Liechtenstein
Fürstensteig
A path hewn into the Alpspitz face, wire ropes between you and the Rhine Valley.
The Fürstensteig was cut into the north-west face of the Alpspitz in 1898, and it still crosses that rock the same way: narrow footing, wire rope in your fist, the Rhine Valley fifteen hundred metres below. It is Liechtenstein's most demanding classic, a mountain trail for the surefooted rather than a harnessed via ferrata.
Prince Johann II helped pay for the path, and its opening on 17 July 1898 was celebrated with beacon fires and flags on the surrounding summits; walkers have been testing their nerve against its exposure ever since. The classic day links the Fürstensteig with the Drei Schwestern ridge: 11.9 kilometres, five hours thirty of walking, with 819 metres up, 1,540 down, and the Rätikon, the Rhine Valley and on clear days Lake Constance filling the view. The exposed passages carry fixed wire ropes and railings, and the route demands surefootedness, a head for heights and an honest conditions check, because snowfields can lie into late spring and the path can close in poor weather. Two staffed stops bracket the traverse: the Gaflei Stuba at 1,483 metres near the start and the Alpine Club's Gafadurahütte above Planken at the end.
Solo
An experienced solo hiker gets one of the Alps' half-forgotten historic rock paths at their own rhythm; leave your route with someone and check conditions before setting out on the ridge.
Couple
For two people who both want the exposure, the traverse is a full shared day: cables in the morning, the Drei Schwestern ridge at midday, dinner earned at the hut above Planken.
Friends
A small group of confident mountain walkers can take the ridge in single file and regroup on the Gafadurahütte terrace, where the kitchen serves day walkers and the Rhine Valley fills the view.
- The path was cut into the rock in 1898 with funding from Prince Johann II, and opened with beacon fires on the surrounding peaks.
- The classic traverse links the Fürstensteig and Drei Schwestern ridge: 11.9 kilometres with 819 metres of ascent and 1,540 of descent.
- Exposed passages are secured with wire ropes and railings; the route asks for surefootedness and a head for heights, not climbing gear.
- On clear days the ridge view runs from the Rätikon across the Rhine Valley to Lake Constance.
The Gaflei Stuba, the mountain restaurant at 1,483 metres by the trailhead, is the official refreshment stop before the exposed section begins.
Come off the ridge to the Gafadurahütte, whose kitchen serves day walkers lunch and dinner on a terrace over the Rhine Valley; the hut takes cash only.
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