5 Days in Ischgl

Three valley stations stand within a few hundred meters of each other at the edge of the village: the Silvrettabahn (A1), the Fimbabahn (A3) and the Pardatschgratbahn (A2). The 18 ticket counters are there, open from 8:00 to 17:00, and passes of two days or more come on a key card with a 5 EUR deposit.

Which pass you can buy depends on your bed. The VIP pass (46 lifts in Ischgl and Samnaun) needs a guest card from Ischgl or Mathon; the Silvretta pass (75 lifts, adding Galtür, Kappl and See) is for everyone else. The day price is the same. Rental shops cluster at the valley stations, and the depot at the Pardatschgratbahn has more than 900 lockers.

The Silvrettabahn is the lift that made the village (the operator keeps a company history online). The first one opened on 15 December 1963, after a cabin fell at the acceptance test, and the farmer-owned company rebuilt it. A six-person gondola replaced it in 1983. Since 1998 the line has been a funitel, with 24-person cabins hanging from two ropes, which is why it keeps running in winds up to 100 km/h.

The ride takes 11 minutes and climbs 961 m to the Idalp at 2,321 m. It moves 3,440 people an hour, and the Fimbabahn gondola next to it adds 2,800. Take the Silvrettabahn up and keep the Pardatschgratbahn for the afternoon.

Even strong skiers should spend the first half hour here. The Idalp is a sunny shelf at the top of the lifts, with the blue runs 2 and 2b (the operator calls 2b ideal for beginners), the Nachtweidebahn chairlift and practice lifts at Velill and Viderböden. The ski school has an office on the Idalp, and the main restaurant runs a kindergarten for guests' children from 2 years.

Beginners should know the limits. Only 47 of the 234 km are blue, and the way down to the village is a red run. The Idalp is a good place to learn, and the Silvrettabahn and Fimbabahn cabins will take you down in the evening if you would rather not ski it.

The Alpenhaus stood on the Idalp before the cable car arrived, and its owner already ran a ski school there. Today it is a glass-and-timber lodge a few meters from the top stations of the Silvrettabahn and Fimbabahn, furnished in the operator's words with cow skins, wood and an open fire. Downstairs is self-service with a charcoal grill; upstairs is a table-service restaurant with a lounge and a terrace.

It sits where every lift arrives, so expect a crowd at midday. The Alpenhaus also stays open on toboggan evenings, which matters on day five.

The Pardatschgrat is the other gateway to the ski area, a ridge at about 2,600 m reached by the Pardatschgratbahn gondola (9.4 minutes, 1,251 m of climb, built in 2014). The Pardorama restaurant on top has three floors, a glass front over the ski area, the Fimba valley and Ischgl, and deckchairs outside in good weather. The operator calls it probably the best view in the ski area.

Red runs 5 and 5a and black run 4 serve this side, a fair place to find out how you ski before the steep days. On 9 and 23 April 2027 the terrace hosts the sun.downer, an afternoon with DJs and an ice bar at 2,624 m.

The run to the village is the finale of every day in Ischgl, and it is built to be watched. Runs 1 and 1a come down from the Idalp and the Pardatschgrat to the valley stations, red, wide and groomed, ending on the Prennerhang right above the bars. The slopes on this side close at 16:30 until 27 March and at 17:00 from 28 March. After that there is no avalanche control and no inspection run, and the operator calls skiing the closed slopes dangerous and prohibited.

Nobody has to ski it. The Silvrettabahn runs down until 17:00 in the first half of the season.

The village's après-ski sits at the bottom of the run. The Schatzi, at the foot of the Prennerhang, has a heated open-air ice bar and a pizzeria that serves until 20:30. The Kitzloch is a Wirtshaus with après-ski every day from 15:00 to 19:00 and a kitchen that opens again from 19:30. The Kuhstall calls itself one of the best-known venues in the Alps, with DJs until the early hours, and reopens on 20 November 2026.

