Who hasn’t come across the much-cited introduction of the French cult comic: “The year is 50 B.C. All of Gaul is occupied by the Romans. All? Not quite! A village inhabited by indomitable Gauls is holding out, strong as ever, against the invader.” This can easily be adapted to the breathtaking destination of our Into the Wild tours: “The year is 2017 A.D. The entire Alps have been taken over by the advancements of civilisation, with cableways, roads and sprawling hotel complexes. The entire Alps? Not quite! A mountain range, seemingly inhospitable but deeply fascinating, continues to hold out against the invader.”

This metaphorical Gaul in our midst is called the Schober mountain range, and extends to the South of the mighty Grossglockner all the way to the Lienz valley basin. With all eyes on the Grossglockner since the beginnings of alpine tourism, the Schober range has been allowed to slip into the deep and peaceful slumber of a Sleeping Beauty. Why, you may ask, has nobody kissed it awake in all this time?

For one, it has always been superseded by the Grossglockner.  Ambitious mountaineers with their hearts set on the Glockner summit, or the thousands of motorists traversing the Alps on the famous Grossglockner Road, are not necessarily equally drawn to the expanse of wild mountains to the South. Secondly, the magic of the Schober mountains is revealed only at a second glance. At first, the rough and inhospitable character of this untamed environment may seem quite discouraging. Those who persevere, however, will find themselves richly rewarded. Indeed they will be enchanted – which is exactly what happened with Hannes, proprietor of the Nationalpark Lodge: “For me, the Schober mountains vividly bring to mind the Kakoram range in Asia. Though it is of course much higher in altitude, I can think of no other mountainscape with an equally untamed character.” And indeed, when looking at the more than fifty 3000-metre peaks of the Schober range stretch towards the heavens, rugged and bold, it is easy to see the correlation. In the spaces in between, the glaciers of the ice age have carved out deep valleys, containing only a spectacle of unbridled glacial streams and roaring waterfalls. The receding glaciers also left a legacy of turquoise-coloured lakes, set within the the rocky landscape like precious gemstones.

There is no road, no cableway, no reservoir dam to interfere with the almost divine harmony in the wild heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park. Merely a network of narrow hiking paths and a few small mountain huts run by the Alpine Association, offering hospitality and shelter during the summer months. To enjoy a journey of discovery in this alpine wilderness, you will have to be fairly sure-footed and reasonably fit. If you are uncertain in any way, our Into the Wild guides are there to support you with care and expertise. This also includes their unique knowledge of the territory: without it, the truly extraordinary places are almost impossible to find. Such as the ‘Schwarze Lacke’ (Black Puddle), a small mountain lake in the Graden Valley whose water temperature can rise, as if by a miracle, to 25 degrees Celsius on hot summer days – so you can go for a swim at 2,500 metres above sea level, surrounded by a breathtaking high-alpine landscape. An almost exotic encounter with nature you are sure to remember for your entire life.

In essence, the Schober range is the ideal destination for anyone keen to experience the primal force of a high-alpine environment, without having to travel all the way to Karakoram or the Himalayas. The Into the Wild programme, provided exclusively by the Nationalpark Lodge, consciously focuses on the discovery of this forgotten paradise in the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park.

For the best way to awaken your adventure spirit, we recommend the ‘Graden Valley in the Schober Range’