Autumn hike to the Brunnenkopfhütte

While thick, sluggish fog still exudes a damp chill in the lowlands until well after midday, the path from Linderhof Palace soon climbs up into the warming autumn sun. The destination, the Brunnenkopfhütte (1,602 m), offers magnificent views of the Graswang Valley with the Linder Forest and Linderhof Palace Park, as well as the surrounding peaks of the Ammergau Alps.

Every time I visit, I’m delighted by the Graswang Valley and its dense mountain forests, the still untamed course of the Linder with its wide gravel banks – compared to the Loisach Valley, this valley feels wilder and quieter. The soft rays of sunshine make the white-and-blue Bavarian sky and the lush green forests, with the first yellow and red-tinted deciduous trees, glow beautifully. In the Ammergau Alps, you can also still find many challenging mountain tours well above the 2,000 m mark, e.g. to the Hochplatte, the Frieder, the Kreuzspitze or the Daniel, which at 2,340 m is the south-westernmost and highest peak of the Ammergau Alps

Coming from Oberammergau, a scenic ridge hike runs via the Pürschlinghaus to the Brunnenkopfhütte – possible peaks include the Sonnenberg, Teufelstättkopf and Hennenkopf. Via the “Große Klammspitze” (1,924 m), you can continue the tour as a multi-day crossing of the Ammergau Alps via Lake Plansee to Reutte or down to Füssen.