Voralpiner Jakobsweg

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Salzburg → Hohenpeißenberg (Hoher Peißenberg, 988 m)
• Length: 255.7 km
• Elevation gain: ↗ 2,737 m / ↘ 2,219 m
• Duration: 9–12 days (12 official stages)
• Waymarking: A stylized yellow seashell on a blue background, along with regional hiking trail signs
• Connection: On the Hoher Peißenberg, the Münchner Jakobsweg Toward Lake Constance
• Character: Monastery Trail through the densely populated Alpine foothills — rich in culture, logistically straightforward, mostly paved

Overview

The Pre-Alpine Way of St. James is the "Klosterweg" among the German routes to Santiago: 255.7 kilometers from Salzburg toward the west, always north of the Alps and with the mountain range always on the left edge of the picture—through the Rupertiwinkel, the Chiemgau, the Inn Valley, the Tölzer Land, and the Pfaffenwinkel. Hardly any other route strings together so many spiritual sites in such close succession: St. Zeno in Bad Reichenhall, the Seekloster Höglwörth, St. James Church in Urschalling, Weyarn, Reutberg, Dietramszell, Beuerberg, Bernried, Polling—and finally the Wallfahrtsberg Hoher Peißenberg, whose panoramic view has earned it the nickname “Bavarian Rigi.”

At the same time, it’s a realistic option for practical travelers: The Alpine foothills are a populated, ancient cultural landscape, not a wilderness—you’ll walk a lot on paved roads, cross state highways, and spend the night at an inn instead of a pilgrim hostel. On the other hand, you’re never far from a train station, the stages end almost every evening at a monastery with a beer garden, and the connections work out: Next up is the Münchner Jakobsweg Toward Lake Constance; up ahead, the Jakobsweg Österreich all the way to the starting line.

Other Names

The trail is officially called Voralpiner Jakobsweg — named after the region, not a city: You’ll stay north of the Alps in the Bavarian Alpine foothills, with the mountain range always in view to the south. In bookstores, it’s listed under the full title “Voralpiner Jakobsweg — von Salzburg zum Hohen Peißenberg.” A Bavarian subtlety awaits you at the finish: The mountain is called Hoher Peißenberg, the municipality at its foot Hohenpeißenberg — Both refer to the same destination, and both appear on maps and signs. Once you’re there, you’ll rarely hear the full name anyway: locally, it’s simply “the Way of St. James”; in Bergen, it’s the “Jakobsweg-Bergen”; and in the Rosenheim district, people refer to the Südostbayerische Jakobswege — the network of trails that the Rohrdorf St. James Community has maintained for decades and from which this long-distance trail has evolved. If you ask along the way, mention the next stop on the route: Höglwörth, Urschalling, Weyarn, Reutberg — everyone here knows them.

Who It's Ideal For — and Who It's Not So Ideal For

This route is for you if churches and monasteries aren’t just stops along the way, but the very reason for your journey. Hardly any other Way of St. James strings together so many vibrant spiritual sites in such close succession: St. Zeno in Bad Reichenhall, Höglwörth, Urschalling, Rohrdorf, Wilparting, Weyarn, Reutberg, Dietramszell, Beuerberg, Bernried, Polling—and finally, an entire pilgrimage mountain. 255.7 kilometers in nine to twelve days fits into a normal vacation, and logistically, this is the easiest route: You’re never far from a train station. It’s also a great choice for your first long hike—2,737 meters of elevation gain spread over twelve days is manageable, there are no mountain passes, and if a day doesn’t go as planned, the regional train will get you where you need to go.

To be honest, though, this isn't the place for you if you're looking for wilderness and solitude. The Alpine foothills are densely populated: You'll cross state highways, pass the Irschenberg highway rest stop, and walk through towns like Geretsried, which has a population of 24,000. But above all: The ground is hard. According to the standard GPS track, about 165 of the 261 kilometers are paved, plus a good 40 kilometers of paved trails—unpaved terrain is the exception here, not the rule. Wear well-cushioned shoes and keep your daily stages on the shorter side. And anyone who joins the pilgrim community of the Camino Francés If you're looking for that, you won't find it here: You'll mostly be on your own; this trail doesn't offer the kind of hostel experience you'd find in Spain.

