Hiking with alpacas – an unforgettable highlight

The best way to relax? Hiking with alpacas! We can certainly think of many good ideas, all of which are fun. Keyword: wellness, sauna, a relaxed meal, a glass of wine... But this very special experience is my favorite! An alpaca hike is guaranteed to help you let go of all the stress of everyday life. I tell you where you can experience this - as an owner Welcome Card Even completely free of charge - can experience!

I had already once the pleasure to turn a round with llamas and could therefore imagine approximately what comes to me. And yes I know, llamas and alpacas are not the same, although both belong to the camels and are incredibly cute. But the alpaca is much smaller and zoologically there is certainly one or the other difference - but for us non-biologists this is secondary. For us, the only thing that counts is that they are wonderful animals that radiate an incredible calm and serenity, and that rubs off on us humans during a hike. Especially in winter it is a highlight to trudge through the winter landscape with such an animal by your hand. In Oberperfuss you have the chance to do this, Welcome Card holders I can only warmly recommend to use it.

Anyone who reads my posts or knows me knows that I tend to be superlative. Every time I write a post, I think to myself I need to hold back on words like: wonderful, incredible, beyond measure or infinitely beautiful and not exaggerate so much. And now I'm sitting in front of the laptop thinking back to our wonderful, incredible, beyond measure, infinitely beautiful trip with the alpacas and I don't know how to write about it without using superlative words. I want to tell everyone about it and convince them to take that trip. Because our experience with the alpacas was just incredibly beautiful and enriching.

It starts with the fact that you feel comfortable from the first second at the Kühtaier Alpakahof. My sons and I were warmly welcomed by Nadine and immediately led into the stable, where we were introduced to the alpacas. "We got the first alpacas a year ago," she tells us. "Actually, it all more or less came out of a joke, a daring idea of my sister. We were bored at Lockdown and we were on social media a lot, where we came across pictures of alpacas. For us it was clear, we want that too! We used to have cows, pigs and chickens so we had plenty of room for a few animals. Fortunately, we were able to convince my mother quite quickly. My brother, who is super handy, rebuilt the barn and voila: now here we are with eight alpacas!" And oh my, how cute these alpacas are. The eyes, the soft fur, the long necks, they really are very special animals.

My boys - six and three years old - were immediately in love with shock. Even though the little one was a bit cautious at first, he lost his shyness immediately when he realized what lovely animals alpacas are. "They can be petted - just not on the head! But even though they look super fluffy and soft, they are not classic cuddly animals," Nadine explains to us. We also learn a lot of other interesting facts about the animals, which originally come from the South American Andes. For example, that they are eleven months pregnant, or that their biggest natural enemy is the puma, which attacks them from behind. Which is why you should never touch the back of an alpaca's bottom when you're taking it for a walk!

I already knew that the wool of alpacas is very popular and that you can even make quilts out of it. New to me, however, is that even the dung is valuable. Yes heard correctly, alpaca dung is one of the best natural fertilizers. If you want the green stuff to grow really well, you can buy the dried and ground manure - which, by the way, doesn't smell at all - at Küthaier Alpakahof.

After a short introduction with a lot of interesting information, the hike starts. It takes about one to one and a half hours. We start at the Anich farm, the path leads us across meadows and fields. We are lucky, the sun is shining, the view of the snow-covered mountain peaks and the wonderful view of the Inn Valley do the rest. Even if one would go the round alone - without alpacas - it would be already totally beautiful

But with them, the hike is an absolute highlight not to be missed! An experience for everyone, even for families with smaller children. My boys are not the biggest walkers, but with an alpaca on the hand there is no reason to grumble. And since the animals walk very slowly and leisurely and the trail is very flat except for small inclines, anyone can really make it. Theoretically, it would also be passable with a stroller (although it is partly field paths), practically you have to be a little careful. Because the alpacas react to the noise of the wheels somewhat jumpy. So if possible babies prefer to take along in the stretcher or keep some distance from the animals.

The alpaca hike is exclusively for vacationers with Welcome Card and thus even free of charge. Click here for online registration. You get the Welcome Card already from 2 nights at your landlord. You can find all partner businesses here. By the way, besides the alpaca hike there are many other great excursions and activities that you can experience with the Welcome Card, you can find all the information here. A special highlight, for example, is the gondola ride with the Oberperfusser Bergbahnen - an absolute must for all tobogganers. Take a look at my blog post about it. Speaking of tobogganing, you can find the best toboggan runs for families here, or you can check out Lea , who also has some great tips for you. Danijel shows you where to go night skiing and if you've never been skiing like Osama, you might want to check out this post.

All those who don't have a Welcome Card and are sad now, should quickly check out the Instagram page of Küthaier Alpakahof. There you will find incredibly cute photos and Nadine told me that you can contact her if you are interested - just take a look.

And all those who still can not imagine exactly what comes on an alpaca hike on them, should watch this video from the blogger Marlene

• When: every Friday 14:00 - 15:30, probably last date 11.03.
• Where: Huebe 25, Oberperfuss, Austria, farm Anich
• Duration: approx. 1 hour 30 minutes
• Group size: 2 - 8 persons
• Registration deadline: On the day of the experience 09:00 a.m
• Registration only with the Welcome Card: here
• Price: free of charge with the Welcome Card
• Welcome Card: All information about the Welcome Card can be found here.