Walking in the Bavarian Alps

The Bavarian Alps, lying along the German–Austrian border, contain some of the most spectacular walking and beautiful scenery that Germany has to offer. Reasonable prices and an excellent tourist infrastructure make the area perfect for an easy-to-organise and affordable walking holiday.

Walking guidebooks

Apart from this book, there is virtually no walking literature in English on the Bavarian Alps. Mountain Walking in Austria by Cecil Davies (Cicerone) does include a few routes on the German side of the border. This book would be very useful for those who plan to do a bit of border-hopping, as some of the Austrian routes described are also easily reached from the base towns in this book.

Another Cicerone book of interest is Klettersteig – Scrambles in the Northern Limestone Alps by Paul Werner. It covers the more ambitious Via Ferrata routes in the region.

A useful book covering Berchtesgaden, available locally, is Your Complete Guide to Berchtesgaden (Plenk Verlag). Apart from tips for hiking in the region, it also provides plenty of background information on the area and its sights.

For the Zugspitze region there is Around the Zugspitze by Dieter Siebert (Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich). This is a translation of the German original and is available from www.amazon.co.uk

There are plenty of relevant German publications. The series Rother Wanderführer (Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich) and Kompass Wanderbuch (Deutscher Wanderverlag, Stuttgart) cover the Bavarian Alps in exhaustive detail. The routes are clearly graded according to the degree of difficulty. It should not be difficult to obtain any of these at local German bookshops.

General guidebooks to Bavaria and the Bavarian Alps

Bavaria by Rodney Bolt (Cadogan Guides)
Covers all of Bavaria with a chapter devoted to the Alps.

Drive Around Bavaria & The Austrian Tyrol: Your Guide to Great Drives by Brent Gregston (Thomas Cook Publishing)
With the motorist in mind, this covers the border region of Germany and Austria.

Frommer’s Munich and the Bavarian Alps by Danforth Prince (Wiley Publishing)
A practical guide that is regularly updated. The emphasis is on Munich, with a short chapter on the Bavarian Alps.

Munich & Bavaria by Andrea Schutle-Peevers, Jeremy Gray and Catherine Le Nevez (Lonely Planet)
Once again Munich dominates. Useful practical information.

Munich and the Bavarian Alps Eyewitness Travel Guide by Izabella Galicka (Dorling Kindersley Publishers)
Lavishly illustrated with photos and 3D models, this is a guide for those who find that a picture tells more than a thousand words…

Flora and wildlife

The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe by R. Fitter, A. Fitter and M. Blamey (Collins)

Collins Tree Guide by Owen Johnson and David More (Collins)
Two good titles for those with a deeper interest in alpine flora.

The New Birdwatcher’s Pocket Guide to Britain and Europe by P. Hayman and Rob Hume (Mitchell Beazley)

Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe by Lars Svensson (Collins)