Route & Landscape

You'll start in Salzburg and walk through the narrow, densely built-up Saalach valley toward Bad Reichenhall — Not a spectacular first day, but one surrounded by mountain scenery and ending at St. Zeno, the largest Romanesque church in Old Bavaria. There, the trail turns west, leaving the Alps on the left—where they remain until the end. Next comes the Rupertiwinkel with the lakeside monastery Höglwörth on its peninsula, the salt town Traunstein and the Chiemgau: Between Bergen and Übersee, you’ll cross the Weiße Achen and the Tiroler Achen rivers and, in some sections, walk along the route of the old brine pipelines. At the Chiemsee-On the south bank, you'll pass the Moor and Peat Museum and head up to Urschalling, where the small Romanesque Church of St. James, with its medieval frescoes, stands.

Beyond the Inn Valley near Rohrdorf This is where the most beautiful part begins: across Berbling, one of the best-preserved village complexes in Upper Bavaria, located at the Irschenberg past it—the pilgrimage church is there Wilparting in front of the Mangfall Mountains—and down into the forested steep slopes of the Leitzach according to Hey, look. Then there's the Tölzer Land region: the moors of the Kirchsee-Filzen, the monasteries Reutberg and Dietramszell, with only the Delivery, then the Loisach at Beuerberg, the Osterseen, and along the Lake Starnberg the monastery Bernried. At the end of the Pfaffenwinkel: about Polling and Weilheim up to the Hohen Peißenberg — 988 meters, a twin church, and a panoramic view of the entire Alpine landscape—a view that has earned the mountain the nickname “Bavarian Rigi.” There’s hardly a better way to end the hike.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

The classic categories are twelve stages for the 255.7 kilometers—that’s what it says in the only guidebook available for this route, and that’s how the trail websites list it as well. The average daily distance is a good 21 kilometers, and almost every evening ends at a monastery or in a village with a tavern. If you want to walk the route in nine to ten days, you’ll have to customize the stages yourself, because the official sections can’t be meaningfully combined in pairs: combining two stages almost always results in a distance of 40 kilometers. It’s more practical to adjust your overnight stay—for example, staying in Teisendorf instead of Höglwörth, or in Seeshaupt instead of Beuerberg. Nothing here is difficult: no mountain passes, no exposed sections, and the highest point is both the final hill and the last climb. What challenges you isn’t the terrain—it’s the asphalt.

1. Salzburg → Bad Reichenhall — approx. 20 km — from the city through the densely built-up Saalach valley basin, crossing the border into Bavaria, surrounded by high mountains. This section follows the same route as the Austrian Way of St. James.
2. Bad Reichenhall → Höglwörth — approx. 15 km — the shortest leg; the destination is the Augustinian Canons' Monastery on the peninsula in Lake Höglwörther.
3. Höglwörth → Traunstein — approx. 25 km — through the Rupertiwinkel region (Teisendorf area) to the salt town on the Traun River; The stage’s destination is Traunstein’s town square (population 19,000; laid out according to a plan dating back to the 13th century; remains of the city wall, the Brothausturm, and the Löwentor).
4. Traunstein → Westerbuchberg — approx. 25 km — through Bergen, past St. James’ Church in Bernhaupten; after Bergen, cross the Weiße Achen, then follow the Klauser Bach along the route of former brine pipelines, and finally cross the Tiroler Achen.
5. Westerbuchberg → Rohrdorf — approx. 27 km — along the southern shore of Lake Chiemsee, past the Moor and Peat Museum and the former peat rail station, then to St. Jakobus in Urschalling near Prien, continuing into the Inn Valley to Rohrdorf.
6. Rohrdorf → Berbling — approx. 19 km — Transition from the Inn Valley to the Mangfall Valley; Berbling is considered one of the best-preserved village ensembles in Upper Bavaria.
7. Berbling → Weyarn — approx. 21 km — past the Irschenberg highway rest stop (Wilparting Pilgrimage Church!) down to the Leitzach River along steep, wooded slopes, with several uphill and downhill sections, through small hamlets to Weyarn.
8. Weyarn → Dietramszell — approx. 21 km — via Sachsenkam and Reutberg Abbey, through the Kirchsee-Filzen Nature Reserve to the former Augustinian Canons' Abbey of Dietramszell.
9. Dietramszell → Beuerberg — approx. 19 km — across the Isar, through Geretsried (population 24,000), across the Loisach to Beuerberg Abbey.
10. Beuerberg → Bernried — approx. 21 km — through the Osterseen and Seeshaupt countryside to the southwestern shore of Lake Starnberg and on to Bernried Monastery.
11. Bernried → Polling — 27.0 km (6:53 h, ↗ 180 m / ↘ 230 m) — from Bernried Abbey to Polling Abbey, through villages, past Baroque churches and historic chapels; just before the finish, a detour to a St. James Chapel built in 1997.
12. Polling → Hoher Peißenberg — approx. 16 km — via Weilheim into the Pfaffenwinkel region and up to the Wallfahrtsberg (988 m) with its twin churches and weather station.

