Hungerberg (parking lot at the station of funicular) - Hafelekarspitze (from Hungerberg on path 216)

Access to starting point:
From Ljubljana, we drive on the highway past Salzburg in the direction towards München. At the multilevel junction Dreieck Inntal we go on the road A93 in the direction of Innsbruck/Kufstein/Brenner. When we return to Austria we continue to the exit 79 in the direction of Innsbruck-West. In Innsbruck we join the road B174 and we continue to the junction on the road 171, which we follow to the turn-off for Hungerberg (Sonnenstrasse). On an ascending road we continue driving to the hamlet Hungerberg, where we follow the signs for Hungerburgstation. We park on a large parking lot at the station of funicular; parking fee is 6 EUR for all day, and when buying the ticket for the cableway, it will be refunded.

The second option (avoid buying Austrian vignette): from the main Slovenia on the highway A2 we drive to one of the border crossings with Austria and we continue towards Lienz. We continue on the road number 108 past Matrei and Osttirol and on the main road over the mountain pass Felbertauern (the road is payable, in 2020 the price was 11€ for personal cars). In the settlement Mittersill we go on the road B165 and on a narrower road we ascend to mountain pass Gerlos (1628 meters; payment 10€). From there we descend to the eponymous settlement and we continue to the junction on the road B169. After a good 20 km we join the road B171 (direction Schwaz/Jenbach/Wörgl/Strass i.Z.), which we follow all the way to Innsbruck and the turn-off for Hungerberg. From there further we follow the upper description. To Innsbruck we can come also from the north Italy.

Path description:
From the parking lot at the funicular at the first signposts we go on the path 216 towards the mountain pasture Bodenstein. We continue on the forest road, until signs point us on a pleasant footpath which is below the funicular winding through a meadow, and later becomes steeper and crosses a forested slope. The path in this part is modestly marked - an otherwise obvious direction is confirmed by rare signposts - and there are numerous shortcuts, which can also deceive us. A little higher at the passage through the lane of a forest we are accompanied by the wooden fences and stairs. With alluring views on Innsbruck we cross a grassy plain, and a little higher we again notice the mountain road. Here we continue to the right and at the first larger crossroad se go on the path 216, which turns sharply to the left in the forest. When the path becomes narrower and starts moderately ascending, we notice also characteristic Austrian blazes in the colors of the national flag. The ascent on otherwise visually appealing forested slope is relatively short and soon views opens up, while we are ascending by the distinct gully towards Bodenstein Alm. To the latter we come after approx. 20 minutes of additional walking among dwarf pines and through a meadow.

On the mountain pasture, on which stands a pleasant mountain dairy, with the help of signs for path 216 we go towards the upper station of the cableway Nordkette and Hafelekarspitze, which we can see directly in front of us. The path is becoming increasingly steep but it remains technically undemanding. After the paths from Seegrube join, below the upper slope of Hafelekar we cross towards the east, with the help of steel cables (undemanding) we walk the upper edge of the gully, in which the snow stays for a long time, and is by avalanche barriers in zig-zags we ascend to the upper station of funicular Nordkette.

At the upper station of the funicular we go to the right towards the nearby summit Hafelekarspitze, on which we get after a little less than ten minutes of walking on a comfortable and often crowded path.

On the way: Bodenstein Alm (1661m), Hafelekar (zg. postaja vzpenjače Nordkette) (2269m)