Via Alpina (2/8)

161 stages, or more than one walking season, across eight different countries: Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France and Monaco.The Red Trail joins all eight Alpine countries. It crosses the main Alpine range several times, connecting Trieste to Monaco via Bavaria and Liechtenstein.Along the way, particularly in the numerous nature and national parks, the walker can experience the vast scale of the Alps, the largest natural area in Europe, and discover the rich diversity of the landscape, flora and fauna.The trail skirts some of the highest peaks along the way, such as the Triglav, Tre Cime of Lavaredo, Hochfeiler, Zugspitze, Silvretta, Bernina, Mont Blanc, the Vanoise glaciers and the Barre des Ecrins. However it also allows you to discover the rich cultural heritage of the gateway towns on or near the trails (Trieste, Monaco, Feldkirch but also Innsbruck and Briançon) and away from the crowds it meanders through the remote villages of the Julian and Carnic Alps, Ticino and Western Alps.The Via Alpina runs from Trieste, where a wide range of cultures meet – Illyrian, Roman, Venetian, Slav, and Habsburg – to the Principality of Monaco, extending between sea and mountain, a land especially rich in history, culture and recreational opportunities.The scenery alternates between wooden chalets and stone sheep barns, mountain shelters and lively towns and villages.The Red Trail also travels through different linguistic areas, demonstrating the historical significance of the Alpine passes as trade routes. The dialects are not confined to the administrative divisions, and in addition to German, Italian, French and Slovene, Romansch and Ladin, Walser, Franco-Provençal and the Langue d’Oc can also be heard.This trail crosses the national borders 44 times, and also former borders marking the remains of the military past that remind us of how, all too often, the peaceful mountains have been the scene of long confrontations.Massifs crossed: Julian Alps – Karawanken – Carnic Alps – Dolomites – Zillertal – Tuxer Alps – Karwendel – Wetterstein – Lechtal Alps – Allgäu – Rätikon – Silvretta – Rhaetian Alps (Grisons/Ortles) – Lepontine Alps (Lombardy/Ticino) – Valaisian Alps – Bernese Alps – Chablais – Mont Blanc – Graian Alps (Val d’Aosta/Vanoise) – Dauphiné – Cottian Alps (Queyras/Viso) – Maritime Alps – Lower Piedmont – Ligurian Alps.