A refuge for rare species of animal

Lazaun lift: 1.999 m – 2.430 m

With the Lazaun chair lift, in only a few minutes you not only reach the quaint Lazaun Hut, but you also find yourself in a quite different world. The plateau is characterised by the power of the glaciers, including an active block glacier. Despite its name, a block glacier is not a glacier, since it does not consist of glare ice, but of debris and lumps of rock mixed with ice. It winds very slowly down into the valley, which accords its entirely rocky surface a predominantly undulating structure, and is a phenomenon of the permafrost. However, the wonderful formations of the polished glacial rocks are also clearly visible.

Upland Alpine Swamp

Here you can encounter quite unique alpine flora, for example the smallest tree in the world. It is the Dwarf Willow. As a pioneer plant, it colonises the long, snow-covered troughs. To protect it from the cold and snow, its trunk and branches remain underground, with only the newest branches, bearing a few leaves, peeping out from the earth. You will search in vain for any other trees here, but, in Ötzi's day, the mighty Swiss stone pine grew here. The timber line was then around 200 metres higher than today. This is proven by discoveries of tree trunks in the swamp on the Lazaun Alm. You can marvel at a slice of the trunks which are over 6000 years old in the Archeoparc .
This swamp is the habitat of many rare plants, for example the Alpine Deer Grass, also called Common Cottongrass, which belongs to the family of the sedges. This variety of plant grows in wet, acid soils in rain swamps and transitional swamps. In the Alps and the foothills of the Alps this variety is a relic of the Ice Age, and is on the decline. Many botanical specialities, such as rare lichens, the Glacier Azalea or the Creeping Juniper, typify the Lazaun Plain.

A refuge for rare species of animal

The attentive observer will also, with a little bit of luck, spot some rare fauna. Besides the numerous marmots, the region is also home to rock partridges and rock ptarmigans, as well as the black grouse, which is threatened with extinction – also known as the Blackgame – which prefers to colonise swamps and open heathlands.
In order not to disturb these rare and sensitive fauna and flora, you are requested to keep to the paths.
When you descend, the path through an ancient pine forest is recommended, which leads directly to Kurzras, or otherwise the somewhat longer archaeological hiking trail through the Langgrubtal Valley to the copper stele with a cup mark.

Chair lift Lazaun

Operating hours: from 9.00-12.30 and from 13.30-16.30

Open: From mid-June to mid-September