Founded in 1125, abolished in 1817, revived in 1986

This path is paved with historical documents. Nearly every stop along the way has a founding date: St. Zeno around 810 by Archbishop Arn of Salzburg, Polling in 1065 as “monasterium et prepositura in villa Pollingen,” Beuerberg and Bernried in 1121, Weyarn in 1133—and Höglwörth 1125, referred to in the sources as the “conventus in Hegelberd sanctorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum.” The most powerful family along the route is the Counts of Falkenstein: Jakobus was their Patron Saint of the House, its castle chapel in Urschalling (1158–1200) still bears his name today, and its Codex Falkensteinensis from 1166 — written because Siboto IV feared he might not return home from Barbarossa’s Italian campaign — is the only surviving book of traditions from a secular ruler of the Staufer era. The pilgrims themselves, however, remained silent: Of 35 known late-Medieval travel accounts from Bavaria, only six concern a pilgrimage to Santiago; the earliest verifiable name is that of the Nuremberg Peter Rieter, 1428.

Then comes the break, and it has two dates here. 1803 In a single year, secularization swept away nearly the entire infrastructure of the route: St. Zeno was auctioned off, Weyarn was demolished except for the church and St. James’ Chapel, Dietramszell, Beuerberg, Bernried, Reutberg, and Rottenbuch were dissolved—and in Polling, a library of 88,000 volumes was destroyed, with the majority ending up as waste paper. The pilgrimage to the Hoher Peißenberg survives only because the mountain church is designated a parish church in 1805. Only Höglwörth escapes the events of 1803 because it belongs to the Archbishopric of Salzburg—and is on July 30, 1817 It was dissolved as Bavaria's very last secularization measure. You are literally walking through the monastery that marked the end of the decline of monasticism.

The revival came from a village parish. 1986 The Rohrdorf St. James Community was founded in Rohrdorf am Inn—whose parish church has always been dedicated to St. James—and has been listed under number 40 in the Xunta de Galicia’s pilgrimage register since 1995, making it one of the oldest St. James communities in the German-speaking world; In 2000, the community dedicated the pilgrim’s cross, made of Czech granite, in front of its church, and from its network of trails in southeastern Bavaria, a route emerged that was not described for the first time as a continuous long-distance trail in a guidebook until 2023. At your destination, you’ll be greeted by the trail’s oldest motto, preserved in the Chapel of Grace on the mountain: “Whoever seeks miracles, grace, and good deeds will find them in abundance here at Peissenberg!”

