Easy hike with donkeys
Hiking with Donkeys in the Mountains of Salzburg and Tyrol
Stefan Leppert is not only the host at the Hotel Sonnalp in Kirchberg, Tyrol, but also a hiking guide and a "resident of the Pinzgau alpine pastures." That’s also where the two donkeys live, who love nothing more than going on hikes with Stefan and the guests. In the Salzburg region or in Tyrol—depending on whether the guest visits the donkeys or the donkeys visit the guest.
Stefan Leppert and his wife don’t live in Kirchberg, Tyrol—where he runs the Sonnalp hiking hotel—but in the Pinzgau region of Salzburg, at his alpine pasture. Every day he commutes over the Pass Thurn, and sometimes he takes his two donkeys with him to work. But not always—sometimes he also takes his guests with him in the hotel bus to his home at the alpine hut at 1,600 m, where the two donkeys are. From there, the guided donkey hike begins, heading to the Resterhöhe reservoir or continuing on via the Panoramaalm to the Sonnalm, where his wife Silvia works and is always delighted to welcome Stefan, the guests, and the donkeys.
The donkey hike isn’t a physical challenge, but rather a deliberately slow journey. The terrain is easy, the elevation gain manageable, and the trails well-maintained. Depending on the route, the tour takes about three to seven hours—though the focus isn’t on the actual walking time, but on the experience: breaks, stops for refreshments, taking in the scenery, and spending time with the animals. It’s not just children who quickly bond with these calm companions. Adults, too, experience how much the pace changes when an animal that knows no hurry leads the way.
Sometimes the group no longer fits in the hiking bus—so we improvise. Stefan simply brings his donkeys to Tyrol, where the tour starts in Aschau. The trail then leads through the Oberer Grund to the Klooalm and back again—a different landscape, a different rhythm, but the same idea: being on the move without haste, carried along by nature and animals.
© Hotel Sonnalp
© Hotel Sonnalp
© Hotel Sonnalp
© Hotel Sonnalp
© Hotel Sonnalp
© Hotel Sonnalp
It’s this blend of simplicity and personal connection that makes the donkey hike with Stefan so special for guests at the Hotel Sonnalp. It’s not a staged experience, but a peaceful day outdoors—with animals that help you slow down and a host who’s happy to show his guests around his own home. In the end, it’s often not so much the distance covered that stays in your mind as the feeling that hiking doesn’t always push you forward, but rather leads you back to something very primal.
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