This sunny walk takes us to the picturesque little church of St. Kathrein near Hafling, which can be seen from afar as a small silhouette on the horizon when viewed from Merano. The short, varied route leads from the Hafling Tourist Office along a small tarmac forest road to the historic Sulfner Haflinger stud farm and on to the little church, which stands on a hill.

Reachability

From Bolzano, take the MeBo motorway to Merano Sud and continue initially towards the Passeier Valley, where we turn off onto the bypass towards Schenna, heading towards Hafling.

Just before the Shell petrol station in Hafling, we turn left towards Merano 2000/Falzeben, where we park 50 metres further on at the local tourist office on St. Kathreinstraße.

Description

Starting from the car park at the Hafling Tourist Office, we follow the small, traffic-free St. Kathreinstraße (trail marker no. 2, estimated time 15 minutes) downhill towards St. Kathrein. After a short section with a steep gradient of 13%, the path continues on a gentle incline, leading us into a sparse woodland area. Here, at the edge of the woods, there are a few scattered benches offering lovely views of the surrounding area. Eventually, the path climbs gently until we reach the car park at the Hotel Cafè Sulfner. To our left, we can see the small church of St. Kathrein, which is accessible via a short, steep climb (18%) on a gravel surface. From the church forecourt, a magnificent panoramic view of Merano and the surrounding area opens up before us. Looking towards Vinschgau, the Partschins Waterfall can even be seen in the distance.