Mieming Plateau

The Mieminger Plateau is a broad mountain terrace rising between 850 and 1,000 metres above the Upper Inn valley in Tyrol. It stretches roughly 14 kilometres long and up to 4 kilometres wide, forming a flat tableland between the Mieming Chain to the north and the steep drop down to the Inn valley to the south. The land is made of ground moraines and gravels left by an ancient glacier. In the south the plateau is bordered by the Achberg range, a line of main dolomite peaks that separate it from the valley floor. The plateau has been a crossing place for centuries. Roman travellers followed the Via Claudia Augusta across this high ground on their way to Augsburg. A milestone found near Holzleiten shows how important the route once was. Today the plateau is a patchwork of small fields, larch meadows and open woodland. Walkers and cyclists follow a network of paths that criss-cross the open land, while in winter the same routes become groomed trails for cross-country skiing. Visitors find wide views over the Inn valley and the distant Alps. The protected landscape keeps the old pattern of fields and meadows intact. A television series about a mountain doctor is set in a village on the plateau, adding a touch of modern fame to the quiet upland. The plateau ends in the west at Holzleiten Saddle, where the road drops toward the Fern Pass.