Erdpyramiden Oberbozen

On our first full day in Soprabolzano we decided to take a small hike to see one of the more interesting local attractions, the erdpyramiden or earthen pyramids. The local touristverein, (tourist organization) maintains a loop trail, called the Themenweg (theme trail), to see these natural features. The short hike, approximately 2 miles long, around the loop was what first attracted Amy and me to the Ritten Plateau from our vacation in Bolzano some 7 years ago in 2004. We were so taken by what we found that we returned two years later in 2006 and then again last weekend.

The trail is readily accessible, starting near the top of the funicular which comes up from Bozen. At first you are on narrow, paved roads, but within a quarter of a mile you turn off into the trees and follow the path of an old Roman road, pictured above.

After a leisurely hike of some 20 minutes you find yourself at the edge of a steep valley. Poking up from the valley are earthen pyramids. The genesis of the structures was a glacial deposit of conglomerate sandstone which contained some larger pieces. As the material eroded away, the large chunks protected the material below them from erosion and large, spiky structures evolved. Eventually, erosion wins and the capstone topples. From that point on the days are numbered. This is apparently one of the few places in the world where there are large groupings of these earthen spires. The perspective is deceptive. Some of these spikes are easily 25 meters tall. The largest capstone in the group below is almost 2 feet thick and weighs upwards of a ton.

Further along on the trail you come to a craggy bump some 40-50 meters taller than its surroundings atop which the Church of St. Jakob is perched. If you know you are going to want to go inside the church you can request the key from the tourist information office near the funicular in Soprabolzano. Peering in the windows gives evidence of some nice frescos which might make it worthwhile.

As we were approaching the path to the church, we noticed a group of four horses racing around a meadow field and generally enjoying life as a horse in an alpine meadow. Imagine our surprise when, a few minutes after our arrival at the church, the four of them joined us! They were quite sweet and gentle, especially when offered a bite of apple. Amy now has a new friend. Hopefully Diesel won't see the picture and get jealous.

On our trek we found evidence of apiculture. We know honey is produced in the area, now we know at least one of the places where it is done.

After exiting the wooded trails, we made our way across a meadow to the town of Maria Himmelfahrt. Below Amy is doing her best Heidi impression with the cows in the field behind her.

Maria Himmelfahrt roughly translates from the German as Mary heaven travel, in other words the Ascension of Mary. Pictured below is the Church of the Ascension of Mary. Notice that the hiking trail goes literally through the building.

We walked back to Soprabolzano rather than taking the small, but modern train which connects a handful of villages to the funicular which travels down to Bolzano. Later that evening, after a relaxing nap and sauna visit, we walked another trail past a llama farm to work up an appetite and then returned to Geyrerhof for the second of our delightful dinners.