Expect crowded, loud and international. If that is not your evening, the Silvretta Therme (day three) is open until late.

Your way out of the Idalp today is new. The operator is spending 50 million EUR on three eight-seat chairlifts with weather hoods and heated seats: the Höllbodenbahn and the Sassgalunbahn, built in summer 2025, and the Höllkarbahn, announced for summer 2026. The Höllbodenbahn carries 4,200 people an hour from the Höllboden to a new upper terminus about 500 m east of the Idalp, between runs 10 and 11, placed to reduce crossing traffic.

Ride it once for the heated seat, then judge by the lift line. The Höllboden was a bottleneck for years, and the operator's own argument for the new terminus is fewer crossings of skiers. The Höllkarbahn is planned for 2026/27 but has no confirmed opening date, so check the live lift list. Day three works without it.

The Palinkopf, at about 2,850 m, is the high point of the southern side. The Palinkopfbahn chairlift (built 2017) and the Gampenbahn reach it, and from the Palinkopf and Zeblas area runs 20 and 21 are black. Runs 22 and 23 are blue, so mixed groups can ride the same chair and meet below.

This is where Ischgl's color split shows. Intermediates will find reds toward the Gampen and the Höllboden, but the walls under the summit are listed as black. Do a warm-up run before you commit to 20 or 21.

The Piz Val Gronda, at 2,812 m, is reached from the Palinkopf by run 41 and then by a cable car built in 2013 that climbs 516 m in 5.4 minutes. Runs 41 and 42 are listed as black, and 42 has a red variant. The tourist board also marks a freeride line from the top, up to 30 degrees and about 400 m of descent, for freeriders with some experience.

The cable car moves only 1,300 people an hour, so go before 10:00 or after the lunch lull. Off the groomed run you need a transceiver, shovel and probe, and the avalanche report comes before the route.

The Gampenalpe opened in December 2018 on run 40, about 400 m from the valley station of the Gampenbahn. It is a rustic hut with a modern interior, a wide sun deck and table service, which makes it a place to sit down rather than refuel. The food is Tyrolean, and there is a published wine list.

The Gampenbahn chairlift runs back up to the Palinkopf from nearby. The hut is open daily from 9:30 to 15:30, with the opening date depending on snow.

The Paznauner Taja lodge sits at about 2,000 m in the Fimba valley, and the operator describes it as a meeting place for après-ski: regional dishes at the table, pizza at the self-service counter, and a sun terrace. It is the mid-mountain version of the village bars.

The Fimba valley runs 30-35 are served by the Paznauner Thayabahn and the Höllspitzbahn chairlifts. To get home, take run 36 to the Bodenalpe, the Bodenalpbahn, and run 37 to the Fimbabahn middle station, where the gondola runs down to the village until 17:00 (last ascent 16:00) until 27 March. Do not stay for the second beer.

The Idjochbahn chairlift climbs 460 m from the Idalp in 6 minutes to the Idjoch at 2,763 m, the saddle where Austria and Switzerland meet. From here blue run 11 runs back to the Idalp, red run 12 goes down to the Höllboden, and black run 12a drops into the Höllkar. Three controlled crossing points lie on the Idjoch at about 2,750 m, which you will use on day four.

From the Idjoch, the short Greitspitzlift T-bar (548 m long, 1,426 people an hour) takes you to the Greitspitze at about 2,870 m, the highest lift point in the Silvretta Arena. It is short, slow and exposed, and worth it for the view over the Silvretta and the Samnaun group more than for the ski.

From the top, run 14 is a red back to the Idjoch, runs 14a, 14b, 14c and 15 are black into the Höllkar, and run 13 goes back toward the Idalp, red with a black start section. Intermediates should take run 14 and keep the black for another day.

