Route: Via Alpina Purple Trail

Short Description: 
The Via Alpina Purple Trail is one of the five Via Alpina TransAlp Routes and is originally planned as long-distance hiking trail with 66 stages. It can also be used as a running trail through the Eastern Limestone Alps (östliche Kalkalpen), starting at the heart of Mt. Triglav, discovering the Karawanken, going through Austria and the Salzburg Land to Germany ending in Oberstdorf, Allgäu.

Via Alpina Purple Trail characteristics:
Far away from high traffic trails, the Purple Trail landscape offers great limestone plateaus and mountain forests on most parts of the route. The level of alpine difficulty is described as being lower than on other transalp trails and thus the Purple Trail is not including much highly-technical sections, but the path includes high cultural settings such as the Abbey of Seckau or Admont where the largest monastic library in the world is placed and the World Cultural Heritage of Hallstatt-Dachstein.

Massifs crossed:
Eastern Julian Alps, Kamnik Alps (Steiner Alpen), Styrian Alps, Lower Tauern, Dachstein, Salzburg Alps,
Berchtesgaden Alps, Chiemgau Alps, Bavarian Pre-Alps, Ammergau Alps, Allgäu

Further Cultural Highlights:
When passing Bavaria, the Purple Trail is mainly following the "Maximiliansweg" - in remembrance of King Maximilian II of Bavaria's journey crossing the alps in 1858. The trail connects various touristic cities around the Königssee in the Nationalpark Berchtesgaden and the castles of Ludwig II of Bavaria. It also covers various sacral buildings, in particular from the Baroque and Rococo era. In Austria the trail crosses nine of the ten national long-distance hiking trails and thus the Purple Trail is incorporated in a trail network to Vienna, the Hungarian, Slovakian and Czech borders.

Hard Facts:
Distance: ~ 1.045 km
Ascent: 55.100 verticals uphill
Descent: 56.415 verticals downhill
Highest Point: 2.296 m
Lowest Point: 339 m

Start: Koca na Dolicu, Slovenia 2.151 m Triglav National Park
Finish: Oberstdorf, Germany

You can get a lot information on the via-alpina website: http://www.via-alpina.org/en/page/1/the-via-alpina
where you also can create your own roadbook and download gps tracks: http://www.via-alpina.org/en/roadbook
outdooractive premium provides gps data and information about the whole Trail as well: https://www.outdooractive.com/de/route/fernwanderweg/via-alpina-violetter-weg/25532913/#dm=1