The Zillertal

At Strass, about 40 km east of Innsbruck, first documented in 889 as ” Cillarestale “, the Zillertal branches off from the Inn valley . It is the widest of the southern valleys of the Inn. Namesake for the valley is its main river, the Ziller. The Ziller Valley stretches from Strass to Mayrhofen. There it divides into the Tux Valley, the Zemmtal , the Stilluptal and the Zillergrund side valleys. Before this split is the Märzengrund and the Finsinggrund with the ski area Hochfuegen- and Zell am Ziller at the end of the Gerlos Valley. The valley separates the Tux Alps to the west and the Kitzbühel Alps in the east. In the south, on the border with South Tyrol, the Zillertal Alps and the Zillertal main ridge. Unlike other Tyrolean valleys, the Zillertal valley rises only slightly from Strass im Zillertal ( 522 m) to Mayrhofen (628 m). Therefore, all places in winter are easily accessible by car.

The winter tourist development began on 1953/1954 with the construction of the Gerlossstein ski lift, today Zillertal Arena, soon followed by other lifts and the opening of the Mayrhofen Penken Lift in 1954. Currently, there are 178 top modern lifts that carry snow enthusiasts conveniently to the starting point of 487 perfectly groomed slopes. The Zillertal ski area is divided into 4 main ski areas: