On a foothill of Mt. Füllhorn, on the Carnic Ridge, the Sillian Heimkehrerkreuz cross is located at 2,373 m a.s.l. After the long ascent via the Leckfeldalm, from here you can enjoy the view on the East Tyrolean alpine world
Image gallery: From Sillian to the Heimkehrerkreuz cross
The starting point of the hike via the Leckfeldalm mountain hut to the Heimkehrerkreuz cross is at the western entrance to Sillian, behind the Drau bridge at the Wichtelpark. At the edge of the forest, trail no. 473 starts at the gate. There are about 850 metres of altitude to master to reach the first stage destination, the Leckfeldalm hut. To do so, we follow the forest road which winds up the shady slope. After a bit more than 2 hours we reach the Leckfeldalm. The popular mountain hut offers local food and we don't want to forgo a stop.
From here, several paths lead to our destination: after the bend above the Leckfeldalm, we can turn left towards the Sillianer Hütte hut (path 471) or choose path no. 14 on the right. Even if it doesn't look like it at first glance, trail 471 is the easier variant: The access path to the Sillianer Hut curves upwards towards the Leckefeldsattel mountain saddle through a flowering high alpine meadow landscape. At an altitude of about 2,250 m, trail no. 13 branches off to the right and leads straight to the Heimkehrerkreuz. The cross was erected in 1948 by East Tyrolean post-war soldiers - therefore the name (lit. Homecomers' Cross). The view ranges from the Tauern to the Lienz Dolomites and the southern peaks on the Carnic Ridge.
A variant on the last section leads us to the Sillianer Hütte mountain hut: instead of taking trail no. 13, we stay on the gravel road and hike past the Füllhornsee lake to the Leckfeldsattel and the popular refuge on the ridge (highlight: view on the Sesto Dolomites). To reach the Heimkehrerkreuz, the trail then goes, from the Leckfeldsattel, along the upper part of trail no. 14, almost without any ascents.
Author: AT
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- Starting point:
- Sillian, Drau bridge near "Wichtelpark"
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- Time required:
- 05:40 h
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- Track length:
- 14,3 km
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- Altitude:
- from 1.109 m to 2.375 m
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- Altitude difference:
- +1262 m | -1262 m
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- Signposts:
- No. 473, Leckfeldalm, No. 471, Heimkehrerkreuz, No. 13 or 14
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- Destination:
- Heimkehrerkreuz summit cross
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- Resting points:
- Leckfeld Alm
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- Recommended time of year:
- Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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- Download GPX track:
- From Sillian to the Heimkehrerkreuz cross
If you want to do this hike, we suggest you to check the weather and trail conditions in advance and on site before setting out.