The Höllkar is a bowl under the Greitspitze with its own lifts, among them the Lange Wandbahn chairlift (2,221 to 2,853 m, built 2010). Runs 26 and 26a are the black ones, and the red Höllkar valley run 24 lets a mixed group meet at the bottom. The Höllkarbahn chairlift is being replaced and may not run early in the season; the other lifts and the runs to the Höllboden still work.

It is one of the steeper corners of the Ischgl side and not a place for a first day. After a few laps, ski down to the Höllboden for lunch.

The Höllboden restaurant is at the valley station of the Höllkarbahn, at 2,141 m. It is self-service, with a hearty bacon platter, and a staffed lounge where you can order a fondue in advance. It is a lodge for refueling, not for a long lunch, and that suits a steep day.

Fondue needs an order ahead of time, so ask when you pass in the morning. The new Höllbodenbahn takes you back up toward the Idalp.

The Ischgl Snow Park has two park areas with 16 obstacles, a funline, a bag jump and a speed line, and shapers groom it every day. It suits beginners and park regulars alike, and the Park Base at its exit has deckchairs and music.

The funline is the one for everyone: a run that mixes piste, cross and park, reached from the Velill six-seater at the Idalp, with a punching bag, a high-five hand, a snow tunnel, mini boxes and a xylophone.

The Silvretta Therme opened in 2023 and has more than 1,000 m2 of water: a sports pool, an adventure pool, a whirl grotto and an outdoor pool with a pool bar on the rooftop terrace. The sauna area covers 1,500 m2. After a steep day, the warm outdoor water is the best part.

The operator lists it open daily from 10:00 until 23:00 this winter (the spa's own site shows 22:00 for autumn), and the ice rink around the building is open until 21:00. If you hold a ski pass valid for at least four days during the cheaper START and FIRN weeks, the spa takes 20% off at the counter. Booking online early earns 10% or 20%.

The border between Austria and Switzerland runs through the middle of the ski area, and Samnaun says the customs office stands on the slope at 2,756 m, probably the highest in Europe. You reach it from the Idalp by the Flimjochbahn or the Idjochbahn, and then you ski toward the Alp Trida on run 62 or 63.

Customs officers work on the slope and check goods, and the village's advice is simply to stay within the allowances. Read them under the duty-free stop below before you fill a rucksack, and carry ID.

The Alp Trida is the Swiss base of the ski area, a high meadow at 2,261 m. Cross-border skiing began on 16 December 1978, and the Swiss part opened officially on 21 January 1979; the Silvretta cable car company took a 51% stake in the Samnaun lifts in 1977. Above it, the Panorama restaurant Sattel at 2,500 m sits at the top of the double-decker cable car from Samnaun.

The runs here are friendly: 60 and 62 are blue, 61 and 62a are red. On a short day, take the Alp Trider Sattelbahn up to the Sattel for the view.

The Skihaus Alp Trida has served skiers since 1934 and is one of the most traditional mountain restaurants in the area. It serves Swiss dishes and fondue, and in the lower floor the Schnitzel-Treff offers Wiener Schnitzel from small to extra large at small prices. The kitchen runs from 10:00 to 16:00.

If you want chicken instead, the Alp Bella at 2,380 m is the pick: the operator calls its grilled chicken the best in the ski area, and it also serves cheese fondue and rösti.

Samnaun has been a duty-free zone since the early 1890s, when the village asked Bern to be excluded from the Swiss customs area because, at the time, the only road in led through Austria. About 40 shops line the valley, open daily from 9:00 to 18:00 or 19:00, except on Easter Sunday, Pentecost and 25 December. Two duty-free valley runs lead straight to them.

What is worth buying is mostly what is taxed heavily at home: spirits, cigars, cosmetics, jewelry and perfume. The shops also sell ski wear and fashion, so compare prices at home first. EU allowances, as the village lists them: 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars, 1 liter of spirits over 22% or 2 liters under, 4 liters of wine, 16 liters of beer, and other goods up to 300 EUR per person. Residents of the border district have lower limits. Visitors from outside the EU should check their own country's rules.

