trail is also being expanded with new routes. www.petzen.net  

All in all, 44 different tours at various levels of difficulty are on offer in the Gailtal and Carnic Alps. The best way to become acquainted with the variety of the Alpe-Adria region is on a trans-border tour into Italy, which will enable you to discover the culture and cuisine of two countries along attractive trails. In the Lake Weissensee nature park you will find a delightful combination of cycling, bathing and swimming in the heart of the beautiful Gailtal Alps. Lake Weissensee lies at the highest elevation of any bathing lake in the Alps, and the landscape around the lake is unique, and the ideal setting for mountain bikers. The tour of the Naggler Alm is a pleasure. Gentle paths through verdant forests and green meadows lead up to the Alm, where you are warmly greeted by hostess Almut Knaller and spoilt with delicious cuisine. The products here are 100% organic and come from the farmers of the region, and you can enjoy your meal on the sun terrace. Right next to the alpine chalet, a three-kilometre-long mountain bike technique training course that simulates the obstacles of the landscape is available for mountain bikers to hone their skills. www.weissensee.com/bike

Have you ever ridden a mountain bike through an abandoned mine shaft? You can in Southern Carinthia. Equipped with a head torch and a helmet, you explore the seven-kilometre shaft. Massive rock formations and passages up to thirty metres high, in which lead and zinc were mined long ago, await visitors to the mountain. Incidentally, you will also ride over the border of Carinthia. This is because the entrance to the shaft is located in Slovenia, making it an adventure without borders for the whole family. www.stollenbiken.at   

Ascending the mountain to the nearby Karavankas is worthwhile. It is certainly something of a climb up to the high-level tours of the Klagenfurt and Koschuta chalets, but you will be rewarded with breath-taking scenery atop the lofty mountain range and also enjoy regional culinary delicacies.