Blaubergkopf

The Blaubergkopf is a 1787-metre summit in the Blauberge, a compact limestone ridge that marks the border between Austria and Germany. The massif lies eleven kilometres south of Tegernsee and four kilometres west of the former spa town of Wildbad Kreuth. From west to east it rises through seven peaks, the tallest being the Halserspitz at 1862 metres. The ridge carries a long-distance footpath that links every summit, usually started from Wildbad Kreuth. The route crosses the Siebenhüttenalm, tackles the wire-rope section through the Wolfsschlucht, and then follows the crest past Predigtstuhl, Wichtlplatte and Blaubergschneid to the Halserspitz. A full circuit takes about eight hours and can be broken at the Gufferthütte, a summer alpine club hut at 1475 metres that offers food and beds. The southern flanks are clothed in mountain pines while the northern side is steeper and rockier. In the east the ridge drops to the Bayerische Wildalm and the Wilder Lochberg ridge. Part of the area is protected as the Naturwald Blaubergkopf, one of Bavaria’s last primeval forests.