Tour plan 3

Lienz - Defereggental -Staller Sattel - Antholz (Italy) - Silian - Lienz

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The 250-km round trip should start with a hearty breakfast in the Hunguest Hotel Heiligenblut. You cross Mölltal and drive down to Winklern and then continue through the Iselsberg pass towards Lienz.
Just before you reach Lienz you should cross two roundabouts and drive towards the city centre. After arriving in Lienz you should always follow the ‘Felbertauern Tunnel’ (B108) signs. Leaving behind the city you drive about 15 kilometres on the national road towards Felbertauern along the river Isel until you reach Huben. Here you have the junction to Defereggental. The junction is shown by a traffic sign as well as a beautifully crafted road sign.

A short and curvy road takes the traveller down to the Defereggen valley. Don’t miss the view to the valley of the Isel River on the left. In the middle you can see right into the valley; you have wonderfully verdant hillsides on the left and the right and at the valley floor, the blue-green Isel River and the road to Felbertauern – our destination.

The Defereggental valley invites you to explore it. Just as the landscape, we can return easily and gently to the road to Defereggental after 20 kilometres. We cross the idyllically overgrown tunnel and pass by traditional farms and houses. Just don’t be hectic. If you wish you can take a detour to the Mariahilf-Wallfahrt Church. You can find it at St. Jakob – signed by signs impossible to oversee. The road continues uphill, now a little steeper, and the road becomes narrower. The Staller Sattel (in Italian: Passo Stalle) is getting closer... On arrival in Stallersattel located at a lofty height of 2,052 m the heroic biker is welcomed by the sight of a deep blue mountain lake reflecting like a dream landscape of the surrounding mountains. You should take a rest in one of the large and small parking places along the lake and enjoy the rugged, beautiful landscape.

After Antholz the road into the valley is so narrow that a simultaneous driving up and down is not possible. Thus, the rule is that in the first quarter of every hour (from 0 to the15th minute) vehicles may drive downhill and in the third quarter (from the 30th to the 45th minute) only uphill. Who arrives at a bad moment would have enough time to let the eyes wander down the South-Tyrol Antholzertal valley and also to have a snack at the bar. When the traffic light turns green you can continue your journey to Antholzertal. When driving on the narrow streets featuring uncountable small curves the inclined biker will quickly realize that a two-way traffic is just impossible on this road. The switchbacks are tight and you wish to cut as many bends as you can. It is delightful and makes a hell of fun!

Once you overcome this bottleneck you pass by Lake Antholzer (1,640 m), a popular tourism destination. Now you cross the three parts of Antholz - Antholz Obertal (1,532 m), Antholz Mittertal (1,250 m) and Antholz Niedertal (1,135 m) to reach the Via Pusteria (Pustertaler road - SS49/E66). You turn left towards Dobbacio (Toblach) and continue always along the E66. You pass by the Fiume Rienza Lake and keep on riding along the valley until you reach Toblach. Stay on the E66 (Via Pusteria) and continue riding towards Innichen, and after passing the border you get back into Austria. Follow the main road to Drautal (B100) until you reach Silian and then continue towards Lienz. To not just focus on the main road and let anything else to do for the eyes, it is worth to leave the main road at Abfaltersbach and turn left to continue along the Pustertaler mountain road. To handle better the longer way back it is worth to have a drink and a snack at restaurant Bärenwirt close to the Assling wildlife park. You can incidentally try out the summer bob track.

After this small detour let’s get back on the road. The mountain road connects to the Drautal main road, which we left earlier and which we take back again - in the direction of Lienz. The way back home from Lienz is made ​​simple: ride always towards Grossglockner / Mölltal. The traffic signposts will show the way.