Highlights Along the Way

• St. Zeno in Bad Reichenhall — Founded around 810 by Archbishop Arn, confirmed as an Augustinian canonry in 1136, and still the largest Romanesque church in Old Bavaria today; the marble portal, dating from 1150–1200, was likely created by a master craftsman from Piacenza.
• Höglwörth Abbey — In 1125, Archbishop Konrad I of Salzburg established it on an island in his own lake (now a peninsula); it escaped secularization in 1803 and was not dissolved until July 30, 1817—the very last monastery in Bavaria.
• The Old Reichenhall–Traunstein Brine Pipeline — Built between 1617 and 1619 by court architect Hanns Reiffenstuel and his son Simon: 31 kilometers made from about 9,000 drilled spruce trunks, one of the oldest pipelines in the world — and in some sections, your path through the Chiemgau region.
• St. James in Urschalling — The castle chapel of the Counts of Falkenstein (1158–1200), whose patron saint was St. James; the Gothic frescoes, dating from around 1390, were hidden beneath plaster until 1927, and in the Trinity painting, the Holy Spirit is still occasionally interpreted as a woman to this day.
• St. James in Rohrdorf am Inn — the church named after the Society of St. James, built between 1769 and 1773 according to plans by the Munich court architect Leonhard Matthäus Gießl; inside, a Gothic statue of St. James dating from around 1500, attributed to the circle of the Master of Rabenden; in front of it stands a pilgrim’s cross made of Czech granite, consecrated in the year 2000.
• Wilparting Pilgrimage Church on the Irschenberg — The burial church of the Irish-Scottish itinerant monks Marinus and Anianus, who, according to tradition, died here in 697; a place of pilgrimage for over a thousand years — and today one of Bavaria’s most photographed sights.
• Reutberg Abbey above Lake Kirchsee — Founded in 1618; home to Franciscan nuns since 1651; a brewery since 1677; and, since October 23, 1924, a true brewery cooperative—one of the last remaining in Bavaria; the beer garden is right along the path.
• The Hoher Peißenberg — 988 meters; a pilgrimage site since 1514, known as the “Bavarian Rigi”; in the 18th century, it attracted more than 40,000 pilgrims a year; at the top, a double church consisting of a chapel of mercy and a Baroque church—and next to it, the world’s oldest mountain weather station, founded in 1781: prayer and the barometer on the same peak.

How Pilgrims Find Their Way onto This Path

The most natural feeder is the Jakobsweg Österreich: from Wolfsthal on the Slovakian border, through Vienna, the Danube region, and Linz, across the country—all the way to the very city where this route begins. For the first stretch, from Salzburg across the Saalach River to Bad Reichenhall, both routes even run together; it is only there that they diverge: The Jakobsweg Österreich turns south into the Saalach Valley, passing through Unken and Lofer on the way to Tyrol, and over the Arlberg to Rankweil—the Pre-Alpine route turns west and stays north of the Alps. So, for those coming from Austria, Bad Reichenhall offers a choice between high-Alpine and flat terrain—and at the other end, you’ll still find the main route toward Lake Constance and Switzerland.

Most people simply travel to Salzburg: The main train station is an international hub with direct trains from Munich, Vienna, Innsbruck, and Frankfurt; the airport is 20 minutes from downtown; and from the Old Town, you can walk out of the city in just under an hour. The second, completely different route runs through the Inn Valley: near Rohrdorf and Rosenheim, the Südostbayerischer Jakobsweg, which runs from Altötting through Wasserburg and Rosenheim to Kufstein—anyone traveling that route can simply switch to the Pre-Alpine Way of St. James at Rohrdorf and continue on the second half to the Hoher Peißenberg.

Continue the pilgrimage?

This trail does not end at the Hoher Peißenberg—it continues on. At the top of the pilgrimage hill, the Münchner Jakobsweg, which winds its way up from Munich via Schäftlarn, Andechs, Lake Ammersee, Wessobrunn, and Rottenbuch and continues westward: Steingaden with the Wieskirche, Lechbruck, Marktoberdorf, Kempten, Weitnau, Scheidegg—all the way to Lindau or Bregenz on Lake Constance, about 180 kilometers or seven to eight stages. For many, that is exactly the plan: The Pre-Alpine Way of St. James is the eastern half of a long route across southern Germany.

Switzerland takes over at Lake Constance. From Bregenz and Lindau, the routes lead via Einsiedeln to the Via Jacobi to Geneva; that's where the Via Gebennensis to Le Puy-en-Velay; from Le Puy, the Via Podiensis via Conques and Cahors to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port — and from there, the Camino Francés all the way to Santiago de Compostela. Anyone who sets out from Salzburg and walks the entire route still has a good 2,000 kilometers to go from the Hoher Peißenberg. It is the same route across Lake Constance that pilgrims from southern Germany have followed to Spain since the Middle Ages.

