Zillertal-Pinzgau circuit via Gerlos and Mountain pass Thurn

Route details

This 205-km tour connects Tyrol and Salzburg via two striking passes: the winding Gerlos Alpine Road and the busy Mountain pass Thurn. The Route leads through the Zillertal, the Pinzgau and the Kitzbühel Alps.

The Tour starts near Innsbruck in Aldrans and first leads eastwards into the Zillertal. The first section runs on well-maintained country roads through the Inn Valley before the route enters the mountains near Zell am Ziller. At Hainzenberg at the entrance to the Gerlostal valley, you pass the former gold mining area, where the precious metal has been mined since 1506.

The Gerlos Alpine Road is the driving highlight of the Tour. The toll road connects the Tyrolean Zillertal with the Salzburg Pinzgau. With 22 Hairpins over around 38 kilometers, it offers smooth, easily visible Curves at a moderate Difficulty level. The asphalt is in good condition and the route was designed by Franz Wallack, the builder of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. At the Apex at 1,628 m, there is the Durlassboden reservoir for a break. In the high season and at weekends, you can expect a higher volume of traffic - in addition to motorcycles, there are also motorhomes, coaches and cars on the road.

After the descent towards Mittersill in the Salzach Valley, there is a flatter section through the Pinzgau region. From Mittersill, the route leads over the Thurn Mountain Mountain pass (1,274 m) back to Tyrol. The B161 is a main traffic route between Salzburg and Tyrol, with three lanes in places and moderate gradients of up to 8%. The road is toll-free, but traffic is considerably heavier than on the Gerlos. Speed cameras monitor the passage through Kitzbühel.

From Kitzbühel, the route leads via St. Johann in Tirol and the Pillerseetal valley to Fieberbrunn, then on to Zell am See in Pinzgau. This section offers views of the Kitzbühel Alps with gentle grassy mountains and wide valleys. The final Stage ends in Kitzbühel.

The road surface is mostly good to very good. Occasionally there are older sections of road surface on side roads. The Gerlos Alpenstrasse offers wide, two-lane sections; the old Gerlosstrasse (toll-free, but narrower and bumpier with gradients of up to 17%) is not a recommended alternative for heavy bikes. All in all, a technically moderate Tour that offers both the joy of curves and a panoramic landscape.