Gailtal

The Gailtal stretches east from East Tyrol into southern Kärnten, a long, straight valley where the Gail River and its western tributary, the Gailbach, drain toward the Drau. The valley floor is wide and flat, framed by steep limestone walls on the north and high limestone ridges on the south. The Kartitscher Sattel, a low pass at 1 525 metres, divides the waters and gives the western stretch its own name, Lesachtal. The contrast between valley floor and mountain wall makes the Gailtal stand out among Alpine valleys. Two great prehistoric rockslides from the Dobratsch, one in ancient times and another in 1348, spread debris across ten kilometres of the lower valley floor. The valley also marks the Periadriatic Line, a major geological fault that separates the Southern Alps from the Central Alps. Visitors find a network of cycle paths along the Gail and its lakes. The Gailradweg follows the river from Kötschach-Mauthen to Villach, while branches reach the Pressegger See and the Weissenseer See. In the villages, traditional farmhouses wear the Gailtaler Tracht, and at Pentecost the Kufenstechen in Feistritz an der Gail brings riders and onlookers together. The valley’s quiet lanes lead past old mill sites and up to high pastures where cattle graze in summer.