Preparation & Practical Information

The best time is from April through October — exactly the time frame mentioned in the guidebook. May, June, and September are ideal: long days, open monastery inns, blooming moorland meadows, and usually clear views of the Alps. High summer is fine, though thunderstorms in the Alpine foothills are a reliable afternoon occurrence—set out early and don’t plan to arrive at your destination too late. In winter, there’s snow on the high ground between Irschenberg and Peißenberg; many inns are closed on certain days, and the pilgrimage churches are often open only during church services. And take the paved sections seriously: well-cushioned shoes are more important on this trail than tread.

The trail is marked with a stylized yellow shell on a blue background—the standard symbol for the Bavarian Way of St. James, usually appearing as a sticker or badge on trail signs—as well as regional hiking trail markers. The signage is clear but not continuous; in open terrain and at the outskirts of towns, the signs are spaced far apart, so download a GPS track or bring the guidebook with you. Accommodations are not in Spanish-style hostels, but in inns, bed-and-breakfasts, private rooms, and the guesthouses of the monasteries: Bernried is now an educational center run by the Missionary Benedictine Sisters, and sisters still live in Dietramszell and Reutberg today. During peak season and on weekends, be sure to make reservations one to two days in advance—in small towns like Höglwörth, Westerbuchberg, or Berbling, there are only a handful of beds available.

As on all routes along the Camino de Santiago, you'll need a Pilgrim's Passport (Credencial) For getting your passport stamped along the way—at monasteries, pilgrimage churches, and tourist information centers along the route, including Bad Endorf and Wasserburg. It’s best to order it online in advance so you’ll have it in time for the start of your trip; it’s also a prerequisite if you want to receive the Compostela later in Spain. Plan your daily stages in advance, because the accommodations here are small and the distances vary; the easiest way to do this is right in the Camino Ninja app, where you can put together your stages and plan suitable accommodations at the same time.

What the journey will cost you

Expect 60 to 90 € per day — significantly more than in Spain, because there aren’t any affordable pilgrim hostels here. A double room at a Bavarian country inn costs between 45 and 75 € per person, including breakfast, depending on the region; a single room rarely costs less than 60 €; the monasteries’ guesthouses are usually cheaper—and are often the most charming option anyway. Plan on spending 20 to 30 € a day on food: a meal at a local inn in the Alpine foothills costs 15 to 22 €, while a snack at a monastery beer garden is significantly less. Add to that one-time costs—a few euros for the pilgrim’s passport, and about 30 to 60 € for round-trip train travel. If you combine private rooms and monastery guesthouses and shop at the supermarket, you can keep your daily expenses down to about 45 to 55 € (all prices as of August 2026).

Getting Here

Salzburg is the most convenient starting point for any Camino de Santiago. The Salzburg Central Station It’s located along the Westbahn and the Munich–Vienna route: from Munich, you can get there in just over an hour and a half; from Vienna, in just under three hours. There are also direct connections from Innsbruck, Zurich, and Frankfurt; Salzburg Airport is four kilometers from downtown. Spend the night in the city the night before, get your first stamp in the morning, and set off along the Saalach—the first leg, at about 20 kilometers, is a gentle start.

The ending is just as straightforward. Hohenpeißenberg has a stop on the Pfaffenwinkelbahn between Weilheim and Schongau, and from Weilheim, regional trains run at regular intervals to Munich and toward Garmisch. If you continue on foot, you don't need to book anything—the next leg toward Steingaden is already part of the Münchner Jakobsweg.

• Getting to Salzburg: Long-distance trains from Munich (approx. 1:30 h), Vienna (approx. 2:30 h), Innsbruck, and Zurich; Salzburg Airport is 4 km from the city center, accessible by trolleybus. It’s about a 20-minute walk from the main train station to the Old Town.
• Return trip from Hohenpeißenberg: Take the Pfaffenwinkelbahn from the Hohenpeißenberg stop to Weilheim (about 15 min), then transfer there to Munich Central Station (about 45 min) or continue toward Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Service is less frequent on weekends—check in advance.
• Intermediate entry: Traunstein, Prien am Chiemsee, Rosenheim, Holzkirchen, and Weilheim are all located along rail lines with trains running every half hour to every hour from Munich or Salzburg. Rosenheim/Rohrdorf provides the most natural split for the route: Salzburg–Rohrdorf and Rohrdorf–Hohenpeißenberg are two legs, each taking five to six days.