Since the 2016/17 winter, the Smuggler's Trail has traced the old contraband routes of the border. In the post-war years, smugglers carried loads of about 40 kg for six or seven hours through the mountains, with nylon stockings, coffee and tobacco. Today it is a ski circuit with three levels: Gold is 61.8 km with 13,740 m of altitude difference including cable cars, Silver 41.4 km and 9,530 m, and Bronze 40.2 km and 8,282 m, mostly on blue runs.

Gold and Silver both pass the Twinliner valley station in Samnaun, so they fit in a duty-free stop. The full trail is a day of its own. For the prize draw, the app wants every checkpoint in order, in one day, uploaded by 17:00.

The Twinliner, a double-decker cable car built in 1995, climbs 722 m in 5.7 minutes from the valley station at about 1,780 m, and a second cable car runs beside it. Last ascent is at 16:00 until 27 March and 16:30 after. The top station is the Sattel, so ski down to the Alp Trida, where you still need the Flimsattelbahn chairlift back to the Ischgl side, and it closes at the same hours.

The Twinliner was being modernised in summer 2026, with reopening planned for the season start, so check that it runs. Be at the valley station by 15:45 until 27 March, or by 16:10 from 28 March. If you miss it, the road back to Ischgl by bus or taxi is about 70 km.

On 23 February 1999, an avalanche hit a part of Galtür that had been thought safe and killed 31 people. The Alpinarium is the village's answer: a museum built into a 345 m long, 19 m high protection wall, nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award in 2007 and 2015. The permanent exhibition, At the very top, tells the story of the village, with the Walser settlers, the smugglers and the Swabian children, and a documentary covers the avalanche itself. A small room called Memento is given to the dead.

Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, last admission at 17:15, closed on Mondays. Lunch is the museum's first-floor café, Frozen Water, and a 70 m2 bouldering wall (8 EUR) opens off it. Galtür itself was named Tyrol's first climatic spa for its clean air.

Kappl has a 6 km natural toboggan run from the mountain station of the Diasbahn cable car, dropping 650 m to the valley, open daily from 8:30 to 16:30 depending on weather and snow. The village of See has an equivalent with 700 m of descent, open until 16:00.

Rent a sled in the village, wear a helmet and sturdy shoes, and leave the ski boots behind. The night toboggan evenings in Kappl and See happen on selected dates, and Kappl's is on Thursdays from 19:00 to 21:00.

The winter trail to Mutta starts at the Silvretta Therme and runs 6 km through snowy forest to a view of Ischgl, gaining about 267 m to 1,597 m. It is easy, takes 1.5 hours, and passes the hamlet of Paznaun, which has sun benches for the way back.

Start before 15:00 in December, when the sun sets at about 16:30 and the valley loses it earlier. The valley has about 100 km of groomed winter trails between 1,060 and 2,036 m, including a 5.1 km easy one to the wildlife park in Mathon.

The Vider Alp is a lodge at 2,250 m near the Idalp, and the operator says that on toboggan evenings it serves cheese, oil and soup fondue. That is the plan: eat first, then sled.

Ride up on the Silvrettabahn after 19:00. The toboggan ticket includes the ride up, and the Alpenhaus is the other lodge open that night. Plan the fondue before the run, not after.

The floodlit toboggan run starts at the mountain station of the Silvrettabahn at 2,320 m and runs 7 km down 950 m to the valley, one of the longest in the Austrian Alps according to the tourist board. It runs on Mondays and Thursdays from mid-December to early April, when the snow allows, and is closed during the day. The cabin runs up from 19:00, with the last ascent at 20:30 and the last descent at 22:00.

Tickets cost 21 EUR for adults and 14 EUR for children, including the ride up, and sled hire is 15 EUR for adults and 5 EUR for children. Children under 17 ride up free with a parent. Ski passes are not valid, but season passes bought in Ischgl include the evening. Use a helmet, sit upright, and do not slide head-first.